Planning an academic or non-academic career, work–life balance, preparation of scientific publications, networking, involvement in research networks, participation in conferences and professional events.

Markéta Čihařová is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Clinical Psychology at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Her research focuses on examining and improving the effectiveness and accessibility of treatments for common mental disorders through meta-analyses, the use of internet-based interventions, and artificial intelligence.

You can read her dissertation (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) here.

She is currently working on the ZeroOCD project (Principal Investigator: Dr. Tara Donker, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), a study evaluating the effectiveness of an augmented reality smartphone application for contamination fear in obsessive-compulsive disorder. She is also a researcher in the Metapsy project (Principal Investigators: Prof. Pim Cuijpers and Prof. Annemieke van Straten, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), an open-access meta-analytic database of scientific evidence on the effectiveness of psychological interventions for a range of mental disorders.

In addition, she investigates moderators of the effects of internet-based interventions for perinatal depression in the STePPS project (Principal Investigator: Prof. Jeannette Milgrom, NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence, University of Melbourne).

Before her PhD, she completed the Research Master’s programme in Clinical and Developmental Psychopathology at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, preceded by a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in single-subject Psychology at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University, along with a one-year Postgraduate Exchange Programme at Middlesex University in London.

• Strategy, selection, and preparation of a postdoctoral research project
• Political science methodology (qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods, AI)
• External methodological schools and courses
• International academic networking

I completed my PhD in International Studies at the Faculty of International Relations, Prague University of Economics and Business. Immediately after obtaining my degree, I applied for several international postdoctoral research positions. In the end, my top choice worked out—I was awarded the prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowship, under which I am conducting my research at the School of International Studies at the University of Trento in northern Italy.

This project brings together my two main areas of specialization: the study of ethno-regional movements in the European Union and mixed-methods methodology in political science. This dual focus allows me to analyze the goals and strategies of ethno-regional movements as often overlooked actors in territorial conflicts from multiple perspectives, while also developing and innovating methodological approaches in political science.

Career-wise, I aim to establish myself as a methodologist. As part of this grant, I am undertaking a wide range of advanced methodological courses organized by European political science consortia. I apply the knowledge gained in my current and future research and share it through my own university courses and seminars.

• career plan, strategy, career changes
• work/life balance
• project management, research organization
• identifying and utilizing one’s skill set

Jana has experience in both research and leadership positions at the Faculty of Finance and Accounting at VŠE. Her research primarily focuses on income taxation and tax administration. She is an Erickson Certified Professional Coach and has experience as a mentor in the Charles University mentoring programme.

• Bridging academic research with business practice
• Career strategy between academia and the commercial sector
• Applied analytics, financial modeling, and data work
• Time management and motivation for doctoral studies

Throughout my professional career, I have operated at the intersection of academic thinking and financial practice. I currently serve as Director of Products, Analytics, and Support at PPF banka, where I combine strategic product management, macroeconomic and financial analysis, and support for front-office activities in a banking environment.

At the same time, I hold a Ph.D. in Finance from the Prague University of Economics and Business, with a research focus on unconventional monetary policy tools and quantitative easing. I have a long-standing interest in how monetary policy, regulation, and market microstructure shape the behavior of financial institutions and markets—and, above all, how these insights can be meaningfully applied in practice.

Over more than ten years in the financial sector, I have gained extensive experience in applied research, financial modeling, product structuring, project management, and regulatory implementation. I have repeatedly worked in roles that required the ability to “translate” between the worlds of academic concepts, data, and models on the one hand, and concrete business and strategic decision-making on the other.

As a mentor, I aim to be particularly valuable to doctoral students who seek to connect their research with real-world impact, are considering careers beyond academia, or want to develop the ability to think strategically within complex systems.

– organizace a plánování doktorského studia

– work-life balance (skloubení a synergie doktorského studia s četnou škálou pracovních i osobních zájmů a aktivit)

– výuka v rámci VŠ, schopnost podat informace a aktivovat studenty

I have explored the field of IT quite broadly. Starting with an academic interest in data and data analytics (which stayed with me through to my dissertation), I gained experience in full-stack development across a wide range of platforms before eventually specializing in front-end development.

I have been actively involved in teaching since the age of 19, when I simultaneously became a swimming coach—a role I continue to this day. I have consistently received positive feedback from both university students and swimmers, and I see sharing knowledge and experience as a significant part of my calling.

Having gone through doctoral studies myself while balancing two additional jobs, I have developed strong perseverance and resilience—qualities that can be highly valuable for anyone following a similar path.

