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Hassan Charaf: How BME Will Become the MIT of Europe
2026. 06. 16.
The rector gave a candid interview on stage at BME Alumnicon. In our video, he also discusses where BME’s additional funding comes from and how much more than before.
“It’s a major challenge to convince the university community that BME needs to move forward and shouldn’t be afraid of anything. Yet the nation’s technical university is so important that it must be able to build its own model. We have spent the past year or two fighting for and implementing this model; now we are working on adapting our internal regulations to the new situation,” said Rector Hassan Charaf at the alumni gathering recently held at BME.
Television journalist Krisztina Bombera interviewed the rector. The conversation touched on when and how he arrived in Hungary, and who played a major role in his decision to stay here after graduation — first as a doctoral student and then as a faculty member.
The conversation begins at the 9-minute mark, following the opening remarks by Gergely Zaránd, Vice Rector for Academic Affairs, and Hassan Charaf.
The main topic, however, was the university’s present and future, including the funding situation following the change of its maintainer, the value of the degree awarded here, the competitiveness of graduates in the job market — as well as the challenges and shortcomings. The rector emphasized that the university has been successful in internationalization — primarily in attracting international students and promoting Erasmus mobility — but acknowledged, for example, that BME does not fare well in terms of the proportion of international faculty, which is a consequence of underfunding in recent years. He identified one of the most serious challenges as how to strengthen and further develop students’ knowledge of mathematics and physics at the beginning of their university studies.
At the same time, he emphasized that he does not doubt for a moment the future success of BME. When asked what will be very different here for students admitted in 2, 3, or 5 years, he replied:
“I’ll be able to say to them: Welcome to the MIT of Europe!”
You can find the photo gallery of the event here.
Rector’s Office, Communications Directorate