Welcome ceremony for foreign students
Currently, more than 600 foreign students from 67 countries are studying at Obuda University. For the academic year 2021/2022, 130 new foreign students were admitted. Most of them started their studies with a Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship, but there are also christian scholarship students and students coming within the framework of the Diaspora Program. The number of scholarship holders are on the rise at OU, from 434 last year to 486. In addition, nearly 60 Erasmus mobility students joined the OU student body in the fall semester.
Due to the pandemic, the personal welcome ceremony could not be held last time, so it was a great pleasure for everyone to be able to meet face-to-face on October 8 this year. The new students were greeted by Prof. Dr. Levente Kovács, Rector. Later, Erzsébet Veres, head of the International Education Office, gave a short presentation about the university, followed by a message from former PhD students Dr. Nguyen Huu Phuoc Dai and Dr. Yatish Bathla to the new students. Dr. Awais Quadir and Dr. Haroune Rachid Ben Zine also came in person and spoke about what the years spent here meant to them. Freshmen were asked to aprreciate their teachers’ efforts, learn from them, take advantage of the opportunity the scholarship provides them, and be open-minded. In addition to concentrating on learning, get to know the country and the culture, as after completing their studies, they will become ambassadors not only of their own country, but also of Obuda University.
An informative musical presentation containing historical and intercultural aspects was given to the students to raise their interest in Hungary and Hungarian history. At the end of the event, Erzsébet Veres also asked the students to get to know the country, the culture, the lovely and beautiful small towns, the natural beauties. Get to know our festivities and traditions, attend cultural events and festivals, make friends, take part in events organized by the university and university organizations, and initiate conversations and possibly professional discussions with their Hungarian fellow students. At the same time, she asked them to introduce and represent their countries and cultures as well. Ms. Veres also drew their attention to the fact that with their freshman oath, Obuda University is now also their alma mater, so they should be worthy of it. After the official program, the participants had fun times meeting each other.
We wish our new international students a lot of success and wonderful experiences!