• Leadership
• Career development and direction
• Work–life balance
• Negotiation and communication

Since completing my Master’s degree at the Prague University of Economics and Business in 2012, I have held various positions in energy companies. This professional trajectory was also reflected in the topic of my dissertation, which focused on energy security in the United States in connection with shale gas production. I successfully defended my dissertation in 2017.

Given my professional background, I have a strong understanding of both the Czech and European energy markets and regulatory frameworks. I have led both large and small teams across different areas, ranging from sales and product management to process analysis.

I am currently working at EDC, which I see as an opportunity to contribute to shaping the future of the Czech energy landscape, particularly in the context of the development of decentralized energy sources and the transition to low-emission energy.

In my free time, I enjoy sports, reading, and I also hold a pilot’s license.

The goal of mentoring, in my view, is primarily to accelerate both professional and personal development of the mentee through the sharing of life experience. In mentoring, I would focus on developing and applying the mentee’s existing knowledge, supporting decision-making processes, strengthening the student’s identity, and giving them the courage to pursue and assert their goals.

Students often lack concrete feedback and opportunities for discussion. Mentoring can provide a different perspective and a broader overview of the challenges they are addressing, helping them see problems in a new light and navigate them more effectively.

In my role as Executive Director of CNCB – Czech Non-Banking Credit Bureau, I lead a company that operates the Non-Banking Credit Bureau, which provides its members with credit reports and scoring models for assessing clients’ creditworthiness and reliability. With more than 20 years of experience in both banking and non-banking markets, I have developed expertise in banking and non-banking credit products, consumer protection, personal data protection, and data processing within credit bureaus.

My mission is to raise awareness among the public and companies about the registry and its use, as well as to strengthen existing and new relationships with member institutions. Under my leadership, the bureau has gained more than 30 new members, improved its profitability and efficiency, and enhanced its online services for clients.

I also provide training and educational materials to both public and private institutions in the area of financial literacy, and I represent the bureau in public forums, before key stakeholders, and in the media. I am committed to increasing transparency and trust in the non-banking lending market in the Czech Republic and beyond.

My professional career began at Citibank, where I rotated through several departments and gained a comprehensive understanding of how a commercial bank operates. Subsequent shorter experiences in other banks and investment companies eventually led me to the credit bureau sector.

Within mentoring, I would focus on sharing practical experience and engaging in active discussion with the aim of providing students with a real-world perspective.

• Career direction (academia vs. practice), decision-making about the next steps, and building a 3–6 month action plan
• Dissertation/publishing strategy: prioritization, milestones, managing scope and contribution, and sustainable work habits
• Communication and presentation skills (conferences, teaching), personal branding, networking, and collaboration
• Time management, dealing with overload, and burnout prevention (boundaries, work rhythm, sustainable performance)

I have been working in hospitality for over 30 years. I began gaining professional experience during my studies at a hotel school in Austria (Retz), and subsequently progressed through a wide range of positions in hotel operations up to executive roles in both the Czech Republic and Austria. Since 2009, I have been leading the consulting company Profit Hotel Concept (PHC), where we integrate operations, economics, technology, and leadership to ensure that decision-making in hotels and other accommodation services is economically sound and operationally sustainable in the long term.

I focus on consulting, mentoring, coaching, and teaching—from setting up metrics and processes to Total Revenue Management, as well as developing people and managerial skills. I have a strong interest in innovation and technology: within TAČR projects, we have co-developed a Hotel Simulator and VR training for Front Office as an application guarantor, and I have long been engaged in topics that enhance the professionalism of services. I am a certified coach accredited by the ICF (International Coaching Federation).

I have been active in academia since 2006. For 12 years, I worked at the Faculty of International Relations at the Prague University of Economics and Business, Department of Tourism, where I also lectured at international universities במסגרת Erasmus Teacher’s Mobility (Madrid, Girona, Sheffield, Pori, Amsterdam, Ningbo). My doctoral research (2012–2017) focused on my long-term specialization in Revenue Management. Since 2018, I have been collaborating externally with other higher education institutions through block teaching and project-based activities.

For several years, I combined motherhood, leading and developing PHC, teaching at the university, and pursuing doctoral studies—so I have substantial personal experience with work-life balance. I am a mother of three children (born in 2008 and 2010). In my free time, I work with spatial design (feng ren shui).

