The Hungarian Hub, which provides information to Hungarians living in the US and helps strengthen communication between Hungarian communities, aims to strengthen Hungarian-American relations through the Hungarian Summit. The event, held in Daytona Beach, Florida, focused on higher education. Széchenyi István University was represented by a three-member delegation at the invitation of HungarianHub President and Honorary Consul, Piros Pazaurek.

A group of Hungarian Summit participants.

Dr Eszter Lukács, Deputy International Rector of Széchenyi University, participated in the event and presented two panel discussions on the opportunities for US students to continue their studies in Hungary and the internationalisation of Hungarian higher education. Széchenyi István University has valuable experience in this field, as it has developed dynamically in recent years. The number of international students - thanks to a 30 percent increase in the academic year just ended - is already close to 800, coming from 65 countries around the world.

Dr Eszter Lukács, Deputy Rector for International Affairs at Széchenyi István University, participated and presented in two panel discussions.

 "At the conference, it became clear that the most important thing for young people in the US is that a degree obtained in Hungary is automatically valid in the US. This is why we are extremely proud of our joint MBA programme with the University of Rhode Island, which has the highest quality AACSB accreditation and at the end of which students receive diplomas from both institutions," Dr Eszter Lukács stressed, adding that young Westerners in our region are keen on short, one- to four-week programmes. Széchenyi István University is increasingly offering such programmes, for example in the framework of the RUN-EU alliance, which was established jointly with Irish, Portuguese, Austrian, Dutch and Finnish universities.

The other two members of the institution's delegation - Réka Kalamár from the Centre for International Programmes and Tamás Kolossváry, Head of the Zalaegerszeg Innovation and Training Centre - presented the courses offered by the University of Győr on the Hungarian Summit expo day.

"We saw a great interest not only from Hungarians living in the US or Americans with Hungarian roots, but also from other Floridans. We see a strong demand for both full-time and short programmes," emphasized Tamás Kolossváry, adding that the University's stand showcased the institution's strengths in its long-established technical fields, its student competition teams, and its sports and e-sports facilities. The visitors of the expo clearly liked all this, as well as the fact that the presence of Széchenyi University is nowadays not only stronger in Győr, but also in Mosonmagyaróvár, Budapest and Zalaegerszeg.

"Automotive training and research are of particular importance to our institution. In North America, too, the fact that students in Győr have direct access to the ZalaZONE test track, used by the world's largest automotive companies, where they can participate in research in, among other things, self-driving cars and drones, is extremely welcome," added Mr Kolossváry.

Széchenyi István University is also accepting applications from American students for its programmes on admissions.sze.hu until 30 July 2022.

Sharon Crow, Higher Education Advisor of the Hungarian Summit, stressed that the event covered business, economic and cultural topics.

“With a growing Hungarian diaspora, the 2022 Hungarian Summit opened the door to more higher education opportunities for both Hungarians and Floridians in east central Florida. The Summit included business, economic and cultural tracks. Higher education exchanges are lynchpins to successful partnerships for all these sectors.

Education Track II panellists focused on ways to facilitate relationships, including great examples of successful methods as well as highlighting some of the challenges that must be addressed. This panel successfully opened the door to more detailed discussions for expanded future higher education partnerships."

Tamás Kolossváry and Réka Kalamár at Széchenyi István University’s stand.