Balázs Hankó, the state secretary for higher education at the culture and innovation ministry, has highlighted how the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) international ranking of higher education institutions of 46 European countries includes 15 Hungarian universities among the top 690.
Among the top 300 in the QS-Times Higher Education rankings are Eötvös Loránd University of Science (ELTE), in 208th place, the Budapest University of Technology (BME), in 238th, the University of Szeged in 242nd place, while the University of Debrecen is ranked 258th. The University of Pécs, the István Széchenyi University in Győr and Budapest’s Corvinus University were included in the top 400. Hanko said the mounting competitiveness of Hungarian universities internationally was key to delivering on Hungary’s potential, and he attributed this to the government’s new higher education model. “The new funding model not only bolsters universities’ autonomy but also ensures … funding incentives, enhancing financial the predictability and flexibility that are so important for competitiveness,” he added. Hungarian universities, he said, were proving more and more successful internationally: four years ago there were 7, two years ago 9, and last year 11 Hungarian universities in the top five percent in the world rankings.