education

Szeged University best in Hungary in QS World University Rankings

University of Szeged

Retaining its 551-560th place in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings, Szeged University remains the best in Hungary, the university told MTI on Thursday.

Published on Wednesday, the British QS World University Rankings 2023 listed 2,462 higher education institutions, about 800 more than last year, and ranked 1,422, including 122 new universities surveyed, it said.

Altogether eleven Hungarian universities have been considered, including two for the first time.

Debrecen University was ranked in the 651-700 category, while Eötvös Loránd University was placed between 701 and 750. The 801-1000 category featured Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Széchenyi University of Győr, and Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Budapest Corvinus University, Miskolc University, Pannon University of Veszprém and Óbuda University were placed between 1,001 and 1,200.

Source: MTI

Read alsoHungarian elected President of the UN General Assembly

Orbán cabinet: so far more than 750,000 people have fled Ukraine through Hungary

So far more than 750,000 people have fled Ukraine through Hungary, and those that stay are being helped to find jobs, while children are being placed in schools, government spokeswoman Alexandra Szentkirályi wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.

Szentkirályi said Hungary’s standpoint remained the same:

“This is not our war but since the start of war between Russia and Ukraine, we have been providing every possible help to those who come to us.”

More than 1,600 children from Ukraine are studying in Hungarian schools, and Hungary is providing special language learning opportunities if needed.

She said it was vital that adults are able to find a job, and the government is contributing to the costs of employment, housing and travel.

Employers have so far applied for support worth 600 million forints (EUR 1.54m) in respect of around 900 Ukrainian refugees, and relevant decisions have been made in more than 500 cases, she added.

More than 8,000 Ukrainian citizens have been licensed for employment, with almost 100 involved in public employment, the spokeswoman said.

As we wrote today, Ukrainian refugees continue to arrive in large numbers in Hungary, details HERE.

Hungarian Interchurch Aid
Read also Hungarian Interchurch Aid sends medicine to Ukraine

Teachers’ Day: infinite party promises but salaries are very low

Teacher kids education

The co-ruling Christian Democrats (KDNP) said in a statement on Sunday, Teachers’ Day, that teachers “hold Hungary’s future in their hands” and “we are grateful to all those who educate our youth in kindergartens and schools.”

Families are in the focus of KDNP’s policy, the statement signed by group leader István Simicskó said, adding that “the future of our homeland and our nation rests on the young generation raised by those families”. Teachers have a huge responsibility in “what kind of people our children and grandchildren will grow up to be,” it said.

Parties of the opposition also thanked teachers for their work, but protested low pay in schools and recent restrictions concerning the rights of teachers to strike.

The Democratic Coalition (DK) said in a statement:

“We should not forget how much we owe teachers whose efforts [Prime Minister Viktor] Orbán’s inhumane system

has rewarded with a successive curbing of their rights, humiliatingly low salaries, an incredible workload and degrading Teachers’ Day benefits in the past 12 years”.

The Párbeszéd party demanded an instant pay rise and benefits for teachers. In a statement, the party noted the high rate of teachers quitting their jobs, and insisted it was “the last chance to reverse the drastic deterioration of the quality of public education”. Párbeszéd will appeal to the Constitutional Court against recent legislation seen as “shockingly” curbing teachers’ right to strike, the statement said.

Green LMP said a pay rise to compensate teachers for inflation could no longer be delayed, and insisted that the salaries of young teachers was higher in every other European Union member state except Bulgaria. In their statement, LMP co-leaders Erzsébet Schmuck and Máté Kanász-Nagy demanded a pay hike immediately, as well as the restoration of teachers’ right to strike.

The Socialist Party said it would also appeal to the top court concerning the strike law, and demanded that teachers should get a “radical” increase of at least 50 percent of their salaries, and

each teacher should receive a voucher worth 100,000 forints (EUR 255) as a Teachers’ Day bonus.

Conservative Jobbik MP Koloman Brenner said on Facebook his party was working to ensure that teachers are properly rewarded for their work “morally and financially”.

