General questions
Is the course in English?
All the courses are in English.
What are the requirements for going on a course?
You have to be a student of CTU (ČVUT) Prague. For some courses you should have some previous knowledge about given topic (they are marked as Advanced). For Basic courses you just need to have an interest in a given topic.
What does „Your account is not validated for this season“ mean?
You can write our Vivaldi responsible to validate your account, but don’t worry, you can apply even with unvalidated account and we will validate all the accounts together before the events start.
The cost of events
What do you have to pay for?
The fee is for the whole event (acommodation, food, all the activities), but it doesn’t involve transportation to the destination of the course.
How come it’s so cheap?
Local BEST Group (LBG) is trying to fundraise resources by cooperating with several organizations. The university wants to be involved in the international education. The companies want to get to the internationally involved students by making presentations and company visits.
Why are the fees different for each course?
It all depends on the current situation at the given Local BEST Group, how much support they will get from the university, student union, etc.
What’s the maximum fee for the course?
Maximum fee 45 Euros. If the student pays the whole price or reduced one depends on the country he/she studies in. Students from the Czech republic pay 67% of the cost of the fee and returnable 50 Euro deposit.
Why is the fee for leisure event (much) higher?
As mentioned earlier, LBGs finance their events from the support of the university and companies. Most of them are interested in the academic events, that’s why it’s more difficult to get resources for a leisure event. Moreover, these events involve more expensive activities like yachting, paragliding, wine degustation and more.
The selection
How are the participants for the event selected?
The organizing LBG gets all the applications and they will decide who will be accepted. They usually consider location aspect (they are trying to have students from as many countries as possible), your motivation letter (they have to read a lot of them, so be creative!) and also equal participation of male and female students. If you are not sure how to write a motivation letter, read our advices.
Can I apply to any event?
Yes! But it’s not reasonable in some cases. You shouldn’t apply for example for an event in your country or advanced course outside the area you’re studying.
How many events per season I can apply to?
You can apply to up to 3 courses per season. You can be accepted to only on of them.
I want to go with my friend, will we get there together?
Probably not. A lot of people apply for the courses, so the chances are small.
What happens next?
What is BEST Spirit?
You have to experience it yourself… so go and apply!
What happens if I go to a BEST event and I catch BEST Spirit virus?
You will probably want to go to more events and maybe join your Local BEST Group (LBG) and orgnize events yourself.
What can I do if I’m not accepted?
You can try it again during next season. There are four of them: spring, summer, autumn, winter. You can also join BEST and participate in internal events.
Can I get ECTS credits for participating on a BEST course?
After finishing the course you’ll get BEST certificate with university stamp and professor’s signature. It’s up to your faculty if they will give you the recommended credits.
Original FAQ on the BEST site: http://best.eu.org/…uestions.jsp