FACULTY OF ECONOMIC INFORMATICS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS IN BRATISLAVA FACULTY HISTORY 1959 with effect from 1 September 1959, Government Decree 59/1959 established the Institute of National Economic Planning of the Economics High School (EHS) in Bratislava. 1961 Associate Professor Dalibor Hanes, Doctor of Law, was named first Dean of the Institute. 1964 Establishment of the first two Departments within the Institute: Department of Labour and Department of Investment and Basic Capital 1967 Establishment of Department of Prices. 1968 on the basis of Government Decree No. 54/68 concerning changes to the names of various faculties, the Institute of National Economic Planning was renamed the Faculty of Management of the Economics High School in Bratislava. 1971 following the completion of a number of organisational changes, the following Departments operated within the Faculty of Management: Department of Automated Management Systems, Department of Economic Mathematical Computations, Department of Records, Department of Mathematics, Department of Statistics and Department of Management Theory 1971 incorporation of the Research and Computation Centre into the Faculty of Management. From 1 January 1977 it became a separate centre for the whole School. 1975 incorporation of the satellite centre in Košice into the Faculty of Management until 31 May 1992, when the Faculty of Business Economics of EHS was set up there. 1977 opening of evening studies based at National Enterprise Gumárne 1st of May in Púchov, followed in 1980 by external studies for employed people. 1991 the Faculty of Management was renamed the Faculty of Economic Informatics (FEI) of the Economics High School in Bratislava by decision of the Academic Senate of the High School dated 29 October 1991. 1990 establishment of basic study programme: Economic Informatics 1993 establishment of Master s study programmes: Information Technology, Application of Software in Economics, Operational Research and Econometrics, Quantitative Methods in Management, Statistics, Economic Statistics, Accountancy and Accountancy and Auditing. 1994 establishment of Master s study programmes: Insurance Mathematics and Statistics (later Insurance Mathematics) 1996 establishment of study programmes (and specialisations): Economic Informatics, Accounting and Quantitative Methods in Economics and Business. 1997 Faculty gained the right to carry out doctoral studies and related examinations, and to bestow the degree of PhD in these specialisa tions of doctoral studies: 25 11 9 Applied Informatics, 62 09 9 Accountancy, 62 11 9 Statistics, 62 49 9 Econometrics and Operational Research. PROFILE AND STRUCTURE OF THE FACULTY The Faculty prepares future economists capable of working with all types of social and economic data, with regard to their gathering, processing, control and the development of information systems. They are able to implement these data into financial systems for the analysis of achieved results in social and finance areas, in particular for the preparation of social and economic strategies, decision making and forecasting. FEI offers university education in accredited study programmes at the first, second and third levels. The Faculty s graduates are able to find employment in particular in areas where, besides knowledge of macro- and microeconomics, economic policy and management, there is required the ability to work with quantitative data of various social and economic types, through the use of computational techniques, and to apply them in analysis, decision making and forecasting. They work in various positions, of which the following are typical: economic analysts, statisticians and forecasters, managers, actuaries, designers of economic information systems for companies and data processing centres, auditors, controllers, accountants. In addition they may also be found in higher management positions and in the upper management of state and local administration. The Faculty s teaching plans for each study programme are comparable with those of leading European and world universities with similar aims. The strategic goal of the Faculty is to build up a leading research and teaching establishment, which would on the one hand meet the needs of practice and achieve serious results in the area of research, whilst providing education which is fully compatible with that of comparable leading world education institutions.