Semmelweis University
Read alsoHungary is home to almost 35,600 international students

Misuse of arms and ammunition at a Hungarian university

weapon gun

Weapons and ammunition may have been misused at the University of Debrecen. The number of disciplinary offences has increased recently, and some of the cases are considered criminal offences, said Dean Géza Husi.

Criminal offence cases at the University of Debrecen

The President of the Student Council of the Faculty of Engineering, referring to the Dean, wrote that there have been several cases of criminal offences at the institution this year. Máté Bihari, President of the Student Council, informed the students on the Facebook page of the faculty’s Student Council on 2 June that Dean Géza Husi told him about the unfortunate situation.

Recently, the number of disciplinary offences has increased, and some of them are not just misdemeanours but criminal offences.

The letter of the President of the Student Council

“This year, there have already been cases of forgery of official documents, assault on a public official, misuse of ammunition, suspected misuse of a weapon, attempted fraudulent obtaining of an advantage during an examination and obtaining an advantage, presenting false claims as facts and taking advantage of them,”

wrote Máté Bihari, and asked the students to refrain from such actions, as the faculty management investigates all such cases and informs the police about the crimes or apparent incidents, Debreciner.hu writes.

Bihari added that actions which do not constitute a criminal offence but which are in breach of university rules are investigated by the Faculty Disciplinary Committee, which may decide to terminate the student’s academic status.

“I ask all my fellow students to be mindful of the physical and mental safety of their fellow students, and I ask you to respect the rules set by the above-mentioned bodies in order to cooperate peacefully”,

concludes the letter of the President of the Student Council dated 1 June.

The Facebook post was removed

Debreciner.hu contacted the press centre of the University of Debrecen about the letter, but they did not receive a reply. However, shortly afterwards, the letter was removed from the Facebook page of the faculty’s Student Council, so it can only be read in full in the article of Debreciner.hu.

Read alsoShocking: wild boars and piglets shot dead in broad daylight in Buda

Unions slam President Novák for signing law ‘seriously curbing’ teachers’ strike rights

novák

Teacher trade unions PSZ and PDSZ on Tuesday slammed President Katalin Novák for “giving the green light to legislation that severely restricts the rights of teachers to strike.”

PSZ head Zsuzsa Szabó and PDSZ national board head Anna Komjáthy said in their letter that they had been “shocked” to learn that the president signed the bill into law despite an “emphatic request” by the unions to consider alternatives.

They added that they had no other option than to appeal to the Constitutional Court.

The unions may further appeal to the European Court of Human Rights should the Hungarian top court rule against them, they said.

Novák, the union leaders said, had “failed to answer” their letter asking her not to sign the law, and they accused her of signing the law “in haste”.

Parliament passed the contested legislation on May 24.

education school classroom
Read alsoUnions: Hungarian governing party seeks to curb teachers’ right to strike

Teachers’ union to take all legal steps to defend right to strike!

Teachers' protest on Budapest's Kossuth square in front of the parliament

The teachers’ union PDSZ is prepared to take every possible step to enforce the right to strike; if need be, it will turn to the European Court of Human Rights, the union told MTI on Saturday.

The union, which held a congress on May 27 and 28, decided to uphold its strike demands and continue legal procedures to protect the right to strike.

Earlier this week, PDSZ and another teachers’ union, PSZ, called on President Katalin Novák not to sign a recent legislation seen as restricting the strike rights of teachers and to refer the contested law to the Constitutional Court for a review.

Earlier, the strike committee of teachers voiced protest against stipulations under which teachers would be obliged to continue teaching classes during a strike action, and said the new legislation was “discriminative, retaliatory and intimidating”.

Pinter Interior ministrer hungary orbán cabinet
Read alsoCommittee hearing – Pintér: Interior ministry objectives to remain unchanged

Hungary is home to almost 35,600 international students

Semmelweis University

Nearly 35,600 international students studied in Hungary by the last academic, higher education search platform Erudera reports. 

