ABSTRACT
Czechoslovakia, like the other Central and East European countries, needed a professional cadre of highly skilled managers who could provide leadership during the period of transition, employ market-oriented techniques in business transactions, and also motivate existing workers. In order to address the needs, the Ministry of Industry of the Czech Republic and the University of Pittsburgh jointly began the Czechoslovak Management Center in 1990. The center's funding came from five main sources—the Czech government, Czechoslovak banks, the US government, foreign private foundations, and foreign governments. Czechoslovakia's history of higher education parallels much of the country's economic and political history. Czechoslovakia had somewhat low participation rates in universities compared to its European neighbors. The origins of the Czech Technical University, also known as the Czech Institute of Technology, can be traced back to the sixteenth century, when it was established as a school for the technical education of noblemen.
