Experiences of the Hungarian Diaspora Scholarship Programme: Perspectives of Students, Universities and the National Agency (Accepted)

Type of Abstract (select): Paper presentation

Abstract (max. 250 words):
The Hungarian Diaspora Scholarship Programme was established in 2020 by the Hungarian Government for those who live in a Hungarian diaspora and wish to study at a Hungarian higher education institution to develop their personal, professional, and cultural relations to Hungary. The program is supervised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and managed by Tempus Public Foundation. Most of the scholarship holders are from the North American region (the USA as number 1, Canada in the top 3) out of the 121 students enrolled in the Fall Semester of Academic Year 2022/23.

The session focuses on the experiences of the program from three different angles: the students’, the higher education institutions’ and the coordinating national organization’s points of view. The conclusions are drawn based on the annual reports of the participating universities, the findings of the student satisfaction surveys as well as the national program management experiences. The presentation explores a range of topics relevant to higher education professionals such as student services, program development, partner relations, the program-level experiences of the nationwide coordination of the compulsory Hungarian language and culture courses, and the compulsory voluntary work in the diaspora community.

As an introduction to the topic, the presentation aims to provide a general idea about the internationalization process of Hungarian higher education and touches on statistical information and trends about North American students studying in Hungarian higher education, with a special focus on those with Hungarian dual citizenship.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Lilla Lakatos is a higher education professional with 10 years of experience in the field of the internationalization of Hungarian higher education. She joined Tempus Public Foundation 8 years ago and has been coordinating various international scholarship programs for more than 4 years. She has also contributed to projects that aimed to strengthen international cooperation between universities and assist the internationalization process of Hungarian universities. Previously, she was a colleague of the Centre for International Relations of Eszterházy Károly University. As an international relation expert, she holds an MA degree in Global Politics, earned in Sweden.