DEPARTMENTS The Faculty consists at the moment of five Departments, which have both a research and pedagogical character: Department of Applied Informatics Department of Mathematics Department of Operational Research and Econometrics Department of Statistics Department of Accountancy and Auditing FACULTY MANAGEMENT Dean Professor Michal FENDEK MSc PhD Vice Deans Deputy Dean and responsible for development Associate Professor Katarína MÁZIKOVÁ MSc PhD Vice Dean for Education Zuzana JUHÁSZOVÁ MSc MA PhD Vice Dean for Research and Doctoral Study Associate Professor Ružena PARDELOVÁ MSc PhD Vice Dean for Informatisation, Public Relations and International Relations Associate Professor Jozef FECENKO Dr. PhD STUDYING AT THE FACULTY System of study at the Faculty The Faculty of Economic Informatics of the University of Economics in Bratislava (FEI UE) organises university studies, for students who entered the Faculty after 1 September 2005, in three study fields made up of 12 study programmes at all three levels of university education. Study is based on a credit system which is compatible with the ECTS European standard. First level (Bachelor s study) takes place over three years, during which each year is evaluated in terms of a number of gained credits. First level study ends with a State examination, part of which is the defence of a final written piece of work. Graduates obtain a Bachelor s degree (BSc). The study programme can be taken either as a full-time course or as a part-time external course. Full-time courses take place in Bratislava. External courses are organised from centres in Bratislava, Levice, Púchov, Senica and Žarnovica. Second level (Master s study) covers two years, during which each year is evaluated in terms of a number of gained credits. Second level study ends with a State examination, part of which is the defence of a master s dissertation. Graduates obtain a Master s degree (MSc). The study programme can be taken either as a full-time course or as a part-time external course. Full-time courses take place in Bratislava. External courses are organised from the centre in Bratislava. The third level of study is made up of Doctoral study programmes, either as full-time courses over three years or as part-time external courses over five years. Third level study ends with the defence of a doctoral thesis. Graduates gain the title Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). The Faculty of Economic Informatics offers the study of a number of subjects in foreign languages, together with a comprehensive programme in German, whose Director of Studies is the current Dean of the Faculty.
Accredited Fields of Study and Study Programmes First level of study (Bachelor studies) Study fields: Study programmes in each field: 3.3.12 Accountancy Accountancy Accountancy and Economic Informatics (as a combination of study fields 3.3.12 Accountancy and 9.2.10 Economic informatics) 3.3.24 Quantitative Methods in Economics Decision Making for Managers and Information Technology (as combination of study fields 3.3.24 Quantitative Methods in Economics and 9.2.10 Economic Informatics) 9.2.10. Economic Informatics Economic Informatics PROFILE OF A GRADUATE FROM THE FIRST LEVEL OF STUDY Accountancy Graduates are able to work with and analyse accounting data, to use accounting software, to solve basic problems in the areas of taxation, company finance, banking operations and insurance. They have the skills needed to work in the private, public and state sectors, in areas dealing with accounting and its automation, in tax offices and in financial administration. Accountancy and Economic Informatics Graduates have the profiles of those from Accountancy and Economic Informatics. They have the skills needed to work as independent accountants. They can solve problems in the areas of taxation, company finance, banking operations and insurance. They know how to make use of modern information technology and can collaborate in the development and operation of information systems in finance departments at all levels of management. They can find employment in all spheres of industry, in the public service, in the private sector, as well as becoming independent entrepreneurs. Decision Making for Managers and Information Technology The graduates of this study programme are capable of solving the financial problems that arise in the individual departments of a manufacturer, in the trade and financial sectors (including insurance), whether profit-making or non-profit making organisations. They understand how to obtain the information necessary for basic financial analyses and are capable of using mathematical and statistical tools, for example appropriate software packages, to carry out the analyses. They are able to interpret the results in economic terms and implement them in practice or make use of them to support decision making at company management level. Economic Informatics The graduates of this study programme have both theoretical knowledge of economics and actual experience of the practical use of information technology. They are able to work with standard office automation software and collaborate in the development and operation of information systems in finance departments at all levels of management. They can demonstrate their ability to cope with the steps involved in setting up and running companies. They can find employment as IT consultants to find solutions for financial IT problems, as programmers in the implementation of IT systems, web applications and company intranets and as designers and implementers of IT network systems.
