The Széchenyi István University of Győr, as a result of its development and its participation in the world rankings, was able to take part in the Campus Live Uk&IE event in Liverpool. The programme also included the THE Awards gala, the Oscars for higher education.

Every year, one of the world's most prestigious higher education ranking organisations, Times Higher Education (THE), organises Campus Live UK&IE, a major event for universities in the UK and Ireland. Its aim is to bring together higher education leaders, industry partners and experts to discuss how institutions can innovate to meet the challenges of growing student expectations, rising operating costs and changing funding to serve their staff, students and society.

Only Széchenyi István University in Hungary was invited to the Liverpool event.

A delegation from Széchenyi István University at Campus Live UK&IE.

"It was a great honour to be part of the event, because it was specifically for universities in the UK and Ireland, which are also among the best in the world. The largest UK universities have about five hundred years of history, knowledge, experience and their internationalisation practices are of the highest standard. This is made easier by the fact that half of the six million or so students who are globally mobile - i.e. studying outside their home country - choose to study in an English speaking country, mainly the UK and the US. The event was also an opportunity to develop mutually beneficial partnerships with the universities present to produce academic publications and conduct research in international networks."– said the head of the Széchenyi University delegation, Dr Eszter Lukács, who participated in the event as the Vice President of the institution responsible for International Affairs and Strategic Relations and as the advisor to the Ministry of Culture and Innovation responsible for the internationalisation strategy of Hungary's higher education. She added: the invitation is also a recognition of the development of Széchenyi István University.

The institution is already listed in six world rankings for higher education, in four rankings the unveristy debuted this year. Among others, it is included in THE's world rankings and THE Impact Rankings, a ranking based on its contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Dr Eszter Lukács was one of a handful of international guests who were also able to express her views as part of panel discussions. One of these was on the challenges of internationalisation of universities on the continent and how they compare with those in the UK, and another on the use of artificial intelligence in scientific publications.

"One of the sub-themes was cross-border higher education, with a focus on double-degree courses, online and outsourced training in other countries. The most important of these for us are double-degree courses, five of which we are already offering to students in cooperation with universities in the United States, China, India, Italy and Portugal."– emphasised Dr Eszter Lukács. The Vice President added: "It was a great pride to be part of the THE Awards gala, the Oscars of higher education, where the best UK and Irish universities were honoured in a number of categories and in spectacular surroundings.

A panel discussion with Dr Eszter Lukács, Vice President for International Affairs and Strategic Relations at Széchenyi István University, Helmut Kern, Vice President of the University Council, University of Vienna and Magdalena Merzic, THE Regional Head for the UK and Europe.

The delegation of Széchenyi István University at the THE Awards gala.

Dr Eszter Lukács, Vice President for International Affairs and Strategic Relations at Széchenyi István University, Helmut Kern, Vice President of the University Council of the University of Vienna and Magdalena Merzic, THE Regional Manager UK and Europe at the THE Awards Gala.

The THE Awards gala took place in Liverpool in a spectacular setting.