Hungary hosts almost three times more students than it sends abroad. The latest statistics indicate that, recently, Hungary hosted precisely 35,579 foreign students, and it sent up to 13,038 students to pursue higher education abroad – Erudera said. 

From the figures mentioned above, more than 100 different nationalities decide to pursue their higher studies in Hungary. 

This large number of foreign students coming to Hungary for higher education, mainly comes from these countries: 

  • Germany – 3,430 students 

  • China – 2,377 students 

  • Romania – 2,216 students 

  • Iran, Islamic Rep. – 2,216 students 

  • Serbia – 2,169 students 

  • Slovakia – 1,750 students

  • Ukraine – 1,202 students 

  • Turkey – 1,138 students 

  • Nigeria – 970 students 

  • Norway – 906 students 

These foreign students particularly choose these Hungarian Universities: 

  1. University of Debrecen: number of international students – 6,297

  2. University of Pécs: number of international students – 4,156

  1. University of Szeged: number of international students – 4,020

  1. Eötvös Loránd University: number of international students -3,437

  2. Semmelweis University: number of international students – 3,274

“Hungary is becoming an increasingly favored study abroad destination, maintaining great credibility over the years, and has a solid tradition in the sciences, particularly medicine. Farther high-quality education, Hungary also offers a cheerful and welcoming culture, a fascinating history, and beautiful cities.”

Alma Miftari from Erudera said. 

Hungary’s higher education has been ranked 44 out of 148 countries in the Global Report of 2014. Currently, there are 67 higher education institutions in Hungary, public and private. 37 out of 67 of these higher education institutions are located in Budapest offering 428 study programs.

 The University of Szeged is presently Hungary’s highest-ranked university, placed 501-550 in QS World University Rankings and 27th in Emerging Europe and Central Asia.

Another reason that international students so frequent Hungary is that the cost of studying is not expensive compared to other European countries. Tuition fees usually stand on an average of  2,500 to 3,000 euros per year, and the

living costs can be low

especially if you budget your finances. 

ELTE university
Read alsoBudapest’s ELTE climbs over 70 positions on the list of the world’s best universities!

Opposition calls on Orbán cabinet not ‘break down’ teacher protests

The opposition Momentum Movement on Tuesday called on Interior Minister Sándor Pintér to address the “real” problems of Hungary’s public education rather than “focusing on breaking down teachers’ protests”.

After parliament approved a law on transitional provisions in connection with the expiration of the special legal order on May 31, Momentum lawmaker Endre Tóth told a press conference that the regulation “severely curbs” teachers’ right to strike.

Under the new law, teachers’ strikes must not result in lessons falling out in classes standing before school-leaving exams, or in classes with children with special needs.

Otherwise, teachers must hold 50 percent of classes during the strike, and supervision must be provided for the children in the remaining time in their own classrooms.

Tóth said the measure made teachers’ protest “invisible”.

The opposition’s education package proposes a 50 percent wage hike, free choice of textbooks and a review of the school funding system, he said. The opposition will submit parts of that package to parliament, he said.

Unions: Hungarian governing party seeks to curb teachers’ right to strike

education school classroom

Five Hungarian trade union federations have protested against a bill seen as seeking to curb the rights of teachers to strike.

The federations SZEF, ESZT, LIGA, MSZSZ and MOSZ said in a statement that they had been “shocked” to learn that the bill on lifting the state of emergency imposed in response to the pandemic in Hungary would contain passages “significantly” restricting the current rights of teachers.

The unions demand that the government drop the bill, which would eliminate the current practice of employer-employee talks on minimum services during the strike before starting the action, as well as an opportunity for teachers to appeal to a court should those talks prove futile.

Should parliament wish to define minimum services in law, they should be defined on the basis of earlier court rulings, the unions said in their statement.

The proposed restriction would serve “neither employees’ nor employers’ real interests”, the statement said.

As we wrote in April, teachers want higher wages from the new Orbán government, read here.

