There were many alumni meetings around the world this year which some of our alumni volunteers participated. Here you can read about the collection.
Hungary Alumni Night in Seoul (South Korea)
Hungary Alumni Night was held at the Liszt Institute Seoul on November 24. It was a great platform for Koreans who spent their university years in Hungary to meet and catch up. First, István Medvigy, the director of the Liszt Institute Seoul, and H.E. István Szerdahelyi, Ambassador of Hungary to Korea held a welcoming speech. Then Mr Farag Ibrahim’s story - who is a Libyan Commercial Attaché - shared his memories of his university years in Hungary. The Ambassador handed out prizes to the winners of the ‘Petőfi Sándor Speech Contest’ and it was followed by a Mini Concert by the musicians of the Korean Liszt Society. The participants of alumni connected to Hungary had the chance to network while tasting 5 different Hungarian wines with finger food. Sources: Liszt Intézet - Magyar Kulturális Központ Szöul
First alumni meeting of the Turkish Alumni Hungary
After setting up a proper alumni community and bringing together 40 Turkish alumni currently settled around the world using Facebook. I organized a virtual Zoom meeting for the new members to participate, as it was physically impossible for members to gather. It was our first meeting with the core group, we got to meet people we did not know before, learn what they did in Hungary, and what they have done since then, as well as what they are working on now. I asked the participants to share this information in writing as well, so that we can set a future directory of Turkish alumni from Hungarian institutions about who they are, where they are and what they are doing, which the other alumni group members can access, possibly through Facebook.
Berkay Şenkalfa – alumni volunteer from Turkey
The first Pakistan-Hungary Alumni Network meeting
On September 23 2022, the first Pakistan-Hungary Alumni Network meeting was held in Islamabad. The meeting was organized by the Embassy of Hungary in Islamabad and Pakistan-Hungary Alumni Network. The meeting was attended by around 25 alumni physically while almost twice attended it virtually. The event was graced by the Ambassador of Hungary to Pakistan, H.E. Mr. Béla Fazekas and other colleauges of the embassy. The aim of the event was to strengthen the ties of the alumni and Hungary and to support future Pakistani students through a mentoring system.
The participants shared their experiences and best practices during their stay in Hungary. Moreover, different aspects of academic cooperation were also discussed in the meetup. It was an excellent experience to attend the first of its type meeting, where sweet memories of Hungary were shared among the participants. Furthermore, it was decided to organize such meetings at regular intervals.
Source: Embassy of Hungary in Islamabad and Pakistan-Hungary Alumni Network
Ehtasham Mustafa – alumni volunteer from Pakistan
Alumni meetings in Mongolia
To maintain a connection with fellow graduates in Hungary over the last decade, the Mongolian alumni network established a core group with 8 members living and working in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia in July 2022. Since then, the Mongolian alumni network joined together participating in the “Hungarian Day” event on May 20-21, 2022 by introducing and sharing the opportunities of studying in Hungary with the support of the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship. Four of us, namely Ms. Tsermaa, Ms. Altanshagai, Mr. Lkhagvasuren, and Ms. Purevdulam (me) participated in the event joint together building and maintaining strong community within the Hungaricum alumni in Mongolia.
The second meeting was held on September 9 with over 10 alumni, aiming to form a regular alumnus meeting within and beyond the core group in Mongolia. The career insights and experience sharing by inviting a senior expert were the main reap, staying engaged with the network and getting informed with the knowledge/information to shape current and future insights. This was the great momentum to feel a sense of belonging – the friends and colleagues we met, the relationships we built, and the knowledge we learned from an alumni network were exceptionally important benefits for me as well.
Purevdulam Jamiyansuren – alumni volunteer from Mongolia
Alumni meeting in Vietnam
Between 25 and 31 October, the Study in Hungary team, and the representatives of six Hungarian universities visited Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to strengthen the long-existing relations between Vietnam and Hungary. In both cities, the delegation took part in education - and alumni events to promote Hungarian study opportunities and to further develop connections with Vietnamese alumni who graduated in Hungary recently or long ago.
In Hanoi, Vietnam National University (VNU) VNU hosted a meeting for the Vietnamese alumni where participants could get to know each other, network, and share their memories about the time they studied in Hungary. The meeting was opened by a symphonic concert with Hungarian songs played by Vietnamese music students, which was followed by two presentations by Vietnamese alumni about their Hungarian journey and an introduction to the Alumni Network Hungary. The meeting had around 40 participants, many of them used to study in Hungary during the 70s and 80s and spoke Hungarian fluently. The time spent in Hungary was crucial for all of them, they shared many nice memories.
In Ho Chi Minh City, another alumni meeting took place organised by the Consulate General of Hungary in Ho Chi Minh City, the Ho Chi Minh City Union of Friendship Organizations, and Tempus Public Foundation. Szilvia Szojka, the Consul General of Hungary and dr. Veronika Varga-Bajusz, the director-general of Tempus Public Foundation highlighted their gratitude for the strong and long-existing relationship between Vietnam and Hungary in their welcome speeches. It was a cheerful meeting with many Vietnamese alumni who used to study in Hungary in the previous era. They still keep all those nice memories from Hungary, speak Hungarian and at the peak of the evening, two alumni members even sang well-known Hungarian songs. At the end of the meeting, the members of the Hungarian delegation received the award of honour from the Ho Chi Minh City Union of Friendship Organizations.
More details of the Vietnam mission
Alumni meetings in Sao Paulo (Brasilia)
On 26 October 2022, the Hungarian House hosted a meeting of Brazilian alumni who have studied in Hungary in recent years. Dr. Alinka Lépine-Szily, professor of nuclear physics at the University of São Paulo, member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, gave a lecture, the Pántlika Folk Dance Ensemble performed, and then they treated the participants with goulash and Hungarian wine.
Photos: Dobos Eszter Klára
Sources: The Hungarian House
