Autors: Daniel Mikušťák a Petra Růčková

During the first seven-week period, the BIP was held exclusively online, always on Wednesday afternoons. In this phase, student teams had the chance to set up and run cosmetic companies. The students then also learned how to analyse the financial results they achieved through their business activities. It is worth noting that our students’ companies certainly stood out: for example, Kristýna’s team company (Pure Beauty Company) ranked first overall, Daniel’s team company (VuMiMu) took second place, and the other teams also performed well (DTS and Ødra), staying in the top half of the overall ranking.

After the online part, from 10 to 18 January 2026, we travelled to Portugal, where we completed a week-long intensive programme during which students prepared their final reports and presentations of results. Teamwork continued on site as well, with teams slightly reshuffled compared to the online phase because not all students were ultimately able to attend the in-person meeting. In addition to the working part, the host university prepared a rich accompanying programme. As part of company visits, we first visited C-Pack (manufacturing packaging materials for cosmetics) and Provei Costei (producing traditional meat products), where a tasting of local products was also included. We even visited a small blacksmith’s workshop in the village of Aveleda, where the local entrepreneur Gilberto Ferreira handcrafts various types of knives that are subsequently exported across Europe. The following day, we had the opportunity to explore the historic centre and museum of the city of Bragança with a local guide. Finally, we visited “The community village of Rio de Onor”, which was named one of the seven wonders of Portugal in 2017. There we also accepted an invitation to a joint dinner, where we again had the opportunity to sample local specialties. The entire week concluded on Friday with final presentations of the companies’ financial results, including a comparison with external economic conditions and benchmarking against relevant industry values. The presentations went excellently, and the students deserve praise for their outstanding representation.

If anyone is hesitating about whether to go abroad as part of their studies, I believe that participating in a BIP is a great way to start. The combination of an online programme, which allows you to prepare well, and a one-week stay abroad where you also meet the other members of your team in person, is a SUper choice—especially if you are still unsure about going abroad for a whole semester.