In mentoring, I offer a safe, confidential, and structured space for reflecting on career paths (both academic and non-academic), prioritization and decision-making, development of professional identity and communication, as well as finding one’s own leadership style. Mentoring does not replace the role of a supervisor—I focus on strategy, skills, decision-making, and supporting sustainable performance.

1. Getting familiar with fundamental literature in entrepreneurship research
2. Conducting and reporting rigorous qualitative and quantitative research
3. Navigating the R&R (Revise & Resubmit) process at top-tier academic journals
4. Supporting personal and professional development, including managing common challenges in the PhD journey

Georgios Polychronopoulos is Postdoctoral Research Fellow at IMD, Switzerland, and Research Associate at Prague University of Economics and Business, Czech Republic. His research focuses on how entrepreneurial activities can drive positive societal change. He holds a Ph.D. in Management and Managerial Economics from VSE, an MBA from Hellenic Open University, a Master’s degree in Theoretical Mathematics, and a BSc in Mathematics from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

Georgios has led the authorship of a publication in the Journal of Management Studies that develops an outcome-based typology of social enterprises. He has also contributed to edited book chapters and presented his work at numerous international academic conferences. In 2025, he received the J. M. Veciana Best Paper Award at the RENT Conference for his work on intermediary organizations and multi-stakeholder orchestration to address grand societal challenges. He was also awarded the Best Reviewer Award 2024 by the Academy of Management’s Entrepreneurship Division and serves as an ad hoc reviewer for journals such as the Journal of Business Venturing, Journal of Management Studies, Academy of Management Perspectives, and the Journal of Small Business Management.

His work lies at the intersection of rigorous research and real-world impact, and he is particularly interested in supporting early-stage scholars as they navigate the challenges of developing their research identity, publishing, and finding their place within the academic community.

How not to become crazy during a PhD study: setting priorities during doctoral studies; preparation and work on the doctoral dissertation – defining objectives and hypotheses, designing the structure of the thesis, and working on it step by step; preparation and writing of an academic paper; working with data and statistical testing; public data sources (especially Eurostat, the Czech Statistical Office, World Development Indicators, and the United Nations data mart).

Martina graduated from the Charles University Faculty of Mathematics and Physics (mathematics + economics) and from Prague University of Economics and Business (applied statistics, demography and social statistics). Later she completed MBA at the CVUT & Sheffield Hallam University (executive management) and Ph.D. at Prague University of Economics and Business (statistics).

Martina focuses on both academic career and commercial projects. At the university she focuses on quantitative methods in demography, population ageing, age management and labor market. She lectures courses related to demography and supervises master theses. Commercially she worked in the financial risk modelling team at PricewaterhouseCoopers Czech Republic focusing on credit risk; now she works at J&T Bank as an internal auditor. Simultaneously, she works with small start-ups preparing financial plans and due diligence materials for investors.

• Academic career orientation (roles of academic bodies, building professional networks, long-term planning of a research profile)
• Preparation, evaluation, and strategic management of grant projects (academic funding environment, experience as vice-chair of a GAČR evaluation panel)
• Leadership of research teams (strategic research management, organization of work, and role distribution)
• Publication strategy and orientation in the publishing ecosystem (journal selection, setting realistic goals, and managing publication trajectories)

Michal is a professor at the Department of Econometrics at the Prague University of Economics and Business. His research focuses on optimization, operations research, and statistical methods for specialized types of data, including questions of computational complexity.

He has extensive experience in leading GAČR research projects and has long been involved in evaluation structures of grant competitions. He also serves on scientific boards of several institutions.

Beyond his methodological expertise, he offers insight into the practical functioning of academia. And despite trends toward shifting communication into online environments, he maintains that the most successful scientific collaborations are often those “watered with beer.”

I have extensive experience in international trade, including long-term stays abroad. I can provide guidance in the following areas:

• International commercial contracts
• Trade finance and financing of international trade
• International relations, particularly in the Middle East region
• Trade in military equipment and licensing-related issues

• Finding one’s own professional path and future direction
• Connecting research with practice and meaningful topics
• Coping with doubts, blocks, and challenging feedback
• Navigating the academic environment and planning next steps

I believe research should make sense beyond academia and be, in some way, useful to society. This perspective is reflected both in the topics I focus on and in how I have gradually shaped my own career path.

Before I fully committed to research, I first fell in love with teaching. I wanted to bring the topic of humanitarian logistics into the Czech university environment, which I eventually succeeded in doing. After completing my PhD, I joined the Hanken School of Economics / HUMLOG Institute in Helsinki as a postdoctoral researcher. Throughout my studies and after returning, I have combined academic work with experience in the non-profit sector, ensuring that my research remains connected to reality and to the actual needs of practice. For example, I have worked with Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and People in Need.

