University of Szeged

Prizes, scholarships, acknowledged research, at least a dozen high-ranking positions, student-friendly classes, high-quality teaching - these are the characteristics of Prof. Dr. Éva Jakab, a lecturer at the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences of the University of Szeged, who was awarded the Hungarian Order of Merit's Knight's Cross on 20 August. We interviewed her about her profession, challenges, leisure time and also her family.

According to the admission and enrolment statistics for the academic year 2022/23, more than 1000 new foreign students will start their studies at the University of Szeged. Altogether, a total of almost 5000 foreign students study in Szeged from this academic year.

Orientation Days organized by the Directorate for International Affairs and Public Relations of the University to welcome the newly arrived students each year.

Out of the 52 submitted applications, the EUGLOH Alliance is one of the 16 existing partnerships that received the grant.

While for most students it is time for relaxing and having a break as the summer hits but at the University of Szeged, organizers were busy getting ready for welcoming students from all around the world for the first-ever Coursera Summer Camp which was held from the 12th of July until the 15th in Szeged, Hungary.

Thalyta Santos, a student of the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, International Relations program at the University of Szeged, won the EUGLOH's Got Talent, where she represented our institution with her singing.

The technical handover of the University of Szeged’s new Biobank building has been concluded, along with the process of putting the various storage units, service technologies, building surveillance and process control systems in operation. The facility will be prepared to receive the first samples in a matter of a few months.

Every year, the number of international students at the University of Szeged is increasing. During the 2021-2022 academic year nearly 5000 foreign students from 115 countries are pursuing their studies at the University of Szeged. The institution aims to further increase the number of international students in the spirit of multiculturalism.

The University of Szeged has been ranked the best Hungarian university in this year's Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) University world ranking. The result acknowledges the university’s outstanding national and international educational programmes, its research activity and artistic performance. The institution managed to maintain its 551st-560th position among a significantly higher number of nominees.

Katalin Karikó was awarded an honorary doctorate by Yale University at a ceremony held on the 23^rd of May, 2022.

Winners of the CourseRUN –"Be the Champion of Coursera!" competition have been chosen for the second time in the spring semester.

Katalin Karikó, the Hungarian biochemist, whose discoveries paved the way for mRNA-based medical technology, received an honorary doctorate degree from Tel-Aviv University (TAU) on 12 May 2022. The research professor of the University of Szeged gave lectures in Israel on motivating women scientists and protein replacement therapy.

The University of Szeged is participating in the EUGLOH event in Lund, Sweden, from 9 to 12 May 2022. Representatives from the five European university associations share their experience, this time focusing on marketing, communication and possible new joint projects.

The title of International Coordinator of the Year 2022 was also awarded at the 1st Stipendium Hungaricum and Hungarian Diaspora Scholarship Programme Coordinators' Meeting organised by the Tempus Public Foundation in Székesfehérvár. At the prestigious event, Dr. Leona Kovács-Jerney, Head of the International Office for Full time Scholarship Programmes of the Directorate for International Affairs and Public Relations, University of Szeged, was awarded the title of International Coordinator of the year.

The Times Higher Education compiles its annual Impact Rankings based on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations. The University of Szeged ranked highly in the recent list: It ranked first in the overall ranking, tying with two other Hungarian universities. In addition, it has achieved podium position in all categories, and in ten of them it was also ranked first among Hungarian institutions.

We are very pleased to invite you to the third EUGLOH Alliance Day, an international event bringing together all members from the five partner Universities that make up the European University Alliance for Global Health!

The University of Szeged and the French University of Réunion Island have signed a letter of intention on international cooperation in French and Hungarian, covering developments in common fields of education and research that will be of benefit to both parties.

Information on the Conditions of Blood Donation at the National Blood Service Supply of Hungary (OVSZ)

The Presentation Ceremony of the Japan Prize 2020, 2021 and 2022 was held in the presence of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan in Tokyo on 13 April. Prof. Katalin Karikó, Research Professor at the University of Szeged (SZTE) and Drew Weissman, Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, have been awarded the 2022 Japan International Prize for their pioneering research contributing to the development of mRNA vaccines. At the event Dr. Karikó met Mr. Hideya Ishikura, Executive Director of Hungarian Medical Universities Foundation (HMU), a longtime student recruitment partner of the University of Szeged.

The Hungarian Government has made it a priority to support those displaced by the war in Ukraine.

She met her husband at the South Pole, learned Russian in the army and struggled with math until high school. It was precisely because of her difficulties at school that she developed the learning method that is now used all over the world. Barbara Oakley, a lecturer at the University of Szeged, gave an extended interview to the Directorate for International and Public Relations of the University of Szeged.

The University Spring Festival, traditional programme cavalcade of University of Szeged, awaits the university citizens, and residents of the city with hundreds of events for 7 weeks. You can choose from nearly 300 events* from 6 April to 25 May 2022. There are exhibitions, academic and educational lectures, conferences, theatre performances, concerts, and entertainment programmes at 70 venues.

