IES Director presented the Awards for Distinguished Theses in September 2026

The IES Director's Award for Distinguished Master’s and Bachelor’s Theses has been awarded since the beginning of 2024 at the occasion of each Bachelor's and Master's Final State Exams. These are organized as a thesis defense with a follow-up general discussion on the thesis topic and are held three times a year - usually in January, June and September.

Apart from the IES Director, the Directors of the Master’s and Bachelor’s Study Programs and the members of the State Final Exam committees jointly assess the exceptional quality of the theses and the excellent performance at the thesis defense.

For those receiving the IES Director's Award, this is a sign that their thesis was among the best defended at IES in a given round. It is also a signal that it is advisable to submit it to various student competitions (see "Competitions you can enter with your thesis or research paper") or that there is a high chance that the work will be nominated directly by the IES for other student prizes. 

The award is presented in a symbolic and ecological way in the form of a certificate in an electronic version, which the awardees can further use e.g. on their LinkedIn profile or attach to their applications for universities abroad or job interviews. There is no financial reward associated with the award.

In September 2026, the IES Director's Award was presented to the following graduates: 

Bachelor’s theses:

Exploiting Momentum in European Equity Markets: A Machine Learning Approach
author: Jana Bodóová
advisor: Mgr. Luboš Hanus, Ph.D.

Discrimination of Physically Disabled People in the Czech Labor Market
author: Jana Buchtová
advisor: doc. PhDr. Julie Chytilová, Ph.D.

Do early math and language self-assessments predict cognitive functioning later in life?
author: Eliška Bürgelová
advisor: PhDr. Mgr. Jana Votápková, Ph.D.

Beyond Rich and Poor: The Structural Nature of GVA per Capita Convergence Clubs in Central and Eastern European Regions
author: Jiří Duba
advisor: PhDr. Jiří Schwarz, Ph.D.

From Kuna to Euro: Inflation Dynamics in Croatia’s Euro Adoption amid a Surge of Worldwide Inflation
author: Jan Hlaváček
advisor: prof. Ing. Oldřich Dědek, CSc.

The Role of Voice Tone and Facial Expressions in Federal Reserve Communication during FOMC conferences
author: Mykyta Huskov
advisor: prof. PhDr. Tomáš Havránek, Ph.D.

Post-Earnings Announcement Drift on the London Stock Exchange
author: Dominik Švestka
advisor: doc. PhDr. Jiří Kukačka, Ph.D.

Master's theses:

Pricing bitcoin options using advanced learning techniques
author: David Černý
advisor: prof. PhDr. Jozef Baruník, Ph.D.

The Interplay Between Supply Shocks and Inflation Expectations: Bayesian SVAR Evidence from Czechia
author: Natálie Dvořáková
advisor: PhDr. Jaromír Baxa, Ph.D.

Reverse Stress Testing: Practical Implementation in a Czech Commercial Bank
author: Jakub Strašlipka
advisor: Mgr. Magda Rejentová, Ph.D.

Persistence Dynamics and Welfare Costs of Urban Public Transport Delays
author: Barbora Šandová
advisor: Mgr. Luboš Hanus, Ph.D.