Overview on Hungary’s Higher Education
and the International Education
Dr. Zoltán Dubéczi, Secretary General
Hungarian Rectors’ Conference
Explore Hungary

Language: Hungarian

English speaking population

From Budapest you can reach the major
European capitals in max. 3 hours by plane, and
from any Hungarian city, train can reach
Budapest in max. 4 hours; and

Hungary has a rich history dating back to 896.

We have around 700 museums and galleries, 70
theatres and cinemas, over 70 thermal baths,
and thousands of cultural events all year long.

Tolerant and safe communities even in the
capital.

Excellent public transport system day & night
with student discount (metro, train, tram, bus,
public bike-sharing system).

European standard of living at a reasonable
cost for 500-1.000USD/month, depending on
your needs.
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Hungary I.
3
Hungary II.
4
Hungary: Inventions and Prizes I.
IT and communications
 telephone exchange Tivadar Puskás (1877)
 digital computing János von Neumann (1960)
 color TV Peter Károly Goldmark (1940)
 principle behind the first plasma & flat-panel TV Kálmán Tihanyi (1936)
 high level programming language János Kemény, co-inventor (1964)
 Microsoft applications group and Word & Excel Károly Simonyi (1980s)
Physics
 holography Dénes Gábor (1971)
 hydrogen bomb Edward Teller (1950s)
 nuclear chain reaction (co-inventor of the nuclear reactor) Leo Szilárd (1930s)
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Hungary: Inventions and Prizes II.
Everyday items
 Rubik’s Cube Ernő Rubik (1974)
 ballpoint pen László Bíró (1938)
 soda water machine Ányos Jedlik (1826)
 binoculars & opera glasses Joseph Petzval (1840)
 safety match János Irinyi (1836)
 tungsten lamp Sándor Just & Imre Bródy (1904)
Auto and electric
 helicopter Oszkár Asbóth (1928)
 electric locomotives Kálmán Kandó (1894)
 electric motor and carway Ányos Jedlik (1828)
 design of Ford T Model József Galamb (1910s)
 AC watt meter and turbo generator Ottó Bláthy (1880s)
 modern electric transformer Ottó Bláthy, Miksa Déri and Károly Zipernowsky
 carburetor for a stationary engine Donát Bánki and János Csonka (1893)
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Hungary: Recent Innovations

Prezi dam Somlai-Fischer, Peter Halacsy and Peter
Arvai. (2009)

Leonar3do, invented by Daniel Rátai, is a combined
hardware and software platform that can create a 3D
virtual reality environment. (2005)

Áron Losonczi patented LiTraCon a light
transmitting concrete that is a mix of concrete and
optical glass fibres. It is a building material that is
basically as strong as concrete but allows light to
pass through. (2014)

The gömböc is a funny little creation by Gábor
Domokos and Péter Várkonyi. It is a convex three
dimensonal homogeneous body which, when
resting on a flat surface, has just one stable and one
unstable point of equilibrium. (BME, 2007)
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Nobel Prizes related to Hungary

Avram Hershko, (Herskó Ferenc), Chemistry, 2004

Imre Kertész, Literature, 2002
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George Andrew Olah (Oláh György), Chemistry, 1994

John Harsanyi, (Harsányi János), Economics, 1994

Dennis Gabor (Gábor Dénes), Physics, 1971

Eugene Wigner, (Wigner Jenő Pál), Physics, 1963

Georg von Békésy (Békésy György), Physiology or Medicine, 1961

George de Hevesy (Hevesy György), Chemistry, 1943

Albert Szent-Györgyi, Physiology or Medicine, 1937

Richard Adolf Zsigmondy, Chemistry, 1925

Robert Bárány, Medicine, 1914

Philipp Lenard, Physics, 1905
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Hungarian Rectors’ Conference



27 years of operation
All the 67 Hungarian higher education institutions
(universities and colleges included) are members
Primary tasks:
• Representation of higher education institutions
• Protection of their interests
• Maintaining and building new international
collaborations and memberships
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Hungarian Higher Education in a Glance

First Hungarian University – 1367

67 higher education institutions
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~300 000 Hungarian students

Bologna system (BA/BSc, MA/MSc, PhD)

BA/BSc = 3 or 3,5 years

MA/MSc = 2 or 2,5 years

PhD = 3 years

Undivided programs = 5 years (e.g..: Law, Medicine)
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Structure of HRC’s Membership – Number of HEI’s
67 institutions
State institutions
Church and Private institutions
29
38 ( 7 Universities, 31 Colleges)
Church Institutions
Private Institutions
25
13
Universities
Colleges
Universities
Colleges
Universities
Colleges
20
9
5
20
2
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Budapest
Other
Cities
Budapest
Other
Cities
Budapest
Other
Cities
Budapest
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9
2
7
4
1
8
Other
Other
Other
Budapest
Budapest
cities
cities
cities
12
2
0
9
2
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Rankings
Webometrics 2015

Eötvös Loránd University 356.

Budapest University of Technology and Economics 395.

University of Szeged 485.

University of Debrecen 591.

