Hungary is a country with a succesful and a rapidly growing national economy where in the past 50 years spectacular progress has been made in the development from a mainly agricultural, into an industrial society. In addition to traditional farm products, important sectors such as a chemical industrial items (including pharmaceuticals), machine and vehicle production, and electronics and software development are currently major exports. However, it has been recognized that the growing industrial production also represents a hazard to agriculture, particularly in the export of quality products. The large arable territory of Hungary, its fertile soil, favourable climate, a wildlife unique in Europe, and the several centuries-long tradition of agricultural education have all stimulated efforts to preserve the traditional values of Hungarian agriculture and its environment. This was promoted by the gradual introduction of environment-conscious thinking and practice in both the agricultural and industrial sectors. A part of these efforts was the continuous support of basic and higher levels of education on which all the successive Hungarian governments laid special emphasis. As a result, degree programs were introduced in the 1970s in environmental engineering, management and information technology. On the firm foundation of existing educational institutions, some of which date back to the early 18th century, Hungary has gradually developed a system of university programs and/or program courses that enable graduates to acquire the highest standard of knowledge required by experts in the fields of sustainable growth, environmental protection, technical information and wildlife preservation.

In 1994 Hungary became an associate member of the European Union and should be a full member after 2002. This prospect has sped up existing trends. In the framework of general reform in Hungarian higher education, the most traditional agricultural schools in the Budapest area were recently united as Szent István University to increase the efficiency of teaching and to better respond to the challenges of the new century. The University of Veterinary Science Budapest (founded in 1787), the Horticultural University of Budapest (founded in 1853), the Gödöllõ University of Agricultural Sciences (founded in 1920), the Ybl Miklós Polytechnic (founded in 1880), and the Jászberény Teachers' Training School (founded in 1917) are now one institution with more than 23,000 students and 3,000 academic staff. This organization, comprising 10 Faculties with the widest variety of Departments, greatly helps the academic staff to keep pace with the rapid developments in technology and information processing in our times, and has the potential to graduate students trained in knowledge that can be effectively used all over the world.

International programs in English and German in the fields of medicine, veterinary medicine and economics were introduced in Hungary in 1983. Currently, of the 240,000 young people studying at Hungarian institutions of higher education. 4000 are international students. At Szent István University more than 300 international graduate students study veterinary medicine (D.V.M.) or other sciences in which postgraduate courses (M.Sc. and Ph.D.) are offered. Most of these students are either from EU countries or Norway, United States, Canada, and Israel and various other countries. Our initiative to offer graduate degree courses (B.S.) in environmental, economic, information technology, special agricultural and animal sciences, and in architecture, adds to the variety.

The academic staff involved have vast international experience. Many of them have worked at European or overseas universities or as experts and advisors to FAO and WHO in developing countries. Several internationally renowned research scientists who work in the research laboratories of the Departments are also active in teaching.

For those who would like to experience how traditional values can be preserved together with rapid advances in production technologies and information technology, who wish to be present when 20th century agriculture, wildlife management and related environmental policies are modified over to meet the demands of a new era, for those who wish to join the workshops where new strategies are being developed, Hungary is an ideal place to be and Szent István University is an ideal place to study.

Facts about Hungary

Area: 93,000 km2 - Population: 10.374,000 - Capital: Budapest (2,043.000 inhabitants) - Climate: continental (coldest in January, warmest in July with average temperatures of -3C and 23.2C, respectively) - Population density: 111/km2 - Time zone: Central European Time (CET) - Daylight saving time: March-September, +1 hour - Official language: Hungarian - Type of Government: Republic - Administration: 19 counties - Currency: 1 Forint (HUF=Hungarian Forint)