Second level of study (Master studies) Study fields: Study programmes in each field: 3.3.12 Accountancy Accountancy and Auditing Accountancy and Financial Management 3.3.24 Quantitative Methods in Economics Actuarial Science Operational Research and Econometrics Statistical Methods in Economics 9.2.10. Economic Informatics Economic Informatics PROFILE OF A GRADUATE FROM THE SECOND LEVEL OF STUDY Accountancy and Auditing During their studies graduates obtain complex knowledge of how to prepare and use accounting data for the purpose of protecting the interests of investors and business associates and for the use of tax authorities. This knowledge they can confidently apply within the framework of international accounting principles, the steps to accounting harmonisation in the European Union and international accounting, financial and auditing standards. They can show that they can use their theoretical knowledge of auditing to prepare documentation for an external audit and that they can use accounting as a management tool inside companies and other organisations. Graduates can find employment in managerial and methodological functions in accounting and in the areas of financial decision making and control. After obtaining the necessary practical experience and other associated preparation and after passing the examination laid down in the law, they can successfully carry out audits, provide tax advice and take on other roles in the financial sector. Accountancy and Financial Management Second level graduates of this study programme have the preparation to carry out managerial and methodological functions in accounting, for taking on expert positions in the area of financial management (financial decision making and control), both in the private sector and in state administration. Actuarial Science The study programme provides students with the theory behind the quantitative methods used in financial decision-making processes, in particular the mathematical and statistical methods as used in finance (banks, stock markets, ), in insurance (life and non-life insurance companies, brokerages, ), in pensions provision (state pension system, supplementary pension system, state administration, ), in investment management (investment management companies, ) and in many other areas, which are concerned with the control, pricing and management of risk (supervisory authorities, auditors, etc.). Graduates will gain an actuarial qualification, which is useful if they wish to carry out the role of Responsible Actuary in an insurance company. Operational Research and Econometrics Graduates master a wide range of quantitative methods, based on information and scientific analysis, for use in solving complex decision-making problems. The studies directly implement the quantitative methods into basic managerial disciplines from the level of the individual firm up to that of the national economy. Graduates of the study programme are prepared with an adequate level of generality and depth of results, and with the ability to apply in practice a systematic approach to the study of financial processes. The basis of this programme is a model approach and quantitative methods in the environment of information systems. Statistical Methods in Economics Graduates of the study programme "Statistical Methods in Economics" are capable of solving the economic problems, which arise in the various departments of a manufacturing company, and of trading and financial organisations, both for profit and not for profit institutions, using quantitative, in particular statistical, methods. They are capable of applying a systematic approach to the solution of economic problems. They have knowledge of business practices, trading practices, organisations, management, and also of macroeconomic relationships, and mutual effects at both a micro and a macro level. They know how to prepare the material needed for decision making on the basis of an analysis of the available data, with the help of quantita-
tive, mainly statistical, methods. They know how to obtain the necessary data for fundamental economic analyses, how to use mathematical, in the main statistical, analytic and synthetic tools, how to interpret from an economic point of view the results gained, and how to implement them in practice. Economic Informatics Graduates are both economists and information specialists, who understand the needs, means and possibilities of applying information technology in practical financial situations. They are capable of analysing, proposing, developing, operating and updating information systems in finance and other similar departments and the public service, linked to the use of modern and effective information technology. Also they are capable of analysing and evaluating information flows in financial processes, manage teams of designers and programmers, and communicate with managers in other disciplines, who are the users of the information systems. Third level of study (doctoral studies) Study fields: Study programmes in each field: 3.3.12 Accountancy Accountancy 3.3.25 Econometrics and Operational Research Econometrics and Operational Research 9.2.10. Economic Informatics Economic Informatics PROFILE OF A GRADUATE FROM THE THIRD LEVEL OF STUDY Accountancy Graduates of the study programme master the scientific methods of research