On 25th November, the Rector of NOVA University Lisbon, Professor João Sàágua, and the Vice-Rector for Education and International Development, Professor João Amaro de Matos, hosted a visit of a delegation from Hungary, led by Professor István Stumpf, Hungarian Government commissioner responsible for the model change at Hungarian universities and President of the Board of Trustees of Tokaj-Hegyalja University.
The delegation had the opportunity to learn from NOVA’s well-succeeded experience in the adoption of the foundation model that was initiated in 2017. This allowed for improved autonomy and agility in responding to the growing challenges that the university faces in its role of creating knowledge and innovation with social and economic impact.
Since 2016, Hungary has been reforming its higher education system, namely with the change of model of its universities to the foundation model, a solution that although moulded for the Hungarian needs integrates best practices from the international arena. Currently, the 21 universities with this status attract 63% of Hungarian higher education students.
Such reality requires a quest for international partnerships. Hence, the meeting also featured the experiences and projects of NOVA both in Portugal and in its internationalization projects, (namely the recent entrance to the EUTOPIA alliance and the launch of a new campus in Cairo), and focused on strengthening bilateral relations between Portugal and Hungary, exploring opportunities for future cooperation.