‘New era’ announced in post-graduate education in Hungary

Balázs Hankó, the culture and innovation minister, told a press conference on Saturday that post-graduate education in Hungary was on the cusp of a “new era”, adding that more funding would flow towards “the young people creating and shaping the future”.

The government has a vested interest in the success of Hungarian researchers and scientists, and will “create a win-win situation for post-graduate students, researchers and universities, he said. In the new system, post-graduate education will be divided into three levels: researcher excellence, cooperative and traditional post-graduate education, he said.

The government will plough 40 billion forints (EUR 99.3m) into the researcher excellence programme, with 300-350 post-graduate positions, he said. “The best of our students will be able to participate in research here, with a gross minimum income of 600,000 forints,” he said.

The cooperative model will be open for post-graduate students working while completing their studies. These students will receive a net 250,000 forint grant, so that their income will come to a net 400,000 forints minimum, he said. Those finishing their studies earlier than the standard 4 years will be entitled to the grants they would have received during the original time span, he added. This plan, he said, “could impact all 11,000 current post-graduate students.”