On 3 February, Boglárka Koller, vice-rector for international affairs of the University of Public Service (UPS), received Jonas D. Stewart, Counselor of the Embassy of the United States of America and member of the Fulbright Commission, at her office.
The purpose of the visit was to explore the academic relations of UPS and to identify points of cooperation. Vice-rector Koller presented the university's structure, the faculties' functioning, the degree programmes which attract international students and the relations of UPS with American universities. Boglárka Koller recalled the Freedom, Subsidiarity and the Spirit of Gift conference co-organised with the University of St Thomas in Minnesota in June 2022, the Ordered Liberty Summer School with the University of Louisville in Kentucky, and the Maxwell School of Syracuse, the world's leading research methodology institute, where one teacher per year can participate in a unique research methodology training course.
In addition to the Fulbright Programme, Boglárka Koller explained that the internationalisation goals of UPS include implementing several Hungarian-American lecturer and student exchange programmes. She also said that UPS is again competing for US quotas in the Erasmus+ credit mobility application and is also seeking to implement internship, scholarship and academic programmes through a Washington-based non-profit organisation, the Hungary Foundation.
Presenting the Hungarian system of colleges, Boglárka Koller said that these institutions are bottom-up organisations focusing on talent management and are run by students. In this context, she mentioned the many specialised colleges at UPS, including the Security Policy College, the Zoltán Magyary College, the Ostrakon and the International and European Specialised Colleges. Regarding the Ludovika Collegium, Boglárka Koller pointed out that any full-time student of a higher education institution in Hungary can apply for UPS's flagship student talent programme.
At the end of the meeting, Counselor Stewart offered his support and assistance in establishing further links with American universities but also mentioned the Ludovika Ambassadors' Forum, which has been part of the international vice-rector's portfolio since 2015 and has become a common meeting point of ambassadors serving in Budapest. In this context, a US Ambassadors' Forum plan has also been mooted.
Text: Annamária Kitta
Photo: Levente Szántó