Ilja Skaunic graduated from the VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, the Faculty of Economics in the field of Macroeconomic Planning (1979). In 1990, he finished the postgradual course in Finance, along with the specialization in banking at the University of Economics in Prague, in 2002 he graduated from the MBA. studies at the Liverpool John Moores University (the MBA. studies were organized in cooperation with VSB-Technical University in Ostrava. At VSB-TUO he defended his dissertation on „Influence of Changes in Business Sector in the Czech Republic to Currency“, and he obtained his Ph.D. (2008).

Since 1980, he has worked in the Banking sector. From 1992 to 1995 he worked as a senior executive in CSOB, plc. in its branch in Ostrava in the area of system of payment; since 1995 he has been employed as a executive director of the Ostrava branch of the Czech National Bank.

He has cooperated with the Department of Finance as an external lecturer. He is an expert in the department in the field of system of payment and settlement and trade operations. He is lecturing in course System of Payments and Settlement.

He is been working as external examinator for Faculty of Business and Law Liverpool John Moores University  since 2008. He was a member of the Academic Council of the Silesian University in Opava. At this moment he is a Chair of  University of Ostrava Administrative Board and a member of  the Academic Council of School of Business Administration in Karvina.

He is a member of the Czech Economic Society.

Professional and research orientation
System of Payments and Settlement, Trade Operations