Hungarian Agricultural Research, 1999 (VIII/1-4)
1999-03-01 / 1. szám
MMgMK Periodika 2 Hungarian Agricultural Research 1999/1 rs» News & Events • News & Events • News & Events • News & Events The Budapest University of Economic Sciences Turns fifty The Hungarian University of Economic Sciences was founded as an independent institution in 1948 and given the name “Karl Marx” in 1953. In 1955, the government established the faculty structure, made up of the General Economics Faculty, the Faculty of Industry and the Faculty of Commerce. This structure remained intact for almost three and a half decades. The educational reform process has been ongoing at the university since the 1960’s. The elaboration of a curriculum meeting today’s demands in content, principles and structure of training was decided upon by the University Council in 1985, prior to the general change in the political system, and was put into practice in 1988. In connection to this modernisation of training the faculty structure has been changed since 1989/90. In a horizontal sense, the following faculties have been organised: - Faculty of General Social Sciences (later, Faculty of Social Sciences) - Faculty of Economics (later, Faculty of Economic Sciences) - Faculty of Management (later, Faculty of Business Administration). The Departments belong to the above three faculties. In the vertical hierarchy, the Dean’s Office of Undergraduate Programs was created. The Dean’s Office of Post- Graduate Programs deals with matters concerning doctoral and postgradual training. As a result of the second reform effort, begun in October 1990, the new training system has been focussed in three major directionsas basic, specialised, and doctoral training. Different diplomas are awarded for the different phases of training. In 1990, the institution abandoned the name it possessed since 1953, and changed it to the Budapest University of Economic Sciences. The Budapest University of Economic Sciences is the leading higher-educational institution in Hungary in the field of Economic Social and Managerial Sciences. The institution has proved to be capable of undertaking reforms; it has changed its curriculum radically since the change in political systems, in order to meet strict international demands. To date, the university has established a curriculum close to the credit system, allowing its students the widest range of choice with a national perspective. The international value of training in the university is indicated by the fact that some of the programs that provide students with terminal degrees are conducted in English as well as in Hungarian. Moreover, the choice of subjects involves the French and German languages, too. The university has an independent institute for managerial training and supplementary economics training which, with 52 accredited majors, offer students programs tailored to the needs of the times and flexibly adjustable to needs. Two thirds of the training staff are qualified teachers, who capably represent the institution in leading and membership of professional academic bodies. A majority of the subjects are studied from books and lecture notes written by teachers, and most of these publications are released by the University’s own high quality publisher. The University’s international relations include the great European universities as well as renowned American institutions. Furthermore, there are Japanese and South African universities in the group of institutions the university has bilateral agreements with. The intense nature and quality of international co-operation are well described by the following: - student and teacher exchange programs involve a few hundred persons in each year, - the teachers of the Budapest University of Economic Sciences are welcome as guest professors in various institutions, from the Helsinki School of Business to the University of Southern California, - the University is a member of a number of European networks, among which the Community of European Business Schools (CEMS) is of the highest prestige. The University’s educational and research structure is general, and in some areas outstanding. Its computer network offers every student access to the Internet, its language laboratory is fit to serve the needs of even the most demanding students. The Central Library is a modern institution serving national tasks, has a wide collections range and a great number of volumes. The University’s strategy has outlined a very clear goal: the University wishes to participate in the economic higher education of Europe as an internationally acknowledged institution, carrying out high quality educational programs. Csaba Forgács Vice-Rector