On 16 December 2019 in Shanghai, the Minister for Innovation and Technology signed a memorandum of understanding with President of Fudan University Xu Ningsheng. In the document the parties confirm their common interest in the establishment of a campus for the institution in Budapest.
Fudan University is the world’s 40th best university according to the reputable QS World University Ranking. The Shanghai-based institution’s more than 4,500 lecturers teach some 30,000 students. The university has an outstanding research record.
None of the universities coming under direct ministerial control in China has campuses abroad yet. The Chinese government looks upon the establishment of the campus in Hungary as a priority project of bilateral cooperation. The initiative is equally in line with the policy of easterly opening, the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative, and the goals of the cultural, scientific and educational treaty between the two countries which was renewed this November. The fact that already today more than 2,300 Chinese citizens study in Hungarian higher education serves as a good basis for the intensification of relations between universities.
The metropolitan campus of Fudan University could boost the establishment of a quality training infrastructure for the Hungarian higher education system as well as the enhancement of the educational standards of Hungarian universities. This could provide internationally competitive knowledge and skills for students which, applied in the Hungarian economy, could in turn contribute to sustainable growth.
Minister for Innovation and Technology László Palkovics said “Thanks to this university cooperation, Hungary could turn into a regional knowledge hub. The presence in Hungary of Fudan – which is at the very top of the world rankings – and of reputable foreign professors will accelerate the process of globalisation which has already started in Hungarian higher education. The planned campus opening could promote further Chinese investments, and in particular, the settlement of the research and development centres of Chinese companies in Hungary.”