In the new government structure, the education goes to the interior ministry: Committee hearing – Pintér: Interior ministry objectives to remain unchanged

Committee hearing – Pintér: Interior ministry objectives to remain unchanged

Pinter Interior ministrer hungary orbán cabinet

Sándor Pintér, tapped to continue leading the interior ministry in the fourth consecutive Orbán government, told parliament’s defence and law enforcement committee that the ministry’s objectives would remain the same in the new cycle, with a focus on upgrading the wages of law enforcement professionals “coupled with the country’s economic performance”.

At his hearing as interior minister candidate, Pintér said “there is order in the country”. The crime rate has been falling since 2010, he said, citing registered crimes in public places as an example, which plummeted from 115,000 to 46,000. Those numbers show that the government’s crime policy “is on the right path”, he said.

Citizens’ sense of security is much better now than it was in 2010, and the ministry will work to improve it further, he said.

Regarding wage hikes in law enforcement, Pintér noted “significant one-off support” recently provided for staff. His aim as minister will be to build that support into their regular wages, he said.

Pintér praised prison development, saying that the new prisons opened in the past cycle will have to be developed further to allow space for new inmates. Regarding overcrowding, Pinter said the number of inmates was down at 18,800 from 19,000 “at the peak”.

The ministry will also focus on development in information technology,

Pintér said. Falling behind on technological development would bring lagging public security and order, he said. The war in Ukraine has highlighted the importance of cyber-security. Attacks against public administration have become a part of wars, and so are an important aspect of defence, he said.

Responding to a question, Pintér said that

the removal of the secret services and the Counter-Terrorism Information and Criminal Analysis Centre from the interior ministry’s purview was a “matter of governance and state leadership”.

The change was made to help the government’s work and to ensure faster reactions, he said.

Károly Papp, a state secretary of the former interior ministry, will continue to oversee those authorities, he said.

Pintér said he would nominate Bence Rétvári, currently a state secretary of the human resources ministry, as parliamentary state secretary. Otherwise, he said he planned no shake-up in the top leadership of law enforcement agencies.

The committee supported Pintér’s nomination for minister with 6 votes in favour and two abstentions.

Pintér: Interior ministry overview of education will bring ‘cooperation, continuity’

The interior ministry will ensure “cooperation and continuity” in the education sector after it takes over its overview in the fourth consecutive Orban government, Sándor Pintér, the candidate for interior minister, told parliament’s cultural committee on Wednesday.

Pintér, who has been leading the interior ministry since 2010, said the National Public Education Infrastructure Development Programme would be continued under the interior ministry, and there were no changes planned to the National Curriculum.

The ministry will focus on developing “textbooks and content,” while books will remain free for all pupils, Pinter said.

The aim will be to educate a “youth capable of leading Hungary to become one of the leading nations of the European Union”.

For that, language and digital competencies, as well as talent promotion, will be in the forefront of the sector, he said.

Pintér said school foreign language education had not yet achieved the desired results, adding that the aim would be to continue offering students foreign language courses abroad.

Pinter said schools needed to be given the same quality of equipment, “raising the question whether there is a need for this many schools”, for instance, in the case of classes that do not have many students.

Emphasising the importance of performance and quality assessment along with modernisation, Pintér promised constant evaluation aimed at assessing the progress teachers make with students over a school year.

He said the education sector was set to receive a significant amount of EU funding over the coming period, mainly for infrastructure upgrades.

He also talked about the importance of curbing school violence, saying that more than a hundred schools have signalled their intention to join the school guard system.

Asked about teacher wages, Pintér said it was clear that

wages needed to be increased, adding, at the same time, that the ability to hike wages also depended on the country’s economic situation.

He said he could “make no promises” when it came to wage hikes for teachers, noting that the wages of police officers were not much higher than those of teachers.

The committee supported Pinter’s nomination with 12 votes in favour and 5 against.

LMP demands 10 pc wage hike for public sector employees to compensate for inflation

teacher board frustration

Opposition LMP has called on the government to increase without delay the wages of public sector employees to compensate for inflation.

LMP co-leader Máté Kanász-Nagy told a press conference on Tuesday that a wage increase scheme was needed to close the gap between wages in the public sector and the private sector.

