A delegation from the Embassy of Hungary visited Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) to explore partnership opportunities and strengthen academic exchanges between UGM and universities in Hungary. The delegation was led by Ambassador Lilla Karsay, Honorary Consul of Hungary in Yogyakarta, George Iwan Marantika, and Patricia Pankovics, Culture and Education Attache.
UGM secretary, Dr. Andi Sandi Antonius Tabusassa Tonralipu, chaired the meeting and expressed his gratitude to the Embassy of Hungary for its support of UGM.
“We are deeply honored by your presence here. We have invited members from various faculties to coordinate with UGM,” he said in the Rector’s Meeting Room on Wednesday (Nov. 5).
The Hungarian Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia, Timor-Leste, and ASEAN, Lilla Karsay, also expressed her appreciation for the meeting and stated that the Hungarian Government places strong emphasis on higher education. She noted that the existing collaborations, as well as those to come, reflect the government’s long-term investment in the sector.
“This is clearly the case because most of these programs are bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs. Scholarship programs will certainly show results over the next 10 years. You can see that this is something the Hungarian Government strongly focuses on building good relations between universities,” she said.
Ambassador Karsay added that the Indonesian Government’s efforts to send university lecturers to pursue doctoral studies through scholarship programs are equally important.
“This is also one of our priorities. Currently, we provide 110 full scholarships for higher education in Indonesia. This may be good news for you if you have suitable candidates for PhD programs in Hungary; this is a very promising opportunity,” she explained.
Meanwhile, the Honorary Consul of Hungary in Yogyakarta, George Iwan Marantika, highlighted Hungary’s significant contribution to Nobel Prize achievements.
“UGM may take the lead in identifying lessons that can be learned from the Hungarian system,” he noted.
Collaboration between UGM and institutions in Hungary focuses on increasing inbound and outbound student mobility each year. Both parties aim to enhance publication output and academic exchanges.
In this regard, cooperation is also strengthened through the existing memorandum of understanding between UGM and the University of Debrecen, Hungary, specifically with its Faculty of Animal Science.
Author: Alena Damaris
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Rajendra Arya
Photographer: Donnie Trisfian