Recently, 20 students received the Academic Scholarship and 16 were awarded the Elite Athlete Scholarship by Széchenyi István University. The wide geographical range of recipients — from around ten counties in Hungary as well as from Slovakia, Indonesia and Vietnam — demonstrates the University’s growing national and international appeal. The awards ceremony featured participation from Anita Görbicz, a legend of Győr handball, and Valér Pausits, recipient of the 2024 “Alumnus of the Year” award.

Széchenyi István University places great emphasis not only on delivering high-quality, practice-oriented education and up-to-date knowledge, but also on offering opportunities that support students in pursuing their studies. Among these are various scholarship programmes, including the Academic and Elite Athlete Scholarships, which were ceremoniously awarded in recent days. This semester, 20 students received the former and 16 the latter.

“At today’s ceremony, we are proud to present scholarships to students from across the country—including from Vas, Komárom, Veszprém, Fejér, Pest, Heves, Bács-Kiskun, and Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok counties—as well as from overseas, including Indonesia and Vietnam. This clearly reflects the increasing popularity of our institution both nationally and internationally,” said Dr Zsolt Kovács, Vice President for General and Educational Affairs.

In his speech, he welcomed Valér Pausits, who played a key role in the Academic Scholarship presentations and was named the University’s “Alumnus of the Year” in 2024. “His story is a testament to how a successful career can be built through hard work, learning and by taking full advantage of the University’s opportunities. He earned his mechanical engineering degree here and later completed an executive MBA programme at our Kautz Gyula Faculty of Economics. Today, he leads the successful company Verarbeiten Pausits Ltd., which produces steel products and employs 200 people,” Dr Kovács noted.

In presenting the Elite Athlete Scholarships, the University also welcomed Anita Görbicz, the legendary handball player of Győri ETO, a five-time Champions League winner who has worn the national jersey more than 230 times. The World Championship silver medallist and European Championship bronze medallist was named the best player in the world in 2005. “Her journey proves that with talent, perseverance, sacrifice, and determination, one can become the best in the world in their field,” emphasized the Vice President. In closing, he encouraged students to make the most of the opportunities provided by the University and to build their futures consciously so that one day they too may become role models for others.

“Elite sports require countless sacrifices and compromises, which are not easy to reconcile with academic responsibilities, so the scholarship recipients truly deserve recognition,” said Anita Görbicz, now president of Győri ETO KC. “Throughout my career, I was defined by willpower and perseverance. Looking back, I am proud of my sporting journey—not for the results I achieved, but for everything the sport gave me,” she reflected. As parting advice, she urged the elite athlete scholars to approach their tasks with the same determination and commitment, and not to focus solely on results, but to embrace all that sport offers them.

Anita Görbicz, former handball star and current president of Győri ETO KC, also shared her thoughts with the students. (Photo by Bettina Korinek)

Valér Pausits, a former student of Széchenyi University, welcomed the young scholarship recipients, stating that with the help of their university studies, they would be able to identify the problems that arise in their professional work. “It’s important that you also want to solve these problems and strive to improve things. This mindset helped me too,” he mentioned. He added that it is not necessary to do everything alone — one must know how to work in a team, which is often the key to success. Finally, he advised those present to plan for the long term and consciously build their careers.

Valér Pausits addressed the young people as the winner of the “Alumnus of the Year 2024” award. (Photo by Bettina Korinek)

Students awarded the Széchenyi István University Student Scholarship:

Szilárd Bariska, Zoltán Blahovics, Virág Herold, Márton Horváth, Ilaiha Intan Tawaddada, Emese Kővári, Klaudia Krebsz, Lizett Olívia Lampert, Botond Ákos Mecséri, Berill Muszik-Szakács, Ngoc Quynh Tran Nguyen, Zsófia Papp, Mercédesz Portás, Dorina Brigitta Pup, Bernadett Szabó, Kevin Szabó, Szandra Szabó, Olivér Tóth, Viktória Vass, Petra Zsankó

Recipients of the Széchenyi István University Elite Athlete Scholarship together with the presenters. (Photo: Gergely Nagy)