He said that

public sector wages lagged behind considerably, citing social workers and career-starting teachers taking home around 170,000 forints (EUR 460) per month as against 310,000 forints by toolmakers and 270,000 by electricians.

He added that

the value of public sector wages dropped by around 4 percent as a result of inflation this year and the drop is 10 percent based on the increase in food prices.

Inflation boosts government revenues, giving the cabinet enough room for manoeuvre, he said.

As we wrote last week, the green LMP party wants the rapid implementation of strong measures to reduce car traffic in Budapest, and advocates the introduction of a congestion charge as well as a car-free embankment on the Pest side of the city, read more HERE.

5+1 Useful tips to get you started with learning Hungarian!

Magyar Zászló Magyarország Hungarian Flag Hungary

Hungarian is a beautifully complex language. Many foreigners are staggered by this very complexity at first, but do not fret! Continue reading to find out the best way to begin your Hungarian language learning journey!

#1: The Hungarian alphabet

There is no getting around it: without a firm knowledge of the alphabet, you will run into difficulties further on. In addition to studying the alphabet, learn to pronounce each letter as well! This learning hack does not apply only to the Hungarian language. All languages require a firm understanding of basic fundamentals The following video from Hungarian Pronunciation might be handy. 

#2 Learn the number in Hungarian

It is important to know the numbers, even if only at a very basic level, no matter which language you study. Do not worry, compared to many other languages’ complex numerical systems, you will get the hang of the Hungarian way of counting in no time! Here is another video from Hungarian Pronunciation that helps you master this facet of the language.

#3 Understanding agglutination

This is where Hungarian linguistics turns confusing. If you are a beginner, you should not try to grasp all the morphology of the language overnight. The main point is to have an idea of what agglutination is. The Glossary of Linguistic Terms defines it as such: “An agglutinative language is a language in which words are made up of a linear sequence of distinct morphemes and each component of meaning is represented by its morpheme.”

At its core, Hungarian expresses the time, location, relation, and various grammatical functions through gluing together affixes.

While in English you might say “I ate it.” in Hungarian you can express the same with a single word: “Megettem.” 

#4 The word order

One of the most interesting aspects of our language is its sentence structure. Instead of being defined by the subject-verb-object principle, speakers can zero in on the emphasis of the sentence. Even if Hungarian is a more topic-oriented language, that does not mean it can defy linguistic rules. HungarianPod101 published an excellent article on this, delving into the subject more thoroughly.

#5 The most frequently used Hungarian words

Before reaching our last point, here is one that will most certainly improve your knowledge of Hungarian in no time. All languages have a certain list of words that most commonly appear in that given language, Hungarian is the same. Learning some core words can really get you far. Core words refer to the language that we use most frequently in our day-to-day communication.

Thus, by possessing this all-important knowledge, you are guaranteed to improve your learning experience. HungarianPod101 published its core list of 100 words in Hungarian.

#6 Immersion

Last, but not least, is the importance of immersion. Take the term immersion in an all-encompassing sense; be it the linguistics, history, culture, or people of a given language, immersing ourselves in these is one of the best ways to improve our language skills. After you studied some grammar, why not look up key events that influenced the language? While you are at it, exploring the culture and tradition of the people of Hungary can establish a more personal connection with the language. And of course, actively speaking the language, preferably around locals, is key!

We hope that you found this short list inspiring to dig deeper to the riches of the Hungarian language. Happy learning!

Inflation: opp party wants wage compensation, payrise programme in public sector

Hungary-education-school-public-employee

The green LMP party on Sunday called for immediate wage compensation and a mid-term pay rise programme for public sector employees because of inflation.

Máté Kanász-Nagy, the party’s co-leader, told a press conference that average inflation is close to 9 percent according to the latest data published by the Central Statistical Office earlier this week.

Inflation has hit its highest level in the past 20 years,

he said.

This particularly affects public sector employees, who have lower average incomes than those working in the private sector and spend a higher portion of their income on food, he said.

