On 20 October, the International Centre of the Rector's Cabinet, University of Pécs organized a special event: the Pécs Diplomats' Forum combined with the 10th-anniversary celebration of the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship program.
"The roots of foreign language education at the University of Pécs go back 30 years. At that time, we were the first in Hungary at the University of Medicine in Pécs to launch an English-language program. Thanks to the popularity of the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship program, every faculty of the university has caught up, and I am proud to say that this year we are already welcoming students from 80 countries. Thanks to the presence of five thousand foreigners, the University of Pécs has truly become international!" - said Rector Attila Miseta.
Dr. István Tarrósy, the head of the International Centre of the University of Pécs, reported on the Pécs branch of the Stipendium Hungaricum program. The statistics are impressive: every fourth international student at the University of Pécs is a Stipendium recipient, even though the number of international students has reached five thousand.
South African, Chilean, Colombian, Kazakh and Yemeni students spoke up and thanked one by one for the opportunity that the Stipendium Hungaricum offered them. In addition to the many thanks, three striking themes emerged. The majority of Stipendium students - especially if they had previous experience with other Hungarian higher education institutions - are impressed by the kindness and helpfulness of the citizens of the University of Pécs.
"I study at the Faculty of Music and Visual Arts, but I had the opportunity to get to know the Faculty of Business and Economics through one of my instructors. I feel that the openness I experience here is amazing," said a painting student from Kazakhstan.
The growing number of international students generates the need to be able to articulate the various special needs in a more organized form. The forum revealed that the Filipinos studying in Hungary recently established their first national association, a body specifically representing the needs of international students at the Faculty of Health Sciences in cooperation with the student. Both the leadership of the International Centre and the ambassadors enthusiastically encouraged these initiatives.
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