The Hungarian agricultural-related higher education and research are facing a number of challenges at present, their competitiveness lags far behind that of the top European universities, and the offered university programmes do not respond to market needs. Immediate modernization and a paradigm shift are necessary in order to establish a sustainable and modern training system that serves market needs and can effectively support the development of domestic agriculture. The performance of the Hungarian agriculture that has exceptional potential for development can be raised to the corresponding high level by renewing agricultural higher education.

Consequently, an efficient institutional system that avoids duplications will be established. It will ensure that students can acquire world-class, science-based, practical knowledge, committed professors can enjoy a particular reputation, and the institution trains highly qualified professionals to meet the needs of the agricultural economy.

An important reason for the insufficient functioning of current agricultural training is its fragmented infrastructure. Today in Hungary, 11 universities provide agricultural education at 17 different locations. In the neighbouring countries, fewer universities offer more competitive programmes at lower costs. The aim of the current restructuring is to create a more efficient and internationally more competitive education system.

Indeed, there have been several transformations in higher education institutions over the past three decades. At the same time, today's system is still unsustainable, as evidenced by the fact that all the stakeholders including students, teachers and market players are unsatisfied with its functioning. The current transformation has been designed along a well-prepared, unified strategy, based on the best international practices. An efficient institutional system that avoids duplications will be established. It will ensure that students can acquire world-class, science-based, practical knowledge, committed professors can enjoy a particular reputation, and the institution trains highly qualified professionals to meet the needs of the agricultural economy.

The decisions were made on a strict professional basis, taking into account the aspects of the development of the Hungarian agricultural economy and education.

The new higher education concept established an institutional system based on four strong knowledge centres: the University of Debrecen (Northern Great Plain) and the University of Szeged (Southern Great Plain) as multidisciplinary, large universities; the University of Sopron with a focus on forest and game management, nature conservation, and the multi-campus Szent István University (Transdanubia and Central Hungary), which unites the current Szent István University and University of Kaposvár as well as the agricultural faculties and campuses of Pannon University and the Eszterházy Károly University.

The medium-term development plan entitled “Graduation in Higher Education Medium-Term Policy Strategy 2016” adopted by the Government set the goal of creating a more planned and organized higher education system, in which available public resources can be concentrated in internationally competitive areas. The higher education strategy identifies eight such, socially and economically important areas, including the field of agricultural education.

The transformation of agricultural higher education is a multi-stage process. Its preparation started more than a year ago with the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders.

Institutional integration will take effect on 1 August 2020, and from 2021 the university is expected to become a foundation-based university. In parallel, the faculty structure is changing and a new structure based on institutes following the model of Western universities will be introduced. From 2021, a new educational strategy and programme structure will be developed, the impact of which will become visible gradually in the coming years.

During the process, information will be provided on a regular basis.

Institutional integration will take effect on 1 August 2020. After that, the following changes are expected:

   1) The institution will be managed by a foundation from 1 January 2021, and a new structure based on institutes following the model on Western universities will be introduced.

   2) The institutional strategy will be developed, and the directions of development and the necessary investments will be determined from 2021.

   3)  Once the new institutional model is shaped, the development and modernization of programmes will start. The transformation of the programme system is expected in a few years.

Based on the provisions of the Act on National Higher Education, the Károly Róbert Campus of Eszterházy Károly University will be separated from the organization of Eszterházy Károly University, and the Georgikon Faculty will be separated from the Pannon University, and both will be merged into Szent István University on 31 July 2020. Subsequently, on 1 August 2020, the new, integrated Szent István University will be established by integrating the University of Kaposvár and Szent István University. Each institution will bear the name of Szent István University, along with the name of the campus, e.g. Szent István University, Kaposvár Campus.

A complementary, efficient institutional system that avoids duplications will be established. It will ensure that students can acquire world-class, science-based, practical knowledge, committed professors can enjoy a particular reputation, and the institution trains highly qualified professionals to meet the needs of the agricultural economy.

In addition to basic knowledge of agricultural sciences, it is crucial that students acquire sufficient skills in other areas. Today's system does not provide sufficient information technology and economic knowledge. These skills are now indispensable for the graduates to meet market expectations, to be able to integrate effectively into their new jobs and, through this, to increase the efficiency of Hungarian agriculture and to strengthen its role in the national economy.

Our goal is also to make the new university one of the 30 best agricultural universities in the world by 2030.

As of 1 January 2021, the university will become a state-funded and foundation-maintained university. In the following period, the planning and development of the training strategy and the programme structure, which will come into force later, will begin. When the institutions are integrated on 1 August, the number of employees will have to be adjusted to the new, more efficient organizational structure. Our goal is to provide financial appreciation and the opportunity for continuous professional development for the university’s highly professional teachers and staff.

