Hungarian Government to Invest HUF 200 Billion in Development Projects at 20 Universities

The Hungarian government will allocate an amount of HUF 200 billion to 20 universities in the country, which are led by state or government-supported foundations, for the development of infrastructure and science parks.

The Minister of Innovation and Technology, László Palkovics, confirmed the news about the HUF 200 billion investment (€539.0m) in the development of the country’s universities during a press conference in Budapest held on Wednesday.

According to the minister, the funding is part of the first phase of a development scheme totaling HUF 2,700 trillion. He said that projects that are already prepared to receive funding would be supported but added that contracts will be signed later on.

Four medical universities are among the higher education institutions that will receive funding for infrastructure development and the renewal of science parks, as well as the following universities:

• Budapest University of Technology
• Andrássy University
• University of Veterinary Science
• Óbuda University
• Miskolc University
• Hungarian Dance University

Palkovics said that the developments in higher education that Hungary has made over the recent years have put Hungarian universities in the top five percent of the best higher education institutions worldwide.

In February this year, the State secretary for education, Balázs Hankó, said that modernizing Hungarian universities and transforming them into innovation centers is crucial for ranking among the best universities globally.

“Globally, we rank highly in almost every field of training,” Hankó had said, referring to the ranking of Hungarian universities at an international level.

He pointed out that the government will also spend two percent of the GDP this year on developing and maintaining Hungarian higher education institutions in order to make Hungary a leader in the European Union in this regard.

Last month, it was reported that international students who could not continue their studies due to the war in Ukraine might be able to study at Polish and Hungarian universities.  

In a Twitter post, the  Head of Hungary’s Centre for Geopolitics, Attila Demkó, said that Hungarian universities are inviting international students affected by the Russia-Ukraine war to continue their studies in Hungary.  

According to Statista, the data provider, 130,000 BA or BSc students were enrolled in tertiary education in the 2020/21 academic year. Some 9,000 Ph.D. or DLA students studied at Hungarian tertiary education institutions during the same period.

On the other hand, the number of international university students in Hungary increased over the years 2009 to 2020 but dropped in the 2020/21 academic year when 32,000 international students pursued studies in Hungary.