The University of Szeged leverages artificial intelligence to enhance academic programs and optimize student pathways. Preparing students for a rapidly changing labor market is a core mission of the University of Szeged. With this objective in mind, SZTE equips learners with up-to-date knowledge and practical skills by integrating modern, digitally driven approaches into its educational practices. A cornerstone of this effort is the university’s comprehensive digital transformation project implemented under the RRF-2.1.2-21 initiative, funded by the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). Launched in July 2022, the project is scheduled to conclude in April 2026.
Powered by AI: Personalized student services and renewed academic programs
Since 2022, the University of Szeged has been pursuing a comprehensive digital transformation project aimed at supporting student success through modern, innovative, and data-driven solutions, while also ensuring the continuous monitoring and enhancement of academic programs. Within this framework, particular emphasis is placed on the opportunities offered by artificial intelligence, which is opening up new horizons for achieving these objectives. In operational terms, AI is increasingly becoming a key driver in the analysis and optimization of students’ academic pathways, as well as in curriculum-related planning at SZTE. By anchoring decision-making in real data and measurable outcomes, the introduction of AI-based approaches has already enabled the university to apply such solutions successfully across several areas of education.
Student success in numbers: What the data reveal
The development of a framework for supporting student success at SZTE began with a detailed situational analysis examining student experiences that influence academic progress, trends in key success indicators, and areas where targeted intervention is required. As part of this assessment, cyclical analyses were conducted using datasets from the University of Szeged, the University of Sopron, and the University of Miskolc. The involvement of partner institutions proved highly valuable in several respects. It enabled a more precise understanding of the institutional characteristics shaping student success, while also facilitating active knowledge exchange and the sharing and application of proven good practices.
At the University of Szeged, efforts to strengthen support for student success draw on the expertise of several university units, including the Directorate for Academic Affairs, the Directorate for IT and Services, the University Student Counseling Center, the Career Office, the Student Services Office, and the university’s faculties.
Measuring student success
In measuring outcomes, the initial central focus of the analysis conducted as part of the University of Szeged’s comprehensive project was on establishing a clear definition of student success. Once the relevant parameters had been established, experts examined both short-term outcomes achieved within individual semesters and long-term performance indicators reflecting progress across the entire course of study. Throughout the process, strict data protection standards were upheld, with anonymized student data extracted from Neptun – the university’s integrated academic administration system – serving as the basis of the analysis.
Beyond core demographic, academic, and admissions data, the research also incorporated a wide range of supplementary indicators, including library usage, participation in mobility programs, involvement in specialized student excellence programs, and engagement with e-learning platforms. To ensure robust and reliable results, training and test datasets were systematically compared, allowing the AI models to identify genuine correlations while minimizing statistical bias, a risk inherent even in advanced algorithms. Evaluation using classification matrices further strengthened the reliability and measurability of the findings.
The first cycle of analysis involved the examination of data spanning ten years, providing a comprehensive overview of long-term patterns and the factors influencing students’ academic progress. In the second cycle, the modeling system was fine-tuned using data from 2023–2024. During this phase, the effectiveness of measures already in place was assessed by comparing the results with earlier findings. In the third cycle, the methodological framework was maintained while updated datasets further improved the model’s accuracy, allowing for an even more detailed understanding of the evolution of students’ academic pathways. In addition, predictive models were applied to enable the early identification of factors that may hinder student progress. This allows the University of Szeged to respond proactively through targeted measures tailored to specific student groups.
Based on the academic records of 49,653 students, the analysis shows that the long-term model applied by SZTE yields a classification accuracy of 79.7 per cent in identifying students requiring targeted support. The findings also clearly indicate that performance in the first university semester is a key determinant of long-term academic success. In addition, the results reveal a positive correlation between the completion of online courses and academic achievement, suggesting that engagement with digital learning may serve as a strong indicator of student motivation.
How the data-driven approach is transforming student support
Building on insights generated through AI-supported analysis, the University of Szeged’s Directorate for Academic Affairs launched SZTE’s Student Success Pathway Program in 2025. The initiative brings together a wide range of student services within a single, easy-to-navigate framework, making support easier to find and rely on. These services address physical and mental well-being, academic progress, and preparation for entering the labor market. At the core of the pathway program lies a straightforward principle: timely, well-targeted support can help prevent crisis situations and keep students on track to complete their studies and earn their degrees.
The testing and fine-tuning of the Student Success Pathway Program took place in three phases, each progressively expanding the program’s reach and impact. During the first two phases, targeted email campaigns coordinated through various service units of the University of Szeged engaged students at the Juhász Gyula Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Science and Informatics. Building on the initial results, the third phase marked a significant scale-up: eight faculties joined the initiative, and information on available support services was delivered to more than 4,000 students, substantially broadening access to timely and personalized assistance.
In addition, a series of focus group interviews conducted with student ambassadors of the University of Szeged and with a group of students contacted during the pilot phase helped identify the most pressing support needs and development opportunities. These included clarifying language-exam requirements, strengthening stress-management skills, improving time-management competencies, and increasing access to internship opportunities.
