The 2024/25 academic year officially began at Széchenyi István University with the opening ceremony on 2 September. At the event, the Student and Athlete Scholarships and the Outstanding Student, Outstanding Athlete Awards were also presented.

In the presence of hundreds of students, lecturers and invited guests, Széchenyi István University opened the new academic year. At the ceremony, held in the Győr City University Hall, in addition to the freshmen who were introduced during Freshers' Week, the scholarship winners of the upper-year students with outstanding academic and athletic performance were also honoured.

Dr Ferenc Friedler, Rector and Vice-President of Scientific Affairs of the University, in his speech asked the young people to take advantage of the unparalleled opportunities and infrastructure offered by our Institution. "Our University sees it as a fundamental mission to provide our students with the knowledge they need to build successful careers and achieve their long-term personal goals," he said. He also stressed that achieving international success is already possible during their studies at the SZE, as the ambitious young people can participate in a number of competitive teams or even projects. "An excellent example of this is our SZEnergy Team of students developing an electric car, which won the continent's most important energy efficiency competition for the third time in a row this year, beating all the participating universities in Europe by a huge margin," he concluded. After the opening remarks, the Rector welcomed the first-year students, who officially became citizens of the University.

For Széchenyi István University, the alumni community is of particular importance: on behalf of the former graduates, Gábriel Gudra, an alumnus of the Technical Management programme and Project Manager for Robert Bosch Ltd. in Hungary, welcomed the audience. "I loved studying here and I love coming back to the University. Looking back over the past few years, I can now say with certainty that it was this Institution and community, my teachers and mentors, and the student team of the Arrabona Racing Team that laid the foundation for my professional and personal development," he stressed. He also said that a few years here is an excellent opportunity for everyone to find the path that is truly their own. "In addition to the quality of education and the excellent infrastructure, the University puts a lot of energy and resources into ensuring that you have the best possible, practice-oriented professional experience through student projects, teams, industry, partnerships and other initiatives," he told the first-year students.

From 1 August, the Győr Dance and Visual Arts Primary School, Vocational Secondary School and Dormitory will continue to operate under the aegis of Széchenyi István University. In celebration of the accession, the school's students enhanced the opening of the academic year with their dance performances. Following the solo "Waves" by ninth-grader Jázmin Imre, the students of the 10th grade - Lisa Horváth, Sarolta Horváth, Zara Kozári, Angelika Kőváry and Nóra Somogyi - performed their called "Five".

The ceremony also included the presentation of the National Higher Education Scholarship to 54 Széchenyi students, the Outstanding Student, Outstanding Athlete Awards and the Student and Athlete Scholarships. An international student of the Infrastructure – Civil Engineering programme, Samuel Alexandro Silitonga, was also awarded during the ceremony. During the opening of the academic year, first-year students were invited to apply for the “Fresher’s Scholarship”, which is open to any young person enrolled in a full-time Bachelor’s, Master's or full-time postgraduate programme who is from one of the beneficiary districts of Hungary under the relevant government decree.

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The University Hall was full for the opening ceremony (Photos: András Adorján)