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Anna Rudolf is an international coordinator at Eötvös Loránd University who was recently awarded for her experience and outstanding work at the 2024 Hungarian International Coordinators’ Annual Meeting in Debrecen. Since 2019, Anna has been an integral part of the Stipendium Hungaricum programme, supporting international students, and consistently enhancing the scholarship experience.

In the tribute speech delivered at the award ceremony, Anna was praised as a selfless and indispensable supporter of her colleagues, staff from other departments, and her superiors. “Her work is characterized by exceptional professionalism, above-average precision, a systems approach, encyclopedic knowledge, a supportive, proactive, and empathetic attitude, as well as strong commitment.”

She shared her insights on the impact of the scholarship both on students and the broader academic community.

Why do you believe the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship programme is important?

"There are many small details, sub-programs, and special cases specified in the rulebook, not all of which I can personally identify with, but if you strip it down to the core, only two factors remain – it's benefitting both the university and the scholarship holders."

“Attracting talented, enthusiastic, and dedicated individuals from the farthest corners of the world, offering them an appealing opportunity to study here and earn a European degree, is a meaningful goal. It makes the world a better place, even if on a small scale, one scholarship holder at a time. It’s important to acknowledge that after all, these are actual people living complete lives, even if we mostly meet them by their Neptun codes only.”

What achievements are you most proud of concerning the program?

"Stipendium Hungaricum is not a project, rather an overarching higher education framework with new initiatives and processes emerging regularly, reaching even the furthest corners of the university’s structure. Its complexity can cause challenges and requires some flexibility.

We need to find balance between two intricate, extremely complicated (and somewhat inflexible) entities: ELTE and the Stipendium Hungaricum program. Whenever we succeed in aligning them, it feels like a triumph. Sometimes it’s an exercise in rhetoric and diplomacy but the common goals make it possible to move forward. After eleven years and currently nearly two thousand scholarship holders, we have achieved that it is now obvious for everyone that there are international students and a scholarship program running at the university."

Last modified: 27-02-2025