Prague, 26 th May 2010 – Unipetrol presented students of the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) with certificates of successful attendance for the training programme “Fundaments of Soft Skills in Practice”. This course was included in the choice of non-compulsory subjects for third-year students for the first time this year. Thirty students took this first round of this course aimed at developing students’ communication skills, at effective communication in the field of commercial relations and management training

The courses were prepared and led by specialists from the Tutor company, which specialises in complex education and especially the development of “soft skills”. Tuition provided by lecturers from this external agency is now available to students thanks to the partnership between the college and Unipetrol.

There was such great interest in the course that first time round it was not possible to enrol all students who wished to attend,” said Vice-Chancellor for Pedagogy, Pavel Hasal. In his opinion, the college considers the development of communication skills as a vital factor for the students’ future career opportunities. “A subject of this type certainly has its place in university level studies, however it is difficult for a technical college to arrange quality tuition at an excellent standard in such fields which are more social and arts-oriented,” he explains.

The Unipetrol Group has been cooperating with ICT Prague for eight years already. The school is the only one university in the Czech Republic providing education in all Unipetrol´s activities, i. e. it trains future experts for refinery, petrochemical and also motor fuel retail segment. Some of the popular forms of cooperation are the annual awards for diploma and dissertation studies, support for the project Modern Chemistry Lesson or Chemistry Competition, and joint participation at student fairs. Another example is joint development of the Tuition and Study Centre in Most–V elebudice, not far from the Záluží industrial zone where the Group has its highest production capacity. 

UNIPETROL, a.s. is a group of companies operating in the petrochemical industry in the Czech Republic. In 2005 UNIPETROL became a part of the PKN ORLEN Group, the largest oil processor in Central Europe. The UNIPETROL Group is oriented mostly towards oil processing, fuel distribution and petrochemical production. In all of these business areas the UNIPETROL Group is among the key players both in the Czech Republic and on the Central European market. The Group ranks among the leading firms in the Czech Republic in terms of its revenues, and employs more than 4,000 people.

Contact: 
Blanka Růžičková 
Spokesperson 
UNIPETROL, a. s. 
Telephone: +420 225 001 407, +420 731 881 111 
E-mail: blanka.ruzickova@unipetrol.cz​