in the areas of financial accounting, management accounting and auditing with an orientation towards national and international theoretical and methodological problems in the given and related areas. They are capable of solving complex theoretical and practical problems at various levels of management, and of applying, in a creative way, new developments in pedagogical and wider economic and social practice. They know how to take part in the creation of integrated concepts of financial development in the areas of accounting and auditing, to solve onerous research tasks and to publish research results in scientific and learned journals and in university textbooks. They can find employment in posts which require both a deep theoretical orientation and the ability to apply in practice the knowledge gained from the analysis and synthesis of a solved problem, and this in central state institutions, in international and foreign organisations, in universities and in research institutions. Econometrics and Operational Research Graduates master the scientific methods of analysis and synthesis of economic systems with an orientation towards micro- and macro-economic systems represented by economic and mathematical models, which can be used in formulating and solving complex decision-making problems and in the development of business strategies at the company level, at industry level and at the national level. They are capable of researching and developing their own solutions to the problems in the areas of micro- and macro-economics and of creatively using the gained results in the practical management of economic systems, the construction of macro- and micro-economic models and the modification of existing models to generate economic strategies and policies. Economic Informatics Graduates masters the scientific methods of analysis used to analyse information flows and processes, large data files and databases. They are capable of solving optimisation and decision-making tasks, of modelling phenomena and events with their data information requirements, of proposing appropriate IT solutions and of implementing the proposed models, architectures and algorithms. Also they are able critically to evaluate alternative solutions to a given problem and to simulate results using future scenarios, and to research, evaluate and propose solutions to well-defined research topics given their knowledge of different methodological approaches and methods. In additional they have the ability to adjust existing methodological approaches and methods so as best to meet the needs of the task in front of them. They are capable of solving research tasks in the area of economic informatics.
Research fields for gaining the titles of Associate Professor (Habilitation) and Professor (Inauguration) The Faculty of Economic Informatics of the University of Economics in Bratislava has the right to carry out the procedures for gaining the titles of Associate Professor and Professor (habilitation and inauguration procedures) in the following fields: 3.3.12 Accountancy 3.3.25 Econometrics and Operational Research RESEARCH ACTIVITIES In agreement with the basic research orientation of the Faculty, its research activities focus in particular on the accredited study fields Applied Informatics, Accountancy, Statistics, and Operational Research and Econometrics as well as the accredited study fields for the third level of study 3.3.12 Accountancy, 3.3.25 Econometrics and Operational Research and 9.2.10 Economic Informatics and are directed towards the following areas: the theoretical and practical problems of harmonising accounting practice in Slovakia with international practice, the implementation of methods accounting, financial control and auditing, methods of accounting for acquisitions and mergers, analysis of the current theoretical and methodological approaches to the solving of fundamental problems in accounting, analysis of national accounting standards in Slovakia in the context of international standards, in particular European Union Directives, International Accounting Standards IAS/IFRS, International Public Sector Accounting Standards IPSAS, and US GAAP, the problems associated with the analysis of socio-economic development indicators from the point of view of the Slovak regions, the problems associated with the analysis of decision-making processes in the statistical management of quality costs, using the Taguchi methodology, the problems associated with the analysis of the current economic development of the industrial and building sectors in Slovakia, optimising quality costs, using the Taguchi methodology, analysis of time series, application of the methods of discriminatory and cluster analysis and multidimensional analysis to the problem of analysing economic effectiveness and the relationship of economic inputs and outputs in the Slovak industrial sector, data-mining, deepening and perfecting knowledge in the areas of financial and insurance mathematics with emphasis on the study of actuarial models in life and non-life insurance, in pension and health insurance and in the area of investment, the move from exact actuarial models to approximations and estimates, the construction of special approaches to portfolio analysis and the analysis of risk covers by investigating extreme risks and extra risks, product