University of Pécs 880.
ARWU

Budapest University of Technology and Economics 404-502 (2014)

University of Szeged 401-500 (2014)

Budapest University of Technology and Economics 151-200 (2014)

University of Szeged 551-600 (2014)

University of Pécs 151-200 (2013)
QS
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Universities and campuses
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The International Profile of
the Hungarian Education I.

30 institutions in 10 big cities with 450 degree
programmes in English language (French, German, Spanish,
Russian and Chinese also available)

Pre-graduate,
specializations

Terminology specific or general language courses parallel or
prior to the academic program

Scholarship possibilities for all the scientific fields

Scholarship possibilities: Pool, Erasmus+, Marie Curie
fellowships, Stipendium Hungaricum
BSc,
MSc,
PhD
programmes
and
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The International Profile of
the Hungarian Education II.
Architecture
Civil
engineering
Electrical
engineering
Mechanical
engineering
Materials
engineering
Transportation
engineering
Chemical
engineering
Environmental
engineering
Production
engineering
Information
technology
Agriculture
Natural
sciences
Medicine,
Pharmacy,
Veterinary
Health
sciences
Creative
industries
Arts
Economics,
Business
Tourism,
management
Social sciences
Humanities
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International relations of HRC
Co-operations and memberships

European University Association, EUA (Belgium, Brussels)
An umbrella organization of European universities and national
rectors' conferences (The Council of the EUA involves the
presidents of all the European rectors conference’s.)

Academic Links and Strategies for the Internationalization of
the HE Sector, ALISIOS

International Association of Universities, IAU (France, Paris)
Organization comprising the worlds’ institutions of higher
education belonging to the UNESCO family.

European Association of Institutions in Higher Education

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development,
OECD

Science without Borders (Brazil)
Horizon2020 (European Union)

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The HRC’s role in internationalization I.

Constant dialogue with international partners

Management of similar scholarship programmes

Unique services – single channel communication with all
Hungarian HEIs, customized platforms (off and online),
centralized progamme management and coordination
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The HRC’s role in internationalization II.

Enhancement of the internationalization strategies of the
institutions
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Recognition of the importance of the incoming and outgoing
student and staff mobility not only on the level of the
international offices, but also by the whole management and
teaching staff of the universities

Presence on international conferences (EAIE, NAFSA, EuroPós,
EHEF, Alisios)

Organization of international conferences, workshops

Strong cooperation with Hungarian institutions enhancing
internationalization: Tempus Public Foundation and the Campus
Hungary program
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The Impact of Internationalization
Relevant increase
of incoming
international
students
Kick- start of ‘stand
by status’ English
language
programmes
Good practiceinstitutional
progress ( services,
infrastructure)
Visibility of
Hungarian HE in
Europe and LatinAmerica
Long term
agreements and
joint projects
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Governmental Background of
Internationalization

Currently 300 000 Hungarian students and around 20 000
international students

By 2020 raise until 40 000

Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship Programme

Funds from European Union and Hungary
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Incoming Foreign Student Statistics
(October 2014)
Country of origin
Number of students
1.
Germany
2893
2.
Slovakia
2120
3.
Romania
1992
4.
Serbia
1917
5.
Brazil
1809
6.
Ukraine
1080
7.
Iran
991
8.
Norway
938
9.
Nigeria
936
10.
Turkey
829
11.
China
725
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Practice oriented training, internship I.
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Practice oriented training, internship II.
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Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship Program

Complex scholarship programme funded by the Hungarian State

Scholarship policy as an asset of ‘Eastern Opening’ and ’Southern Opening’ Policy
of the Government

Launched in 2013, widening network of bilateral agreements, currently: more than
35 agreements in force

2014/2015: 850 incoming scholarships

2015/2016: 2300 scholarships announced in calls for application, more than 3000
applications registered

Education policy aims





Promotion of Hungarian higher education
Extension of current research and scientific networks
Encourage internationalization of institutions
Enhance cultural diversity of students and campuses
Increase demand among self-financing students
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Stipendium Hungaricum
Altogether 947 Accepted Students from Sept 2015
Country
Algeria
Angola
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Bosnia And
Herzegovina
Cambodia
China
Colombia
Ecuador
Egypt
Georgia
India
Japan
Kazakhstan
Korea, Republic Of
Number of Students
30
3
55
3
3
3
159
9
50
3
39
36
84
34
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Country
Number of Students
Iraq
13
Laos
15
Lebanon
9
Macedonian
10
Mexico
1
Moldova, Republic Of
12
Mongolia
84
Morocco
19
Namibia
10
Nigeria
34
Palestinian
39
Tunisia
77
Turkish
49
Turkmenistan
9
Viet Nam
44
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Summary
What Hungary can offer to Taiwan?

Over 300 English language academic programmes in all the scientific fields in
BSc, MSc and PhD level

A wide range of research projects with engaged professors and supervisors

General and terminology specific preparatory language courses both in English
and Hungarian

Developed mentor system and high quality additional services (life
counselling services, insurance issuance, orientation days, international nights,
sightseeing tours, cultural programmes, etc) at the institutions

European standard of living at a reasonable price, safe and tolerant society,
and a vibrant, diverse cultural life in the heart of Europe.
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Thank you for your kind attention!
In case of further questions please contact us via mrk@mrk.hu.
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