During the transformation, we will create an efficient institutional system, a modern and internationally competitive training program with a strong practical footing, in which educators can live for their profession and enjoy respect. Rethinking R&D solutions, stronger international connections and an attractive teaching career model help our teachers' continuous professional development and advancement. Our goal is to make the new group of institutions one of the 30 best agricultural universities in the world by 2030, which also means higher professional prestige for our instructors.

There is no final set of criteria yet, but we want to develop an internationally accepted method that supports our students to learn the profession from the best possible professionals and that will help St. Stephen University to become one of the best 30 agricultural universities in the world by 2030 for example in terms of agricultural training.

The integration will not affect the quantity of scholarships. It is important to see that once the institutional group is transformed into a state-funded, foundation-maintained university in early 2021, state-funded places will remain the same. This will continue to be the case. The goal is to create a modernized university structure that will stand its ground in the international field and provide its students with competitive knowledge.

The real changes will be experienced by students a few years later. There will be no significant changes in the status and curriculum of the students currently admitted and studying in the institutions in the 2020/21 academic year.

The project and the future management of the institution have begun negotiations with the University Students’ Self-Government (USSG) of the four institutions, which have prepared the election regulations. Based on this, during June-July, integrated institutional and campus-level Students’ Self-Government (SSG) leadership will be elected and members will be delegated to the Senate of the institution about to be established on August 1, 2020. The new SSG statutes will also be prepared in June, which will form the basis for the operation of the future USG.

In the re-application procedure, each institution will announce its programmes independently. The admitted students will start their studies in September within the framework of the integrated St. Stephen University, but on the programme and campus specified in their application.

The number of applicants for agricultural training has been on a declining trend for years. We hope that by renewing and modernizing the education system, we can offer our students an exciting and beautiful profession that means a secure livelihood in the field of agriculture and the food industry. Our goal is to offer an attractive perspective and career path through the renewed agricultural education, thus arousing the interest of the best applicants. There will be no changes in the number of students in the 2020/21 academic year, our long-term goal is to become the largest agricultural-focused educational and development institution system in Europe by keeping the number of students at a stable level. 

The real changes will be experienced by students a few years later. There will be no significant changes in the status and curriculum of the students currently admitted and studying in the institutions in the 2020/21 academic year.

According to current plans, the institutions integrating into the new St. Stephen's University will retain their entire training portfolio after the transformation. Each technical and economic field will also be given more weight in agricultural education in the future, further strengthening the multidisciplinary nature of the university. At the Kaposvár Campus, pedagogical and art training will welcome students with an unchanged training portfolio. A new highlight is the BSc training in electrical engineering starting as an outsourced programme of the University of Óbuda.

According to current plans, the institutions integrating into the new St. Stephen's University will retain their entire training portfolio after the transformation. Each technical and economic field will also be given more weight in agricultural education in the future, further strengthening the multidisciplinary nature of the university. At the Kaposvár Campus, pedagogical and art training will welcome students with an unchanged training portfolio. A new highlight is the BSc training in electrical engineering starting as an outsourced programme of the University of Óbuda.

The real changes will be experienced by students only in a few years. There will be no significant changes to the current and newly admitted students' status or education in the academic year of 2020/2021.

The aim of the present restructuring is to create a sustainable and modern educational system that meets market demand, provides students with internationally acclaimed, scientifically-founded practical knowledge and produces highly-qualified agricultural professionals. During updating and renewing the educational system, the content and structure of the curricula will be changed, education and research will be intertwined, innovation will be encouraged, and a practical training system supported by modern model farms and strengthened business relations will be created. As a result, our students in agriculture and food industry will have well-paid, exciting job prospects.

All the current non-agricultural programmes of the universities and faculties to be merged will be retained. Thus, the economics training of Kaposvár University will continue its work without any changes.

You don't have to request a new student ID for the new institution. If there is no change in your data - name, address, place and mode of training - then your old student ID will stay valid. Mass transportation services will be also informed of this.

Current cooperations with our partners and ongoing projects will be continued without any changes. With significant development, and the renewal of the operation and education system, we would like to create world-class agricultural higher education in Hungary, in which local campuses will play a significant role.

Due to the integration, we will need unified rules and processes, which are being worked out at the moment. The drafts will be finalised after the Preparation Committee approves of them, and are planned to be published at the beginning of August. Until the publication, the current regulations are valid.

We regularly inform you on the universities' websites, through email and Neptun. If you have any questions, please contact us at integracio_info@szie.hu , and we regularly update this FAQ document with the answers.

The essential IT systems will be integrated by August 1, thus the integration of the institution will be supported by unified financial, document handling and HR systems, as well as a unified Neptun system.