pricing and profit modelling in life insurance companies, the funding of pension payments, the classification and projection of sickness payments, the development of optimal reinsurance chains, support to decision-making processes in non-life insurers and the development of models for estimating insurance technical reserves, the development of quantitative methods for the analysis, estimation and optimisation of processes at the micro- and macro-economic levels, modelling and quantitative analysis of tax yields in Slovakia, portfolio theory and its application in Slovakia, analysis and forecasting of potential economic developments in Slovakia, analysis and modelling of the profitability of distribution companies in the context of price regulation, theoretical aspects of the formation of equilibrium conditions in companies, in the absence of and in the presence of regulatory mechanisms,
analysis of the current state of use of formalised methods for developing manufacturing and marketing strategies by Slovak companies, the application of a systematic approach to the microeconomic analysis of a company based on system theory, an explanation of how inflation (linked to the rise in money in circulation) and changes in the Slovak Koruna exchange rate affect the increase in economic effectiveness of economic growth, analysis of how an economic system of Slovakia is functioning, the problems of developing and applying information systems in companies and other organisations, of distributed information systems and computer networks, of expert systems and artificial intelligence, of multi-agent systems and of the simulation of economic processes, the problems of applying modern IT in practice, the use of object properties and implementation patterns to create intelligent systems for use in analysing the requirements for and subsequent creation of an electronic testing system, the development of e-learning, an analysis of the current state of security and running of information systems, to propose approaches and optimal solutions for a computer network and rules for its use, taking into account the limiting criteria and pedagogical aspects of informatics teaching in the FEI. Since 2004 the Faculty of Economic Informatics in cooperation with the Slovak Society for Economic Informatics publishes the learned journal Economics and Informatics ISSN 1336-3514. Together with the University of Novi Sad, Economics Faculty Subotica it publishes the international journal The International Scientific Journal of Management Information Systems, ISSN 1336-96011. On average the Faculty completes each year one development project of the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic in the area of the Improvement of the Conditions for the Use of IT in Public Universities. Research projects completed The Faculty of Economic Informatics completed the following research projects in 2007: two international projects (one in cooperation with France and the second as a SAIA-ASO project), 11 projects under the Research Grant Agency of the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic and the Slovak Academy of Science (VEGA), three projects under the Cultural and Educational Grant Agency of the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic (KEGA), two projects from the financial sector (private assignments), two institutional projects, seven projects by young researchers up to the age of 35, one project financed by the Tatra Bank Foundation.
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION In terms of international cooperation, the Faculty of Economic Informatics is involved in: the organisation of foreign study stays for teachers and students, and lecture stays for foreign guests to the Faculty. On average over recent years 10 teachers have been on lecture stays abroad. The number of students who have been abroad, in particular through the Socrates/Erasmus programme, depends on the number of places offered by the Department for Foreign Relations of the University of Economics. On average the number has been 25 and all places have been taken up. On average three foreign lecturers a year come to the Faculty, the organisation of international conferences jointly with foreign universities, two projects of the European Social Fund (ESF). One of these is a pilot project of the FEI: Actuarial and statistical methods for managers for managers in the financial market, where the Faculty offers lecture courses in seven areas in English, the publication of the international journal The International Scientific Journal of Management Information Systems together with the University of Novi Sad, Economics Faculty in Subotica, the offering of subjects in foreign languages: in English: Mathematics A Mathematics B Analysis of Time Series Quantitative Macroeconomics In German: Systems to Support Managerial Decision Making Fundamentals of Accounting Operational Research A In French: Mathematics A Statistics A Financial Mathematics the membership of teachers in international organisations and scientific and editorial boards. CONTACT INFORMATION University of Economics in Bratislava Fakulty of Economic Informatics Dolnozemská cesta 1 852 35 Bratislava Slovakia Tel.: 00421 2 6729 5736, 6729 5735, 6729 5181 Deans Office Fax: 00421 2 6729 5182 Deans Office e-mail: kristofi@euba.sk web page: http://www.fhi.sk