More than 400 foreign participants registered for the Online Open Day of the University of Szeged 2023, organised by the Office for International Admissions and Cooperation on 9 March 2023. The online event highlighted, amongst other things, foreign language study programmes for international students, scholarship opportunities and everyday student life at the University.
The event was attended by high school and undergraduate students from more than 100 countries around the world. Nigerian, Ghanaian, Pakistani, Kenyan, Indian, Iraqi, Iranian, Egyptian, Vietnamese, Nepalese, Russian, German and French students took part in the University of Szeged Online Open Day on 9 March. Most of the young people were interested in medicine and health, economics, humanities and social sciences. Both masters and bachelors courses were popular with the participants, and there were questions about doctoral courses.
The participants were introduced to the University of Szeged in general in the first part of the programme. It was also emphasised that foreign language programmes for international students have been available since 1985. Today, more than 70 full degree programmes are available. Most of them are taught in English, but students can also study in French, German or other languages.
The participants also learned about the unique cooperation between Coursera and the University of Szeged. They were able to see the course materials available on one of the world's leading online learning platforms. In the online space, they were able to ask questions directly to faculty representatives according to their interests. Finally, they met virtually with international students of the University of Szeged who shared their experiences of studying in Szeged.
In addition to questions about student life in general, participants had questions about entry requirements, scholarship opportunities and admission procedures.
Regarding scholarship opportunities, the university representatives emphasised that there are a number of government scholarships available for foreign students on the basis of bilateral state agreements, including the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship, the Christian Youth Programme and the Diaspora Higher Education Scholarship. In addition, the University of Szeged supports successful applicants with its own scholarships. The €500 SZTE Start Scholarship is awarded on the basis of excellence. It was also explained that admission requirements can vary from course to course, but general requirements include proof of language skills, previous educational qualifications and payment of application fees. In response to questions about the admissions process, it was pointed out that the process may include an online interview and, for some courses, written tests to measure applicants' knowledge.
Although the online open day was organised by the Office for International Cooperation and Admissions, SZTE NKI, and moderated by Rita Csúri Magosi, staff and academic staff from the 12 faculties and other offices of the NKI of the University of Szeged also contributed to making the event informative and interesting.
In case any of the prospective students missed the opportunity to attend the event, the next Online Open Day on 3 May 2023 could be another great opportunity to learn more about the University of Szeged.
The event is supported by the RRF-2.1.2-21-2022-00012 Complex Digital Transformation – Intelligent Gear Change project.
The project is part of Hungary's Recovery and Resilience Plan.