Opening up to the world! – SZE representatives speak at conference on Pannonia Scholarship Programme

Created: 2025.05.06. 12:48

For the first time, a national conference was held under the title „Opening up to the World!” on 29 April in Budapest, focusing on the Pannonia Scholarship Programme, which supports the mobility of students, lecturers and researchers. Dr Eszter Lukács, Vice President for International Affairs and Strategic Relations at Széchenyi István University, delivered the keynote speech, and two young scholars from the University took part in a roundtable discussion.

“This conference was created with the intention of establishing a tradition and marks the beginning of a new era in which internationalisation is no longer merely a response to challenges but a strategic tool for competitiveness,” said Dr Veronika Varga-Bajusz, State Secretary For Higher, Vocational and Adult Education and Youth Affairs, in her opening remarks. She added that the goal is for one Hungarian university to be among the world’s top 100 institutions by 2030, with several others ranking in Europe’s top 100. According to her, the Pannonia Programme has opened new horizons in mobility. “Our scholarship holders have travelled eleven million kilometres so far — the equivalent of circling the globe 271 times. Every student gaining experience abroad, every academic involved in international research, and every institution building new partnerships strengthens Hungary’s future,” she emphasised.

Richárd Bodrogi, Director General of the Tempus Public Foundation, highlighted in his speech that supporting the internationalisation of Hungarian higher education through mobility programmes has always been a fundamental priority for the foundation, thereby contributing to the competitiveness of Hungarian universities. “We believe mobility is not a goal in itself but a means of knowledge enrichment and building the future. It allows our university students, lecturers, and researchers to gain broader perspectives, acquire experience, knowledge and networks globally, and then apply all of this to support Hungary’s development upon their return,” he stated.

Representatives of Széchenyi István University at the event. (Photo: József Bankó)

“The primary goal of the Pannonia Programme is to promote the international mobility of Hungarian students, which broadens young people’s horizons, enhances their experience, and thus increases their employability,” said Dr Eszter Lukács, Vice-President for International Affairs and Strategic Relations at Széchenyi István University and a board member of the Tempus Public Foundation, in her keynote address, during which she presented the current state of international trends in higher education. She explained that 6.9 million students worldwide are currently engaged in international mobility, and this number is expected to rise to 8–9 million by 2030. She added that half of the students opting for mobility choose an English-speaking country, and the other half primarily prefer capital cities. “It is extremely positive that Hungary is among the top twenty destination countries, indicating that Hungarian higher education is attractive to international students,” she pointed out. In her presentation, she highlighted the role of international rankings, including Times Higher Education and Quacquarelli Symonds, in the decision-making process of prospective students. “Roughly 250 million people are studying at around 25,000 higher education institutions globally. This reflects intense competition, where strengthening international visibility is crucial,” she remarked.

Among international trends, she noted that the world’s most successful universities are primarily funded through corporate revenues, enabling them to employ top lecturers and offer scholarships that attract high-quality students. Regarding Széchenyi István University, she emphasised that its structure has been modelled on these leading universities, and over the past six years, it has increased its number of international students eightfold and its English-taught programmes tenfold. The University now appears on eight international higher education rankings. “According to QS, while Hungary ranks 53rd globally in terms of GDP, its higher education system ranks 36th in terms of graduate employment outcomes. The Pannonia Scholarship Programme has significantly contributed to achieving this favourable position,” Dr Lukács underlined.

Dr Eszter Lukács, Vice President for International and Strategic Relations at Széchenyi István University, gave a presentation on international trends in higher education. (Photo: József Bankó)

At the conference, under the title “Open to the World!”, Pannonia ambassadors and students who have participated or are about to participate in excellence-based mobility shared their experiences in a roundtable discussion. Two of them represented Széchenyi István University, sharing their personal insights and expectations with the audience. Master’s student Sára Mudrák had the opportunity to study regional and environmental economics at the prestigious, long-established University of Bologna with an excellence scholarship. “In my case, this meant I received additional support from the University, which ensured my accommodation – a huge help, as finding housing in Bologna is often challenging,” explained the talented student. She shared that it had always been her dream to live in Italy, and she is very grateful for this opportunity.

Péter Németh, a student of Széchenyi University’s Multidisciplinary Doctoral School of Engineering Sciences, is preparing for a short-term research mobility programme at MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one of the world’s top-ranked institutions. “As a PhD student, my aim over the five days is to absorb as much as possible from the local environment. It’s not so much about academic study, but rather about understanding innovation methodologies,” he revealed. He added, that as one of the Hungarian coordinators of the MIT Catalyst Europe programme, his focus is on learning about American research and development models related to health innovation — something that could significantly contribute to his future career success.

Sára Mudrák and Péter Németh, students of Széchenyi István University (second and third from the left), shared their views during the Pannonia Scholarship Programme roundtable discussion, together with Janka Czirják, a final-year medical student at Semmelweis University, and Dániel Vass, studying at Budapest University of Economics and Business (first and second from the right in the photo). (Photo: József Bankó)