On the castle of Smolenice, honorary degree Doctor Honoris Causa is granted to the Dutch politician and economist Jozef Maria Mathias Ritzen

Trnava, 21. October 2014 – During the scientific conference Marketing Identity – Explosion of Innovations, the scientific board of the University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava (UCM) is granting the honorary degree Doctor Honoris Causa to the economist and formal Dutch minister of Education Jozef Marie Mathias Ritzen.

Jozef M. M. Ritzen was born in October 1945 in the city Heerlen in the Netherlands. He achieved his engineering degree in physics at the Technical University of Delft and his doctorate degree at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam in 1970. He won the Winkler Prins-price for his thesis Education, economical growth and unequal incomes. Before his political career, he was a teacher of economics at both Dutch universities and acknowledged universities across the world such as the Berkeley University in California and the University of Wisconsin. He is the author and co-author of many books and articles on education, economics, public finances and the development of the economy.

In 1990 as the Minister of Education, he developed the ov-studentcard – a card that makes travelling by public transport for students free during the week – and later the performance scholarship, a new form of study-financing. During his career in the office he reformed parts of the Dutch educational system: secondary school education system with a great emphasis on the self-education and specialized education of students.

‘’We met Professor Ritzen thanks to the cooperation in the international project on innovations in the educational system at universities. It is an honour for us that this well-known author and philosopher will be awarded the honorary degree by our university. He is a huge inspirer and motivator for us’’ – says Dana Petranova, dean of the Faculty of Mass Media Communication UCM in Trnava.

The international conference Marketing Identity (before 2012 it was called New Trends in Marketing), which is held for the eleventh time at the castle of Smolenice, Slovakia is organised by the Faculty of Mass Media Communication UCM in Trnava. The conference takes place on 4 – 5 November 2014. The goal of the conference is to map the latest knowledge and trends in the field of marketing communication and to create space for the spread of the latest scientific knowledge and practical experiences in the field of marketing, media and communication following the importance of innovations and support of the dialogues between professionals in academia and practice.

The Faculty of Mass Media Communication at The University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava is a modern and dynamic faculty, the alma mater of many successful journalists, media professionals, marketers, anchormen, speakers, employees of advertising, marketing and PR agencies, well-known pedagogues and professionals in practice. The faculty provides university education in programs such as Mass Media Communication, Marketing Communication, Media Relations (taught in English) and Applied Media Studies. Beside the above mentioned the Faculty of Mass Media Communication executes also habilitation and inauguration procedures. The Faculty was established 1 August 1997.

For more information ask:
PaedDr. Eva Habinakova, PhD.
Cabinet of Public Relations
Atelier – creative and event agency FMK UCM in Trnava
Email: press.fmk@ucm.sk

Source: Press Release