“Brilliant Minds Everywhere” – The Academic Year Begins for International Students

“BME has always been a place where knowledge meets innovation. You are now part of a tradition that goes back more than 240 years — a place where curiosity sparks invention, where big ideas come to life in labs and classrooms,” said András Nemeslaki, Vice-Rector for International Affairs, welcoming BME’s international students at the International Opening Ceremony held on Thursday.

Nearly one-third of the 918 new international students attended the English-language event in Building K. Including Erasmus participants, BME hosts over 2,500 international students from 131 countries in the 2025–26 academic year.

“The best part of BME? The people, your classmates, your professors and the my colleagues in the offices who help you. You’ll find classmates who become friends, and friends who become family. You’ll laugh, learn, and sometimes cry together — usually during exam week”, he said. He encouraged new students to join clubs, projects, and teams, develop freindships with Hungarians and “push themout of their comfort zone”.

Mr Nemeslaki added that nobody succeeds alone – group projects are important skill preparations for life and “also a great way to test your patience, and you will learn that communication is key,” he noted. By studying at BME, he said, 

you’re not just earning a degree but launching your future

by gaining skills that open doors across the globe.

András Nemeslaki

He closed his speech by playing on the university’s initials: “The acronym BME has been paraphrased in many ways, but looking around here, I see only one relevant meaning: Brilliant Minds Everywhere!”

The ceremony’s moderator, Eszter Mozsár, the rector’s personal secretary, then invited Péter Ratatics, Executive Vice President for Consumer Services at the MOL Group, to deliver his address as guest of honor.

As Chairman of the Board of BME Maintainer Plc., Mr Ratatics emphasized that BME has been at the heart of Hungarian engineering education for over 200 years. He also noted that this academic year is special in the university’s history: since the transition to a new maintenance model, Hungary’s leading technical university has been operating in a new institutional framework.

He called on students to contribute to making the university even better, sharing his vision that 

by the time this year’s freshmen graduate, BME will have fully renewed itself and taken its place among Europe’s leading universities. 

He noted that the university is becoming increasingly popular among international applicants — this year, the number of candidates for fee-paying programs has doubled compared to last year.

He concluded by reminding students that university life is an excellent opportunity for creating a network, quoting the saying: “To have something you’ve never had, you must do something you’ve never done.”

Péter Ratatics

After the freshmen’s oath-taking, Iqbal Samin Prithul, from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, spoke on behalf of all new students. The Bangladeshi student shared that since high school he had already won a robotics competition and worked for a U.S. robotics company, but felt that BME was the place where he could truly fulfil his dreams, because of the university's “world-class reputation in engineering and technology,” and having learned that many Hungarian companies boasted BME alumni. He added that he had already joined the BME Solar Boat Team and immediately felt at home in the competition team.

“Beyond academics, I hope to gain life lessons and create unique experiences I wouldn’t find anywhere else.  

I believe BME is a place where ideas come to life, where cultures connect, and where the future is built,” 

he said.

Iqbal Samin Prithul

On behalf of the International Mentor Team (IMT), Anna Györgyi welcomed the newcomers, acknowledging that the first semester is always challenging, especially when students miss their families, friends, and home cuisine. Yet, she reassured them that once they overcome this stage, they will soon realize in this environment they can achieve more than ever imagined — and that the IMT members are proud to support them along the way.

Anna Györgyi

The event concluded with the official declaration by András Nemeslaki opening the new academic year, followed by the singing of the Hungarian National Anthem.

Rector's Office, Directorate of Communications