Széchenyi István University (Győr, Hungary)

(http://uni.sze.hu/, http://info.sze.hu/ - in English)

The University was founded in 1968 as a Polytechnic of Transportation and Telecommunication. Its predecessors were located in Budapest and in Szeged. The various buildings of the new campus in Győr were built between 1971 and 1977. During the 1970s and 1980s the institution strove to satisfy the need for polytechnic-level engineering training raised by the two determinant infrastructural branches, namely transportation and telecommunications. After the 1990 change of political system, the institution, as well as the traditional training areas, allotted its development funds to meet the labour expectations of the prosperous economy of the region and the demands of multinational companies which have been settling in the region. With the Parliament of the Hungarian Republic’s decision of 11^th December 2001 Széchenyi István University was lifted to full university status from 1^st January 2002.

The aim of the University is to provide initial training leading to a BA/BSc and MA/MSc and PhD degree in various fields, to offer post-graduate courses and to carry out research, consultancy and other professional activities. Over the years, the specialist fields covered by the University have been extended considerably. Presently (2008), the following courses are available:

BA	International administration	BSc	Informatics of economics
BA	Public administration management	BSc	Mechanical engineering
BA	Business and management	BSc	Mechatronics engineering
BA	International studies	BSc	Transportation engineering
BA	Trade and marketing	BSc	Engineering management
BSc	Civil engineering	BSc	Vocational technical instructor
BSc	Municipal engineering	BA	Social work
BSc	Architectural engineering	BSc	Health management
BSc	Environmental engineering	BSc	Nursing and medical care
BSc	Electrical engineering	BSc	Music teacher
BSc	Information technology
MSc	Law	MA	Business and management
MSc	Architectural engineering	MSc	Informatics of economics
MSc	Civil engineering	MSc	Municipal engineering
PhD	Business and management	PhD	Civil engineering
PhD	Law	PhD	Transportation engineering
PhD	Information technology

About 7.500 full-time and 2.000 part-time (both distance and e-learning) students were registered at the Institution in 2008. The number of academic staff is about 300, including about 140 professors and associate professors.

Kautz Gyula Faculty of Economics (http://kgk.sze.hu/)

At Széchenyi István University education in economics at bachelor level (BSc) started in 1990 with the Business Management programme. Today the faculty’s educational profile covers all the levels and types of the Bologna-system from bachelor courses through masters and special training courses to PhD programme. In addition to full-time courses, students have had the opportunity to participate in distance learning since 1995, and in e-learning since 2005. The faculty had autumn 2008 1.370 full-time students, 1.202 correspondence students and 322 e-learning students – total 2.894 students - except the Doctoral School.

Presently (2008), the following courses are available:

BSc level

• Business and Management,
• Trade and Marketing,
• Public Administration Management,
• International Studies.

MSc level

• Regional and Environmental Economic Studies,
• Marketing – also in English,
• International Economy and Business Studies.

Each course has several subjects taught in English. The ECTS guide contains the details about the courses – the refreshed version will be available at the website http://ipc.sze.hu in January.

The year 2004 was the start of the Multidisciplinary Doctoral School for Social Sciences with the scope “Economy, Law, Regionalism and Society in the Integrating Europe”. The Doctoral School was transformed on 1^st September 2008 and has been working, with the name Doctoral School of Regional and Economic Sciences so far 106 students attend the PhD programme with their own special research topics and 25 students had already finished their studies. Seven students acquired the PhD degree in the academic year 2007/08. The School has 18 full-time and 73 part-time students.

Great attention is paid to acquiring practical skills and supporting talented students’ development. Since 1997 the most important institution for the students’ self-education has been Kautz Gyula College of Economics. Its members organise various special courses, competitions and conferences. They also write scientific papers and get involved in scientific research. All these activities greatly contribute to the students’ further special training. (Further information www.kautz.hu.)

The faculty has six departments, the structure is the following:

• Department of Economics,
• Department of International Communication,
• Department of International Studies,
• Department of Regional Studies and Public Policy,
• Department of Marketing and Management,
• Centre for Foreign Languages.

The academic staff (69 lecturers) is high-qualified, 52% of the lecturers have scientific degree, and 37% of the staff is professor or associate professor.

Education is based on scientific background with international recognition. In addition to the lecturers of the faculty, work is supported by reputed experts of business life. The title “Visiting professor” offers a series of lectures held by foreign lecturers for credit points. Due to active international relations, the faculty is involved in several long-term research projects, moreover, it has a general cooperation agreements and exchange programmes with numerous countries within and outside Europe.

The training profile is continuously shaped according to the expectations of the labour market. Finding a job for students in the dynamically developing West–Transdanubian region seems to be solved on the long-run. Being one of the centres of nationwide modernisation, Győr provides a favourable and innovative atmosphere for modernising training and satisfying practical needs.

Scientific research at Kautz Gyula Faculty of Economics serves the quality and efficiency of the faculty’s education, as well as, improves its reputation and competitiveness. The faculty is predominantly engaged in research in applied economics. It is involved in intensive cooperation between the multinational companies in Győr and its area and also the national small and medium-sized enterprises. The research findings are made public by the faculty members at scientific conferences, professional meetings, and are published in professional journals and university publications. The faculty also organises the so-called “Business Meeting” programme for its present and potential business partners in order to further the organisation of field placements, common research projects and other contacts.

Department of Economics (http://gtt.sze.hu/)

The department was founded on 1^st September 2006, based on the former Department of General Economics and a part of the Financial and Accounting Department. Teaching activities cover economic and finance subjects (e.g. Micro- and Macroeconomics, Finance, Corporate Finance, Environmental Economics, Risk Management and Insurance, Investment). The department’s research projects: Theory of Economic Thought, Real and Financial Process of Macroeconomics, Public Finance, Investment, Small Business Finance.

(ERENET member: dr. FARKAS, Szilveszter associate professor, farkassz@sze.hu)