The University of Szeged improves its rankings in the latest QS World University Rankings by Subject. The results put the University of Szeged tying for the first place in Biological Sciences in Hungary. The University also climbs up the international rankings in several areas and has been included in new Subject lists.

The University of Szeged hosts the EUGLOH staff week which includes various workshops regarding mobility and well-being.

The first " IVI – SK bioscience Park MahnHoon Award" will be awarded to Dr. Katalin Karikó, Research Professor at the University of Szeged (SZTE), Dr. Drew Weissman, Professor at UPenn, and Dr. Tore Godal, CEPI Advisor, as it was announced in Seoul on March 24. The US$85,000 award, established last year in the Republic of Korea, recognizes individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the development of vaccines and their delivery to children in low-income countries.

Katalin Karikó, Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci have been awarded the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize for the development of the ’wonder weapon’ messenger RNA therapy and the first vaccine against coronavirus. At the award ceremony on 14 March 2022, the research professor from the University of Szeged (SZTE) was praised by Nobel laureate Sir John E. Walker, followed by a performance of Brahms' Hungarian Dance No. 5 in her honour. The ’Crystal Ball’ appeared next day during the presentation of the four female scientists.

She is involved in research simulating Mars colonization, has tested fighter pilots, speaks 5 languages, and is studying astrophysics alongside health sciences. The sixth-year medical student at the University of Szeged wants to work in aviation- and space medicine, has recently applied to NASA and SpaceX as an intern, and will spend the next month in Los Angeles as a surgical intern thanks to a scholarship.

Difficult or non-healing venous leg ulcers and diabetic leg ulcers can also benefit by a cell therapy procedure that doctors at the Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical Centre of University of Szeged for Department of Dermatology and Allergology are using in a clinical research project. After years of research and development, the therapy will be introduced in Hungary for the very first time through the University of Szeged.

The University of Szeged helps refugees from Ukraine with accommodation, food supply and medical care. If you can, here are some ways to support these efforts.

The scholarship-system, established by the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, has been working continuously for almost 10 years with the goal of talent development.

The University of Szeged, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration signed a Double Degree programme agreement with the University of Warsaw in 2021.

133 foreign students started their studies at the University of Szeged in the second semester of the academic year 2021/22 under the frames of the ERASMUS+ programme. The institution supported their integration with an Orientation Week held between 7 and 9 February.

Similar to each year, our institution, the University of Szeged holds an Online Open Day on the 2nd and the 10th of March.

The Hungarian short track speed skating mixed relay team achieved a historic success at the Beijing Winter Olympics. They were able to stand on the podium in the debut event of the Winter Olympics. Zsófia Kónya, a student of the SZTE, is part of the Hungarian team and gave an exclusive interview to the university's press department after winning the bronze medal.

The UNI 2022 University Ranking was launched at the 22nd EDUCATIO International Education Exhibition in Budapest. By comparing the international rankings of the last three years, the volume aims to provide a credible picture of the Hungarian higher education institutions. The publication takes into account the results of Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) and Times Higher Education (THE). The University of Szeged emerged as the winner in the overall ranking.

Katalin Karikó, Research Professor at the University of Szeged (SZTE) and Drew Weissman, Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, have been awarded the 2022 Japan International Prize for their pioneering research contributing to the development of mRNA vaccines. The award ceremony for outstanding technological achievements will be held in Tokyo in April this year in the presence of the Japanese Imperial couple. Awarded researchers of Japan's most prestigious scientific honour will receive a diploma and a medal.

Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman will jointly receive the 2022 Jessie Stevenson Kovalenko Medal. The U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) thus acknowledges that the revolutionary development of the two scientists has made the delivery of mRNA efficient for vaccines and immunotherapies. Kariko and Weissman will receive the Kovalenko Medal on 1 May 2022.

An agreement of professional cooperation was concluded amongst the University of Szeged, École Polytechnique from Paris and California-based Tri Alpha Energy (TAE) Corporation. The aim of the international project is to develop a laser technology that facilitates the waste management of nuclear plants. The researchers reached a milestone.

At the culmination of a 5-day event on 20 January 2022, the VinFuture Grand Prize with 3 million US dollars was awarded to Katalin Karikó, Professor at the University of Szeged, Drew Weissman, Professor at UPenn and Pieter Rutter Cullis, Professor at UBC. Karikó, research professor from the University of Szeged and her fellow scientists who laid the foundations of mRNA technology with their discoveries, participated in a symposium and educational programs related to the award ceremony.

The University of Szeged started a new website on the 17th of January celebrating the birthday of Katalin Karikó. On this special day, the researcher-professor of the University arrived in Hanoi, where she was celebrated as a guest of the "VinFuture Award Week", and received a birthday cake and a bouquet of flowers.

Laboratories and offices will be located in the Incubator House of the University of Szeged, which was inaugurated on 11 January 2022. Located next to the ELI ALPS Laser Research Centre in the Science Park, the renovated building will be the headquarters of the Hungarian Centre of Excellence for Molecular Medicine (HCEMM).

2022-23 Call for Application