ELTE Explores New Cooperation Opportunities with the State of Paraná, Brazil

The Brazilian delegation was led by Prof. Aldo Nelson Bona PhD., State Secretary for Science, Technology and Higher Education of Paraná, and included Mr Paulo Schmidt, Advisor for International Affairs and Honorary Consul of Brazil in Hungary. ELTE was represented by Prof. Dr Ferenc Pál, Professor Emeritus, and Ms Eszter Knyihár Phd., Head of the International Strategy Office.

During the discussions, ELTE presented its long-standing academic relations with Brazil, currently encompassing active bilateral and Erasmus cooperation agreements with ten Brazilian universities

At present, 23 Brazilian students are studying at ELTE, among them three Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship holders, with International Relations BA and MA programmes being the most popular choices.

A central topic of the meeting was the introduction of SETI’s new scholarship initiative entitled “Winning the World of Science”. The programme aims to support talented students from the State of Paraná in pursuing full-degree studies abroad, primarily at Bachelor level. The scholarship is designed to cover travel costs, insurance and accommodation, with a primary focus on STEM disciplines, while also allowing for participation in the humanities and economics.

ELTE expressed strong interest in exploring possible institutional cooperation related to the new scholarship scheme. In this context, the ELTE representatives proposed examining how the programme could be aligned with or linked to the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship framework, potentially creating mutually beneficial pathways for students from Paraná.

Beyond student mobility, the meeting also highlighted broader institutional partnership opportunities. Universities recommended by SETI may become potential strategic partners for ELTE, with cooperation extending to joint academic and research projects. Mutual thematic interests identified during the meeting include energy, water, food and health sciences, which could serve as a basis for collaboration within International Credit Mobility (ICM) projects, Horizon Europe research consortia and Erasmus+ KA2 actions

As next steps, SETI will forward the detailed English-language programme proposal to ELTE. Upon receipt, ELTE will circulate the information internally among its faculties.