This path has not always been straightforward. Bridging different worlds, searching for one’s own topic, and standing by it sometimes also means questioning whether what you are doing truly belongs somewhere. I have experienced moments of doubt—feeling that my research did not quite fit, was not “proper” enough, or that I was not good enough. Because of this, I deeply value the people who supported me during those times. That is also why I see mentoring as something very meaningful: a space where one does not have to face questions, uncertainty, or searching alone.

As a mentor, I would like to support those who are looking for their own path between research, teaching, and practice; who want to work on meaningful topics; and who sometimes need to hear that it is okay not to have everything figured out immediately—and to pause for a moment along the way.

• International cooperation.
• Research and studies abroad.
• Work and life with up to 3 kids
• Personal development of a researcher

Ing. from VSE, Phd from Cerge, Phd from University of Iowa, studies of math, statistics and economics at Georgetown University, American University, George Washington University, Berkeley, University of Iowa. In Prague, I serve on PhD program boards in Finance (VSE=PUEB), Economics (IES FSV UK, CERGE-EI), Energy Economics (Czech Technical University). I conducted several interesting research projects in economics and published a lot of scientific articles. I am an environmentalist and I believe in scouting and cooperation.

In addition to professional topics related to leadership, intercultural communication, and pedagogical development, I can also offer support in the areas of planning, setting priorities, and balancing studies, work, and personal life.

I completed my doctoral studies while caring for two young children, and therefore I am also closely familiar with topics such as long-term sustainability, time management, and finding realistic ways of functioning during demanding life phases.

Kateřina Půbalová graduated in Business Administration and Management from the Faculty of Business Administration at the Prague University of Economics and Business (VŠE). She subsequently completed her doctoral studies at the same faculty, at the Department of Managerial Psychology and Sociology, where she now works as an assistant professor.

In her teaching, she focuses primarily on leadership and intercultural communication, both in Czech and English. In addition to her work at VŠE, she has taught at other higher education institutions, regularly teaches at international universities, and has long been involved in courses, seminars, and workshops aimed at skills development. In cooperation with organizations, she frequently works with leaders on developing their individual competencies.

She also has experience in research and development projects, including those funded by OP VVV, the National Recovery Plan (NPO), and TAČR, as well as in preparing grant applications for Horizon Europe.

International trade, Macro finance, Economic growth and development, Consumer behavior: these could be stretched to some extent to accommodate adjacent areas in economics.

Vincenzo Merella is the Director of the International Research Center at the Faculty of International Relations. He has worked in Italy, the United Kingdom, and briefly in Spain, Switzerland, and Australia. His main research interests are macro-finance, economic development, innovation and growth, and international trade, with a particular focus on the role of product quality and non-homothetic demand in influencing trade patterns. He has published in high-quality international journals, including the Journal of the European Economic Association, the Journal of International Economics, and the European Economic Review.

Primarily, I would likely share my experience with participation in various types of international projects and with international collaboration in general. At the very beginning of my academic career, senior colleagues gave me the opportunity to get involved in projects (starting with the 4th EU Framework Programme), and these contacts then naturally expanded. Since then, I have participated in approximately 15 projects in various roles.

As a result, I have at least a partial understanding of international collaboration, both from the perspective of career development and in terms of different types of projects and supporting instruments.

As a long-term guarantor of a doctoral study programme, I also have solid insight into issues related to doctoral education (although computer science has its specific characteristics in the context of VŠE).

Vojtěch is a professor at the Department of Information and Knowledge Engineering at the Faculty of Informatics and Statistics, Prague University of Economics and Business (VŠE). He began his research activities during his PhD in the field of machine learning (in the previous millennium – yes, even then machine learning, AI, etc. already existed!). At that time, however, he became even more interested in knowledge and ontology engineering and the Semantic Web, which he has been working on ever since, increasingly in synergy with the possibilities of large language models.

Due to family reasons, he did not pursue a long-term research stay abroad, but throughout his career he has compensated for this by repeatedly participating in international projects and engaging in direct co-authorship and publication collaborations with foreign colleagues.

He has supervised 9 PhD candidates to successful completion. He also played a significant role in establishing the Data Science and Explainable Artificial Intelligence (DSXAI) research group at FIS.

He is grateful for everything he has achieved in his professional and personal life to God, whom he considers his most competent supervisor and evaluator. (If interested, he is also happy to discuss this topic with mentees.)