The vice-rector for education gives advice on how to gain admission to BME and discusses new programmes and the background of the high quality education offered.

”BME is the flagship of engineering university education. If a secondary school student wishes to pursue university studies in this area of education, BME is the obvious choice. Meanwhile, we offer similarly high quality education in the faculties of economics and natural sciences, which, year by year, are making steady progress in the domestic and international rankings for the sector” stressed Károly Veszprémi, vice-rector for education, to bme.hu, as February 15 2020, the application deadline for higher education is approaching, and reminded us of the prestige of the degrees granted by BME: ”a degree from BME ensures that our graduates will easily and quickly find well-paid jobs and will enjoy long term job security”.

”We are competing for applicants and working very hard to maintain the reputation of our almost 240-year-old university and, since the high quality education provided by our excellent teaching staff is well-known throughout Hungary, we are able to attract talented students,” said the professor emphasising that the special environment of BME allows a technical and practical approach to be incorporated also into the education and research carried out in non-engineering programmes, introducing real problems and challenges to students; ”this will be extremely useful for our final year students when they start work”.

”While students are not required by law to have an intermediate level language certificate, a new, stricter criterion is that they must pass an advanced level final examination in their secondary school,” said the vice-rector for education highlighting one of the important changes in legislation. He said that changes such as this, driving improvements in quality, are highly appreciated. He added that it is particularly positive that in the case of engineering programmes, which dominate BME's training portfolio, students must take the advanced level exam in one of the subjects required for application and included in the calculation of the application scores. He believes that the primary benefit of the new requirement, apart from supporting more efficient selection, is that it shows applicants what they need in order to not only be admitted to but also to avoid failing at the university and dropping out.

BME presented its complete training portfolio to students at the 20th Educatio International Trade Exhibition for Education

With regard to the new or modified components of the programmes, the professor said that due to the change in legislation, the BSc programme in international management at the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences (GTK) would include 8 terms instead of the former 7 and incorporate a new traineeship programme with international elements. Also, the Faculty of Transportation Engineering and Vehicle Engineering (KJK) will launch a Bprof vehicle plant engineer programme for – initially – 30 students from September, in cooperation with the automotive test track in Zalaegerszeg and its corporate partners. ”The training will take place on location, in Zalaegerszeg, and is designed to meet the demand of ZalaZone and related businesses with regard to test engineer training. This allows BME – in line with its mission – to be a centre for and promoter of developments in engineering education and technology while also benefiting businesses which will have instant access to fresh graduates with special expertise and skills. The vice-rector for education stressed that BME already has significant experience in the Bprof training, which is a 6-term programme, tailored to the needs of industry and focusing more on practical than theoretical education. In summary of the experience gained from the two admission processes completed at the plant engineer/computer specialist programme, Károly Veszprémi said: ”the programme is a success, as reflected by the favourable number of students admitted to this special programme of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics since 2018. The introduction of this new level of training has allowed the more effective division of students with higher application scores aspiring to obtain a deeper understanding of their chosen field of study and Bprof students preferring to acquire primarily practical knowledge and skills in a shorter time. Everyone is allowed to study at their level of choice, which also helps reduce the drop-out rate. We usually recommend to students, if they have concerns about our computer engineering programme, which is of higher level and requires higher application scores that they put it in the first place on their application list and include the plant engineer/computer specialist programme as their second preferred choice. If they perform well, they are admitted to the BSc programme, and if not so well, to the Bprof programme. Naturally, if they change their minds while at the university and would like to complete a BSc and then an MSc programme, they can. In any case, the interest in students in the plant engineer/computer specialist programmes who start their last year in collaboration with businesses in September, is already very high. (Editor note: BME VIK recently signed an agreement with the Schönherz School Cooperative on the engagement of corporate partners as traineeship locations, offering the opportunity to students in BProf programmes to acquire professional experience in a direct fashion. This also allows businesses to employ these young people full-time immediately after their graduation. Market players are invited to communicate their intent to cooperate, i.e. their interest in employing BProf students in a plant engineer/computer specialist programme, by January 31 2020 at the latest.)

To promote internationalisation, the GTK has also introduced new elements. From this year, it offers not only basic education in foreign languages but will also launch independent programmes, for Hungarian students too: the MSc programmes in regional and environmental economic studies were announced for applications in English for the first time. The Faculty of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology (VBK) has also introduced an MSC programme for chemical engineers, said Károly Veszprémi.

He then added that ”there were changes in funding as well. In September 2018, the self-financing costs of MSc programmes were raised significantly in natural sciences and to a lesser extent in engineering and informatics training”. The majority of applicants in these areas choose the state funding option. However, students admitted with state funding are more effectively motivated to achieve better results in order to avoid being reclassified into the self-financing scheme. Furthermore, BME adopted and issued new Regulations on Student Fees and Benefits (TJSZ) in 2019 while the Code of Studies and Exams (TVSZ) is regularly updated and revised. The parts relevant to foreign students are now available in English as well. ”Our plans for the near future include the elaboration of a new institution development plan and constant curriculum updates and revisions.”

”We set high requirements for our applicants. Instead of the minimum score of 280 required by law for bachelor programmes, we decided years ago not to go below 330. The eventual minimum score is usually much higher for the majority of the programmes as it is expected to be in 2020 as well,” the professor said. ”The secret of successful admission to BME is dedicated preparation: ideally, students should not only collect points but should also acquire a higher level of knowledge in secondary school, which would ensure that they are admitted to the university of their choice, do not drop out and can progress with their studies as defined in the recommended curriculum,” Károly Veszprémi explained. They are also strongly encouraged to participate in academic competitions because, if they perform well, they will receive significant funding in the form of a scholarship under the New National Excellence Programme's (ÚNKP) ”Tehetséggel fel!” (Talent Empowers) programme, said the vice-rector adding that he believes that the chance to be successful at BME is granted not only to the best performing talents but to hard working committed students as well.

– GI –
Photo: János Philip