Money taps to open: Budapest’s BME, one of Europe’s best, becomes a private university
Hungarian oil and gas company MOL signed an agreement on Monday on the purchase of 100pc of the operator of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) from the state for HUF 50bn, payable in annual installments over ten years.
Budapest’s BME became a private university
“The transaction aims to provide a long-term sustainable and competitive organisational and financing structure for Hungarian engineering and IT education and research and development, and to strengthen MOL’s role in the development of the Hungarian innovation ecosystem,” the company said in an announcement posted on the bourse’s website.
“Through the transaction, MOL will build a knowledge base that will facilitate both the expansion of its R+D and innovation activities and their direct integration into its business operation,” it added.
“Cooperation with BME enables us to train engineers with state-of-the-art knowledge and to carry out real industrial research. This step is not only crucial for the future of MOL, but it can also open new perspectives for other industrial players,” said MOL Group CEO Zsolt Hernádi.
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University autonomy maintained
As part of the new maintenance model for the university, the parties established a 25-year framework agreement and a 6-year financing agreement between BME’s operator and the state of Hungary. This will be further strengthened by revenues from industrial cooperation, grants and tuition fees.
Additionally, the state has agreed to a repurchase commitment for the shares of the operator which can be exercised in the event of a deterioration of the regulatory and operational environment. The state and BME will have veto rights over certain issues, in particular the sale of the shares of the operator and the autonomy of the university.
The university will get tremendous money
At the signing ceremony on Monday, Culture and Innovation Minister Balázs Hankó said BME’s financing stood at an annual HUF 21bn at present, but would climb to HUF 30bn in 2025 as a result of the agreement. If the university achieves targets, that amount could reach HUF 60bn, he added.
BME is a regional leader in mobility and automotive research, chemical research and education, engineering and energy research such as hydrogen and nuclear energy, circular economy, recycling, digitalisation and IT research. With more than 20,000 students in its eight faculties, BME is a major player in European research programmes, having so far been awarded 22 Horizon Europe grants.
Orbán cabinet wants BME among the top 100 universities in Europe by 2030
In an interview with public television on Tuesday, Hankó noted that the government had backed an initiative launched by BME’s new rector a year earlier to transform the university into a privately-maintained institution. He added that the new operating model had enjoyed the support of 85pc of the university’s senate in a vote in December.
Hankó said the number of state scholarships for students enrolled in technical, IT and natural sciences subjects could grow by around 20pc, and he augured a 30pc improvement in publication output and international cooperation. The number of patents filed could grow ten-fold, he added.
As BME will operate as a privately-owned university, rather than as a foundation-run school, Brussels has no right to exclude researchers, instructors or students from international cooperation, Hankó said. He added that the school’s new operating structure and leadership were well equipped to put BME among the top 100 universities in Europe by 2030.
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