This publication is part of the OECD programme of work on higher education policy and was developed in co-operation with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM), the Hungarian Ministry of Culture and Innovation (KIM) and the Hungarian Accreditation Committee (MAB). It was written by François Staring, Policy Analyst, OECD Higher Education Policy Team, under the supervision of Thomas Weko, Senior Analyst, OECD Higher Education Policy Team. Research support was provided by Róza Györfi, Research Assistant, OECD Higher Education Policy Team. The Authors are grateful for the support and advice provided by Paulo Santiago, Head of Division, OECD Policy Advice and Implementation Division (PAI), and Andreas Schleicher, Director, OECD Directorate for Education and Skills (EDU).
The Authors also wish to thank colleagues across the OECD for their input and advice throughout the project, including Simon Roy, Gillian Golden, Andrea-Rosalinde Hofer and Shizuka Kato (EDU). Guidance for the work was provided by the members of the OECD Group of National Experts on Higher Education (GNE-HE) and the EDU Digitalisation Cluster. Kay Fitzsimmons edited the report; Cassandra Morley, Marika Prince, Anita Buzás and Cécile Bily provided administrative support to the project. Stephen Flynn, Duncan Crawford and Luisa Constanza Bernard assisted with the editorial, production, communication and dissemination process. The OECD team would also like to thank Ágota Kovács, Policy Officer at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM), as well as Dr Balázs Hankó, Dr Laura Sinóros-Szabó and Dr Marianna Bodolai-Marcsek at the Deputy State Secretariat for Higher Education in the Hungarian Ministry of Innovation and Culture (KIM) for their ongoing guidance and support throughout the project. Prof Dr Valéria Csépe, President, Dr Péter Levente Lakatos, Deputy Director, and Dr Ádám Kégler, Secretary-General for International Relations at the Hungarian Accreditation Committee (MAB), also provided important input and support for the development of the report.
The Authors would also like to thank all the national and international experts and practitioners who shared their expertise and experience with both the OECD review team and Hungary, and participated in the various events organised as part of this project. Experts who contributed to the project through interviews with the OECD review team, written contributions supporting the analysis, and presentations at events and conferences organised as part of the project include: Prof Dr Petra Aczél (Full Professor, Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design), Dr Panayiotis Angelides (Professor and Vice Rector for International Affairs, University of Nicosia), Dr Paul Bacsich (DualVersity), Dr Péter Báldy (Deputy Director of Academic Affairs, Eötvös Loránd University), Walter Balfe (Head of Quality Assurance, Quality and Qualifications Ireland), Dr Péter Balkány (Lecturer, Corvinus University), Prof Dr Elek Bartha (Vice Rector for Educational Affairs, University of Debrecen), Prof Dr Mark Brown (Director of the National Institute for Digital Learning (NIDL), Dublin City University), Elena Cirlan (Senior Policy and Project Co-ordinator, European Association of Quality Assurance in Higher Education), Dr Ailsa Crum (Director of Membership, Quality Enhancement and Standards at the UK Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education), Johanna de Groot (Programme Manager, SURF), Dr Helga Dorner (Associate Professor, Eötvös Loránd University), Prof Dr Ida Dringó-Horváth (Associate Professor, Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church), Prof Dr Josep M. Duart (President of EDEN Digital Learning Europe and Full Professor at the Open University of Catalunya), Dr Zoltán Dubéczi (Secretary-General, Hungarian Rectors’ Conference), Diane Freiberger (Managing Director, Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation), Michael Gaebel (Director of Higher Education Policy, European University Association), Prof Dr Christina Hadjisoteriou (Associate Professor, University of Nicosia), Dr Esther Huertas Hidalgo (Head of Quality Assurance Department, AQU Catalunya), Prof Dr László Horváth (Associate Professor, Eötvös Loránd University), Dr Triona Hourigan (Teacher and Assistant Principal at Laurel Hill Secondary School FCJ, Limerick, Ireland), Dr Dirk Ifenthaler (University of Mannheim), Ivana Juraga (Policy Officer, European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture), Dr Kinga Káplár-Kodácsy (Assistant Professor, Eötvös Loránd University), Dr Levente Kiss (Director of the Centre for Educational Development, Semmelweis University), Dr István Vilmos Kovács, (Vice Rector for International Academic Relations, Budapest Metropolitan University of Applied Sciences), Prof Dr Levente Kovács (Rector and Professor, Obuda University OE), Dr Liia Lauri (Assessment Director, Estonian Quality Agency for Higher and Vocational Education), Dr Eszter Lukács (Vice Rector for International Affairs, Széchenyi István University of Győr), Dr Ann Marcus-Quinn (Lecturer in Technical Communication, Limerick University), Dr Gábor Mészáros (Hungarian Ministry of Culture and Innovation), László Murai (President, National Union of Students), Prof Dr László Palkovics (Chair of Board of Trustees, Széchenyi István University), Dr Bethany Simunich (Director of Research and Innovation, Quality Matters), Dr Martin Stabauer (Deputy Head of the Institute for Digital Business, Johannes Kepler University of Linz), Prof Dr Tamás Strerbenz (Rector, Hungarian University of Sports Science), and Dr Renáta Vanó (President, Hungarian Educational Authority).
Finally, the Authors would like to thank all the stakeholders in Hungary who participated in the various stakeholder engagement activities organised as part of the project. These were:
Virtual launch event, organised by the Hungarian Ministry for Culture and Innovation (KIM), in collaboration with the OECD project team to officially launch the project (18 November 2021).
Interviews with key higher education stakeholder organisations, carried out by the OECD project team. The organisations interviewed were: the Hungarian Accreditation Committee (MAB), the Hungarian Ministry for Culture and Innovation (KIM), the Hungarian Rectors’ Conference (MRK), the Educational Authority (OH), the National Doctoral Council, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), the Association of Hungarian PhD and DLA Candidates (DOSZ), Digital Success Nonprofit Ltd., and Tempus Public Foundation (February 2022).
Virtual site visits to six HEIs, involving 107 stakeholders, including higher education leadership, administrators, students and instructors. The six participating HEIs were: Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), the University of Debrecen (DE), Budapest Metropolitan University of Applied Sciences (METU), Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church (KRE), Tomori Pál College (TPF) and the University of Szeged (SE) (March 2022).
Virtual national roundtable, organised by KIM, in collaboration with the OECD project team and MAB, involving 48 stakeholders from 21 different organisations (31 May 2022).
Online international videoconference, organised by the OECD project team, attended by more than 50 participants (14 June 2022).
National roundtable in Budapest (Hungary), organised by KIM, with support from MAB. The roundtable event was hosted by the Hungarian University of Sports Science and brought together 35 stakeholders from 17 different organisations (4 October 2022).
Stakeholder consultation on a draft set of recommendations and policy options prepared by the OECD project team (November 2022).
Final conference in Győr (Hungary), organised by the OECD project team in collaboration with KIM and MAB. The conference was hosted by Széchenyi István University and was attended by stakeholders across the entire Hungarian higher education sector (29 March 2023).
While the report draws on data and analysis from the OECD, data and information provided by Hungarian stakeholders and international experts to the OECD team, as well as a wide range of other published sources, any errors or misinterpretations remain the responsibility of the OECD project team.