Kanász-Nagy cited the prices of some food products as examples. He said

the price of margarine increased by 38 percent from a year earlier, and the price of bread and poultry rose by almost 30 percent.

He said inflation had a twofold effect, arguing that it hit lower-income earners while the state had more revenue from value added tax, giving the government room for manoeuvre to offset the price increases.

He urged an immediate wage compensation of at least the inflation rate, that is close to 10 percent, for public sector workers, adding that a mid-term pay rise programme should also be launched for them to reduce the income gap with private sector employees.

Hungary debt money economy
Read alsoHungary to be buried in state debt?

Orbán not to have education, healthcare, environment ministries – Gyurcsány’s DK outraged

Viktor Orbán

Gergely Arató, the deputy group leader of the opposition Democratic Coalition (DK), on Friday criticised Viktor Orbán’s incoming cabinet which he said “no longer keeps up appearances by maintaining ministries for education, health care and the environment”.

Arató issued a statement in response to Orban’s press chief announcing the list of ministers after the incoming prime minister concluded talks on forming his next cabinet earlier in the day. Orbán, the leader of the ruling Fidesz party,

won a fourth consecutive term at the parliamentary election held on April 3.

In his statement, Arató said it transpired from the list of names that there would be no ministries assigned to education, health care, welfare and environmental protection, areas he said were deemed “unnecessary” by the new government.

opposition coalition
Read alsoLeftist opposition in crisis after the lost election?

Government: Education in mother tongue must be guaranteed to all Hungarians in Carpathian Basin

Hungarian children school

The government aims to ensure that every Hungarian child in the Carpathian Basin should have access to kindergarten care or school education in the mother tongue, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Satu Mare (Máréfalva) in Transylvania on Friday.

“An important message of the parliamentary election and referendum in April was that our children should be protected from extremist liberal gender propaganda and we should not allow NGOs to confuse their thoughts,” Szijjártó said at the groundbreaking ceremony of a kindergarten.

He said it was “fantastic news” that the community of ethnic Hungarians was constantly growing and they needed a new kindergarten, which, he added, was a testament to the success of the

Hungarian government’s scheme to develop kindergartens throughout the Carpathian Basin.

Szijjártó said good progress was being made but allies were needed for success. The historic churches have been fulfilling this role in Transylvania, with their institutions acting as “pledges to the survival of the nation”.

The government is contributing 220 million forints (EUR 570,000) to the 400 million forint development started in Satu Mare,

he said. The kindergarten will be owned by the local church and run by the local council, he said. Fully eighty children will receive language training and kindergarten care in the mother tongue, he added.

Szijjártó said that in the April general election, a record number of ethnic Hungarians living beyond the borders cast their votes, proving that the mother country could rely on these communities and vice-versa. This confirms the principle that

“every Hungarian is responsible for every other Hungarian,”

he said.

Katalin Szili government commissioner
Read also Hungarian autonomy commissioner to Romanians: “don’t believe your politicians!”

7 Hungarian universities among the best in the world!

Semmelweis University

Seven prestigious Hungarian universities have made it onto the Round University Ranking (RUR) World University Rankings. Semmelweis, ELTE, and many rural institutions are among the best in this new ranking. Read our article below to find out more.

Categories of the RUR system

Eduline reported that 829 of the world’s leading higher education institutions were listed on the RUR World University Rankings. In total, four lists were produced from the 20 indicators the RUR examined. These include the financial sustainability, international diversity, research activities, and the professors and lecturers of each given university. Alongside these four rankings, RUR created a separate, general list. Here, you may find the rankings by indicators.

How well did Hungary do?

On the aggregated list, the top Hungarian university is Semmelweis University, ranking 259th. Following that are the Universities of Debrecen (450th) and Szeged (474th). On this list, representing Hungary, the Central European University (CEU) came in at 396th. Several other esteemed and well-respected institutions made it as well, such as ELTE, as well as the Universities of Pécs and Sopron.

On the list ranking academic excellence, Semmelweis took the 71st spot, but the Universities of Szeged, Pécs, and Sopron all made it into the top 300.