Campus Compass: Helping to navigate the path to student success
To ensure that support reaches students in a timely manner, the Campus Compass website created as part of SZTE’s digital transformation project serves as a central information hub, providing an organized view of university services across six key areas. The platform brings together opportunities related to learning skills development, personal effectiveness, career planning, community-based support, academic counseling, and financial assistance in one easily accessible place. Information on legal aid services is also available through the site. In addition, integrated into the site are a short and a detailed questionnaire developed by the University Student Counseling Center, helping students gain a clearer understanding of their options and identify the forms of support most relevant to their individual situations. At the same time, the website is continuously updated on the basis of focus group research, ensuring that its structure and content remain closely aligned with students’ evolving needs.
Tailoring the university pathway to student needs
By 2026, the goal is to establish a system focused on automated, personalized student communication and support. One of this system’s key advantages is that it makes transparent the steps taken to promote student success and, where appropriate, initiates these actions without the need for direct administrative intervention, while also making the effectiveness of interventions measurable. Because the system incorporates both intervention and feedback points, communication can be managed in a well-structured way while still retaining a personal dimension.
Planned developments include the creation of comprehensive dashboards using Microsoft’s Power BI to analyze student data at the beginning and end of each semester and to support the well-timed implementation of early support measures. In the longer term, further enhancement of the system will involve the introduction of new student service streams, the automation of data loading processes, and the integration of additional communication channels, strengthening the University of Szeged’s ability to provide responsive, data-driven student support.
How AI is contributing to the renewal of academic programs
Beyond reinforcing successful student pathways and developing personalized forms of student support, artificial intelligence has also played an important role in mapping and reviewing academic programs at the University of Szeged in recent years. This new, multidimensional approach to examining the university’s programs goes beyond assessing the fulfillment of learning outcomes and competencies to also measure alignment with labor market trends. As a result, it paves the way for more deliberately designed, flexible programs that are clearer to navigate and more competitive from a global labor market perspective.
How SZTE degrees align with the European labor market
The University of Szeged conducted an additional study as part of its digital transformation project to examine how closely the competencies outlined in course descriptions align with the expectations of the European labor market. This focus is increasingly relevant, as employers are placing growing emphasis on skills-based competencies alongside formal qualifications in their recruitment processes. The findings show that the vast majority of degree programs included in the pilot study effectively deliver the required knowledge, while elements aimed at developing skills and attitudes are appearing with increasing prominence in the university’s teaching practices, further strengthening the labor-market relevance of its programs.
Looking ahead: Continuous development in focus
During the implementation of its digital transformation project, SZTE organized workshops for faculty members teaching in the programs under review, providing a forum to share experiences and to define possible directions for program development. These consultations showed that academic programs could benefit from a more deliberate alignment of attitude- and skills-development methods. They also highlighted the potential of strengthening technological awareness as a further avenue for program enhancement. An additional objective of the Directorate for Academic Affairs is to integrate this multi-faceted approach organically into the university’s program development processes.
Skills Passport: Bridging education and the labor market
SZTE’s comprehensive review of its academic programs highlighted the need for an innovative tool capable of presenting the competencies acquired by students in a structured format suitable for HR processes, thereby supporting both domestic and international employability. Against this backdrop, the Skills Passport initiative emerged as a natural extension of the University of Szeged’s large-scale study launched in 2025 to strengthen the labor-market relevance of its educational portfolio. As part of this broader effort, the aim is to align SZTE’s programs even more closely with current European and national labor market expectations, helping students transition more smoothly into employment. To support this process, approximately 40,000 courses are being mapped using AI-based competency analysis. Looking ahead, the Skills Passport initiative will continue in 2026, further reinforcing the University of Szeged’s commitment to student success and career readiness in an increasingly competitive labor market.
Shaping the future of SZTE as an Intelligent University
Initiatives supported by artificial intelligence point toward a future in which student success at the University of Szeged is no longer a matter of chance, but the result of a deliberate, data-driven, and innovative system. The initiatives linked to the RRF-2.1.2-21 project demonstrate that the university approaches the renewal of education not merely as a process of technological modernization, but as a strategic shift in perspective, one in which artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, and student support systems reinforce one another to achieve shared goals. These goals include ensuring that students receive personalized, holistic, and effective support from the very beginning of their studies, and that they participate in academic programs offering strong entry points into the labor market.
The University of Szeged’s complex yet coherent approach to development positions the institution as one of the most innovative actors in Hungarian higher education. Rather than simply responding to rapidly changing labor market and societal expectations, SZTE is actively defining the future of education by developing solutions that are competitive at the European level. The integration of AI-based research embedded in continuous development processes, the active involvement of both faculty members and students, and broad professional collaborations are collectively shaping a progressive, intelligent university ecosystem – one in which all the necessary tools are in place for students to build their futures with confidence, clarity, and a strong foundation for long-term success.
Original Hungarian article: SZTE Directorate for Academic Affairs
The developments presented in this article are supported by the Complex Digital Model Change – Intelligent Gear Change project (project ID: RRF-2.1.2-21-2022-00012), implemented within the framework of Hungary’s Recovery and Resilience Facility.
