"I encourage you to study and deepen your relations with the Hungarian professional community, and when returning to your home country, please become ambassadors of Hungary", said Dr. Orsolya Pacsay-Tomassich, state secretary for International Affairs to Stipendium Hungaricum students at the BME opening ceremony of the academic year earlier this September.
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Following this internationalization policy, on behalf of the Hungarian Government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Tempus Public Foundation had organized a welcome celebration event for freshmen of Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship holders and also for Student Excellence Award winners. The Student Excellence Award was established in 2021 for those scholarship holders who have not only excelled in their studies, but also actively participated in their university's community life. The welcome event was held on 26th October 2021 in Radisson Blue Béke Hotel in Budapest. The Student Excellence Award was handed over by Dr. Orsolya Pacsay-Tomassich. „This is the land of Puskás and the land of Béla Bartók, fine wine and good food (...). The Hungarian Government has realized that in a rapidly changing and globalizing world it is essential for a Higher Education Institution to become more international. This is why we've set ourselves the goal of attracting the top foreign students to Hungary", emphasized in her speech the state secretary.
In the academic year of 2021/2022 a record number of almost 50.000 applications were received from all over the world and approximately 12.500 applicants were awarded by Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship and admitted to several Higher Education Institutions of Hungary. Students are also encouraged to get acquainted with the Hungarian cuisine, culture and touristic sights.
Our university was represented by two students at the event, Shady Baraki, a Syrian MA student, who was honored by the Student Excellence Award, studying Archeology at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Angiraa Erdenesanaa from Mongolia, a freshman of the Faculty of Information Technology and Bionics, whose major is Medical Biotechnology. The welcome speech and Student Excellence Award Ceremony was followed by a Hungarian Traditional Folk Music Concert performed by the students of the Hungarian Music Academy. After lunchbreak the students participated in a short guided city walking tour via Szabadság square to Kossuth square to see the Hungarian Parliament, getting a glimpse of Hungarian History in two hours. For instance, they could shake hands with the statue of the 40th president of the US, Ronald Reagan, or pay tribute to the first revolutionary government of Hungary at the Batthyány memorial eternal flame. The Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship holders were amazed by the unique beauty of the Hungarian parliament building.
The welcome event ended with funny project team work about the experience of international students living in Hungary. They shared their most astonishing, amusing and weird experiences about average student life in Hungary. For instance, the Brazilian, Pakistani and Egyptian students were amazed by the cleanness of the streets and the cozy public transport system in Hungary. Apparently they use public transport prior or over rush hours, when public transport system seems a little bit less inconvenient. Finally, we might come to a conclusion that all's a matter of perspective.
Shady Baraki, Archeology student of Pázmány Péter Catholic University, recently honored by the Student Excellence Award, expressed his gratitude to the Hungarian Government and Tempus Public Foundation for the opportunity of being able to study in Hungary with Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship and to all the involved universities for providing state-of-art study opportunity for the young generation of deprived areas like Syria. He added that during the last decade in Syria, the situation became unbearable, especially for the young generation who are about to start their own career, but the world prevented them from doing so. The news about the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship program spread rapidly and widely in Syria as most of the students saw it as a great opportunity to achieve their goals and realize their dreams by completing their studies, widening their skills and getting to know new cultures. Eventually, all of these facts shall improve the educational system in Syria in the future, enabling the young generation to start a new life. For Shady Baraki himself the main goal was to finish his studies in the Archeology field in Hungary and try to return to Syria to rebuild his country. He knows that alone his efforts will not be enough, but if all the Syrian students studying in Hungary combine their forces they will make a difference for their homeland and for the next generation. Hopefully, they will be able to raise their country from its ashes again like the Phoenix. He was especially grateful for his professor and Vice Dean for International Affairs Dr. Balázs Major for all his efforts and care for his foreign students.