CEU landed in 38th place on the list ranking international diversity, while other Hungarian universities only made it between 300th and 700th places. CEU also did the best in the research rankings, making it to the 375th place. The University of Debrecen scored 575th, above all other Hungarian institutes, regarding financial sustainability.

From the Rector’s Commissioner for Rankings at the Unversity of Debrecen: “Our university is still at the national forefront considering the rankings. Faculty benchmarking could substantially improve the educational potential of the institution. These processes are in development and adaptation right now. With it, we can achieve an upward trajectory in the rankings,” quoted from Debreceni Egyetem Hírek.

Finns and Hungarians to work together on rebuilding Ukrainian schools

Ukraine war bicycle Russia

Hungarian Interchurch Aid and Finn Church Aid have signed a cooperation agreement to work together on rebuilding schools in Ukraine damaged in the war.

Hungarian Interchurch Aid president László Lehel told a press conference on Friday that there were 7.7 million internally displaced people in Ukraine, while 5.7 million people have fled the country.

Over 400,000 internally displaced people are in Transcarpathia.

Hungarian Interchurch Aid is helping 225 institutions, mostly refugee shelters. The organisation is present in nine counties around Ukraine and has helped some 100,000 people, he added. Aid shipments have been sent to areas as far as near Kyiv, often with the help of local organisations, he said.

Finn Church Aid, a Finnish church organisation, has representative offices in 13 countries, with 4,000 workers, he said.

Jouni Hemberg, the executive representative of Finn Church Aid, said before signing the agreement that existing cooperation with the Hungarian aid organisation will be raised to a higher level. Schools must be rebuilt in many locations, and support must be offered to both teachers and students, he added.

Lehel also said that Hungarian Interchurch Aid is opening a third office in Ukraine, in Kyiv.

The signing event was also attended by Anikó Lévai, the wife of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, and a welfare ambassador of Hungarian Interchurch Aid.

Sziget Festival Budapest
Read alsoBudapest’s Sziget Festival to feature both Russian and Ukrainian performers this year!

This Hungarian professor from Transcarpathia gives online classes from the front!

war in ukraine trenches online class university professor

A Transcarpathian-Hungarian professor at the Uzhhorod National University joined the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Unit after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Since then, he has been giving online lessons from the trenches to his students.

Classes from the trenches

In the conflict-affected region of eastern Ukraine, Sándor Fegyir, a professor of Fundamentals of Tourism at the National University of Uzhhorod, gives lectures in the trenches between two garrisons to his students. The video was shared by Viktor Shchadei on his social media page.

“Just as in peacetime, Sándor is doing his job with unstinting energy. He keeps in touch with Transcarpathian volunteers who help the army, or, as he is doing now, he gives lectures to students,”

wrote Shchadei, who has run to be mayor of Uzhhorod several times in recent years and is currently serving with the tourism specialist professor on the frontline in eastern Ukraine, as Kárpátaljai Igaz Szó reported.

Thanking Hungary

Prior to this, he thanked Hungary for its assistance to Ukraine in a video.

“Dear friends from Hungary, I am grateful for the help you are giving to our country in this difficult situation,”

said Sándor Fegyir in his video message in Ukrainian and Hungarian.

Hungarian Mathematician sends a message from the front

Earlier this week, Mathematician Viktor Troski thanked the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Magyar Tudományos Akadémia, MTA) for its award in a video sent from the Eastern Ukraine front.

Speech at MTA

According to Kárpátaljai Igaz Szó, the topic of Viktor Troski’s talk at the External Members’ Forum would have been “Quadratic φ-SubGaussian Random Values and Processes”. The forum was held at the 195th General Assembly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and Troski was awarded the János Arany Young Researcher Prize.

But the Transcarpathian Mathematician was unable to travel to the Budapest event because of the war.

However, he sent a short video in which, with the sound of rockets firing in the background, he briefly described his research and said he hoped to present his findings in person at the Academy after this past period of pandemic and war.

Read alsoThe Hungarian government is in secret talks regarding disengagement from Russia