The educational landscape is growing competitive with time. Following the evolving educational requirements, several universities are offering distinct curriculums to cater to the latest academic needs of students. Various universities across the world are also providing high-quality education with a student-friendly approach. Moreover, they are fostering cultural heritage values in the curriculums for promoting cultural education within the globalized educational market.
Providing human-focused high-quality education and competitive service, Óbuda University (ÓU) has been a major player in the higher education market. A 140-years old institution, the university has origins in the second oldest university of Hungary that was established in 1410.
Commitment to Higher Education
Presently, Óbuda University is a key player in Hungarian higher education and a leading practice-oriented and the highest-ranked technical HE institution in Hungary. It is committed to teaching in a student-friendly manner and providing opportunities for lifelong studies creating a vibrant community. Its primary emphasis is high-quality educational programs and talent management that are based on strong theoretical fundamentals, practical workshops, own and international academic research results.
The main values of Óbuda University include:
- Theoretically founded, practice-oriented training;
- Modern infrastructure;
- Extensive talent management;
- Cooperation with prominent stakeholders of the economy, industry, and technical science;
- Internationally acknowledged research and development opportunities and facilities; and
- Professional and recognized scholars, helpful staff, and talented students.
An Array of Academic Programs
Óbuda University offers a wide range of academic programs. These include twelve bachelor’s, seven master’s, and three doctoral degree programs. The teaching and research fields at the university include engineering, computer science, business and economics, pedagogy, and physical science. It also offers complete English-language programs on both undergraduate and graduate levels.
Óbuda University constitutes of 7 faculties—each faculty having at least one program in English at bachelor or master level. Altogether, there are 8 BA, 5 full MA (with specializations), and 3 doctoral programs for prospective students in English. Additionally, the university also offers high-level vocational training, distance learning, and professional extension courses that enrich its offerings.
Led by Prodigious Rector
At the core of the university, Prof. Dr. Levente Kovács (Rector of Óbuda University) is entrusted with several important duties and roles of the institution. Prof. Kovács joined the ÓU community in 2012 and worked as Vice-Dean for Education at the John von Neumann Faculty of Informatics between 2013 and 2018. He was promoted as the Vice-Rector for Education in 2018-2019 and has been the Rector of the University since July 2019.
As the Rector of the university, his duty is to link education with scientific and third mission/society dissemination, taking into account the opportunities and revolutionary aspects of the cyber-physical world introduced by Industry 4.0 challenges.
Fostering European Culture and Values
Óbuda University is committed to fostering the idea of sustainable cultural heritage in Europe. As a state member, it participates in major EU projects for education and culture— such as the Erasmus and Erasmus+. The university offers multiple events that allow participants to meet innovative and creative educational solutions serving the transmission of cultural heritage. These include digital skills modules, workshops, study visits, and structured exchange programs.
Additionally, the university is the leading university in a Visegrad Four Countries Research Project that aims to make Central European Universities more visible to international rankings. It believes in a global mindset and encourages students from beyond Europe to apply and pursue their studies at the university.
Prioritizing Internationalization
Óbuda University prioritizes internalization—offering multiple English-language academic programs. The university provides an opportunity to foreign students for part-time study, guest student studies, and preparatory studies. The International Education Office is responsible for organizing international mobility and non-academic activities for international students.
Óbuda University harbors the belief that interaction between students from varied cultural, ethnic, and social backgrounds, and worldviews can help change minds or shape their ideas and build community at the same time.
Active Encouragement of Non-Academic Activities
Óbuda University supports the establishment of research groups that satisfy market needs and lays the foundation of various production processes. The university initiates the establishment of competence centers that intensively cooperate with market players and carry outstanding research, development, and innovation activities.
Óbuda University is an active player in the international scientific community. The university provides outstanding results in various fields, namely—robotics, biomedical engineering, cyber-medical systems, machine intelligence, intelligent systems, and many more. In collaboration with the IEEE Hungary Section, the university organizes numerous IEEE-sponsored international conferences in Europe as well as overseas—providing high-level publication platforms for authors.
Additionally, Óbuda University has a strong applied science and technology focus. Its development strategy hinges on championing industry-business engagement including various science park development projects.
Garnering Career Opportunities
To help Hungarian and international students prepare for their careers in the globalized world, Óbuda University devotes attention to the internationalization of its programs. Its faculties and members have made tremendous efforts to develop, include and enhance international elements into the university’s curriculum. This includes education in the international classroom which is supported by the fact that students of Óbuda University are obliged to take a minimum of two courses taught in a foreign language during their degree program.
The university helps its students develop contacts for information and advice for career planning. It connects them with companies offering internships from dual-program studies to cooperative programs. For strengthening practice-oriented education, the university established its Industry Council in 2020 that intends to expand to its various sites with local industry councils. It aims to initiate the establishment of industrial departments, which will have a strong impact on the number of dual places, the model of vocational training transformation, the creation of knowledge centers, and the increase in the number of industrial R&D jobs.
Swift Steering through Transitions
The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the entire higher education sector around the world. Due to its impact, Óbuda University had to undergo rapid change in the conditions of performing education and research.
However, the university managed to achieve a smooth transition to online teaching with its cutting-edge technologies, infrastructure, and well-established online education solutions. Despite campus closures, all the classes and examinations, including the final examinations, were fully organized online successfully.
Renewal of Educational Policies
An important goal of Óbuda University is the renewal of its educational offer. The university strives to accomplish this by launching, in many cases interdisciplinary programs and specializations aimed at improving Hungary’s competitiveness on the international market in various fields such as cyber security, artificial intelligence, green and sustainable energy, military industry specializations, and others.
In addition to the unified transformation of its BSc and MSc courses in the Industry 4.0 direction, the university intends to implement its ideas by establishing new doctoral schools with both Hungarian and English language programs. The university aims to instigate a development trajectory that continuously increases its scientific performance, which with consistent work can achieve the metrics of the world’s first thousand universities.
Read Full Magazine: The 10 Most Prominent European Universities of 2021
