{"id":1060154,"date":"2020-09-20T00:14:43","date_gmt":"2020-09-20T04:14:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bocskairadio.org\/?p=1060154"},"modified":"2020-09-20T00:26:53","modified_gmt":"2020-09-20T04:26:53","slug":"the-initiation-of-the-budapest-fellowship-program-by-the-hif-and-mcc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bocskairadio.org\/en\/the-initiation-of-the-budapest-fellowship-program-by-the-hif-and-mcc\/","title":{"rendered":"The Initiation of the Budapest Fellowship Program by the HIF and MCC"},"content":{"rendered":"

Four American professionals began a ten-month intensive training in Hungary. The Hungarian Initiatives Foundation\u2019s new scholarship program would like to help form lasting positive relations between the U.S. and Hungary. The program also considers it important to create a sound and level image of Hungarians and Hungary in America. Bocskai Radio was present at the opening in Budapest. We asked HIF Director Anna Lacey, about the background, past, and future visions for the program.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Budapest Fellowship Program<\/strong> is part of the Liberty Bridge Program<\/strong> launched by the Hungary Initiatives Foundation (HIF)<\/strong> in 2020, which aims to revitalize U.S.-Hungary relations through person-to-person dialogue. HIF will support scholars who will serve as bridge builders between the two countries. Anna Smith Lacey<\/strong>, Director of the HIF, told Bocskai Radio that they had turned to fellowship-type programs in the last four years. Their mission is to provide talented Hungarian youth with scholarships and to strengthen American-Hungarian relations for the long term.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The co-organizer of the Budapest Fellowship Program is Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC)<\/strong>. The MCC brings twenty years of experience in talent management. Their international reputation and network of contacts allows them to provide quality public, educational, and scientific training to those from primary school through doctoral programs. The fruit of the joint approach and work of the two aforementioned organizations is the Budapest Fellowship Program. The latter could be defined as a transatlantic scholarship opportunity in Budapest for young American professionals. The organizers decided to have the majority of the event take place at the Budapest-based MCC.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the past three years, HIF has consciously expanded scholarship opportunities from Hungary to America. For these opportunities, Hungarian students and researchers were selected for periods ranging from two months to one year. Applications ranged from undergraduates to PhD candidates. The Andr\u00e1ssy Fellowship Program<\/strong> sent Hungarian colleagues to the United States. This framework program helped them understand the American political system, the political and philosophical fundamentals that made it easier for them to navigate the world of Washington. Ze\u00f6ld Zsombor<\/strong>, the director of the Budapest Fellowship Program, was among the researchers in America last year for a year. He is currently not only the director of the Budapest Fellowship program, but also an alumnus of MCC.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Applicants had to meet certain requirements: American citizenship and active research activity. Additionally, it was extremely important that they be interested in Central-Eastern Europe and Hungary, regardless of their scientific or personal motivation. They presented their interest in a professional work plan. Although the entrance requirements did not mandate that a participant have Hungarian ancestry or connections, the program still managed to select such an individual.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n