Students from all corners of the world have come to the Faculty of Economics either to earn a bachelor’s degree on the two English degree programmes offered by the faculty (the eight-semester International Business Economics and the seven-semester Finance and Accounting programmes) or to complement their studies at various European or other universities with some courses during their exchange semester. 

In the autumn semester of 2024, close to 60 new self-financed and Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship students from around 25 countries (including such distant lands as the US, the Seychelles, Indonesia, Taiwan, Malawi, Liberia, etc.) joined ELTE GTK together with nearly 100 Erasmus and guest students from the EU, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, etc. This latter cohort also includes students whose host ELTE faculty is not the GTK but who have registered for a selection of English-language courses offered by our faculty this semester. 

The four-day enrolment event, organised by the GTK International Office, started with a day of enrolment and administrative tasks on Tuesday. On the next two days, various presentations followed Professor Gábor Zemplén‘s (the faculty’s Vice-Dean for International Affairs) official welcome. The new students were introduced to the Faculty of Economics, the academic details relevant for GTK students (from regulations and registration, through subjects and courses to assessment, and much more) and to the university skills needed to become successful students on an English-language programme. Ice-breaking and team-building games and a quick quiz on Hungary and Hungarian customs allowed the participants to make friends and to learn the basics about their temporary home country in a playful manner. Some of the students also participated in the official Opening Ceremony for International Students and the info market organised by ELTE. On Friday, the emphasis was on the administrative tasks new international students faced upon arrival (e.g., obtaining a residence permit and a student card, opening a bank account, taking care of their health insurance, etc.). These sessions were followed by presentations given by the student organisations (the Student Union and ESN), and our student ambassador. These organisations and the mentors/buddies newcomers can be paired with will be the students’ first contacts, their best source of information, and hopefully, their best friends during their time in Budapest. The four-day event was rounded off by a campus tour organised on and around ELTE’s Astoria Campus to make the new students feel at home in their new environment.

(The slides and the video recordings of the various presentations are accessible to the enrolled students on the Moodle page dedicated to international students.)

GTK’s International Office wishes all new students success in their studies and a wonderful time in the heart of Europe. 

Photos: Bence Végh