Countries forming the Visegrad Group (V4) have signed a letter of intent on the mutual and automatic recognition of each other’s higher education degrees.
Addressing a V4 summit organised by the Széchenyi István University in Győr, in north-western Hungary, Innovation and Technology Minister László Palkovics said that although cooperation between Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia on higher education was effective, there was still room for improvement. Hungary has therefore made it a goal to improve relations between the four countries’ universities during its V4 presidency, he added.
Palkovics noted that the Hungarian government in 2014 embarked on a programme to bring universities and colleges closer to market players. Another aim, he said, had been for Hungarian higher education institutions to strengthen cooperation with their international partners. Since then, participation by Hungarian students in Erasmus programmes has increased by 65-70% and international students now make up at least 15% of all students at Hungarian universities and colleges, the minister said. So far 21 Hungarian universities have shifted from being state-run to being operated by an asset management foundation, as modelled after private universities in Finland, Austria and other countries, he said, adding that six universities were still operated by the state.
hungarymatters.hu
