Budapest University of Technology and Economics

Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Budapesti Műszaki és Gazdaságtudományi Egyetem
Latin: Universitas Budapestinensis Scientiarum Technicarum et Oeconomicarum
Former names	Institutum Geometrico-Hydrotechnicum Royal Joseph Technical University Joseph University of Technology and Economics Technical University of Budapest
Motto	Courses in Contemporary Engineering - harmonising theory and practice
Established	1782
Type	Public University
Rector	Gábor Péceli D.Sc.
Students	25,533 (in 2004)
Location	Budapest, Hungary
Colors	claret
Nickname	Műegyetem
Affiliations	EUA, CESAER, IAU, Santander Network, DRC, SEFI, AUF, ISEP, IAESTE, ESTIEM, NEPTUN, TIME, Athens Programme, AIESEC (local site), GBME, W3C
Website	www.bme.hu

The Budapest University of Technology and Economics (Hungarian: Budapesti Műszaki és Gazdaságtudományi Egyetem or in short Műegyetem), in Hungarian abbreviated as BME, English official abbreviation BUTE, is the most significant University of Technology in Hungary and is also the oldest Institute of Technology in the world, having been founded in 1782.

History

BME is considered the world's oldest Institute of Technology which has university rank and structure. It was the first institute in Europe to train engineers at university level.^[1] The legal predecessor of the university was founded in 1782 by Emperor Joseph II, and was named Latin: Institutum Geometrico-Hydrotechnicum ("Institute of Geometry and Hydrotechnics").

The "Berg-Schola," the world's first institute of technology, was founded in Selmecbánya, Kingdom of Hungary^[2] (today Banská Štiavnica, Slovakia) in 1735. Many members of the first teaching staff of BME arrived from Selmecbánya.

In 1860, the Hungarian language replaced Latin as the language of instruction.

It was reorganized in 1871 as Royal Joseph Technical University and was elevated to equal rank with other universities in the country. In 1910 it moved to its current site near Gellért square (next to the Art Nouveau Hotel Gellért). In 1934 it was reorganized again as Palatine Joseph University of Technology and Economics and it played a dominant role in the interwar industrialization process, together with engineering and economist training in Hungary.

The university was restructured again after the Second World War. The 1956 Hungarian Revolution was partly launched by students at the university, followed by many professors. In 1967, the two technical universities seated in Budapest were merged to form the Technical University of Budapest, with six faculties. In 2000 – two years after the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences was established – the official name changed to Budapest University of Technology and Economics.

People

The university has approximately 1,100 faculty members. About a third of its 24,000 students are foreign students, from fifty countries. BME issues about 70% of Hungary's engineering degrees.^[3]

Famous alumni

Nobel Laureates

• Dénes Gábor (Dennis Gábor), inventor of holography (1971 Nobel Prize in Physics)
• George Oláh (1994 Nobel Prize in Chemistry)
• Wigner Jenő, (Eugene Wigner), (1963 Nobel Prize in Physics)
• Fülöp von Lénárd (1905 Nobel Prize in Physics)

Others

• Donát Bánki (Co-inventor of the modern carburetor)
• Pál Erdős (Mathematician)
• Károly Ereky (Karl Ereky, born Károly Wittmann, coined the notion: biotechnology 1917)
• Árpád Gerecs (Chemical Engineer)
• Alfréd Hajós (Olympic champion swimmer)
• Zoltan Hajos (Organic Chemist)
• Alajos Hauszmann (Architect of the Buda Castle)
• Csaba Horváth (Cemical Engineer, built the first high performance liquid chromatograph.
• Kálmán Kandó ("Father" of the AC powered electric locomotive, Rotary phase converter)
• Tódor Kármán (Theodore von Kármán, "Father" of super-sonic flight)
• Lajos Kollár (Civil Engineer)
• Károly Kós (Architect of the Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden)
• Imre Makovecz (Architect, one of the most prominent proponents of organic architecture)
• Dénes Mihály (Engineer, inventor)
• Samu Pecz (Architect of the Great Market Hall (Budapest))
• Josef Petzval (Physicist, mathematician and inventor)
• Ernő Rubik (Architect, inventor of mechanical puzzles)
• Frigyes Schulek (Architect of the Fisherman's Bastion)
• Károly Simonyi (Physicist, father of Charles Simonyi)
• Imre Steindl (Architect of the Hungarian Parliament)
• Leó Szilárd (Physicist, "father" of the atomic bomb, one of two co-inventors of nuclear reactor)
• Kálmán Tihanyi (Inventor of Plasma TV, CRT-tube pioneer, designed the first pilotless aircraft)

Today

In May 2000 the university had 1,024 regular faculty members (more than 50% of whom had a PhD in a scientific field). 34 professors/researchers of the university are members of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

Training courses are provided in five languages: Hungarian, English, German, French and Russian.

The ECTS credit system was introduced in 1995. This helps students to enroll in the student exchange program of the European Union, the Socrates (also known as Erasmus), and earn a double degree through the Top Industrial Managers for Europe network.

University Rank

According to webometrics.info, in 2014 BME university was ranked 359th in the top 8000 worldwide.^[4]

According to AcademyRank.com, BME ranked first nationally, 96 in Europe and 421 world wide.

The Budapest University of Technology and Economics takes the 254th place among the world’s top 400 universities for engineering and technology, being the only university from Hungary that is listed in Quacquarelli Symonds ranking.^[5]

Faculties

At present the university has eight Faculties (founding date in parentheses):

• Faculty of Civil Engineering (1782)
• Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (1871)
• Faculty of Architecture (1873)
• Faculty of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology (1873)
• Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics (1949)
• Faculty of Transportation Engineering (1955)
• Faculty of Natural Sciences (1998*)
• Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences (1998*)

*Faculty of Natural and Social Sciences was founded in 1987 and separated in 1998.

Admissions

All Hungarians who pass the Hungarian high school matura with enough points are eligible for admission, as well as for anyone else in possession of an International Baccalaureate (again, with enough points).

As with all Hungarian universities, a tuition fee of around $700 has to be paid each year for the Hungarian program. No extra fee is required for Hungarians for whom it is their first university, unless they spend more than 13 semesters there.

The university offers extensive English language programs on all its faculties, at all levels of study (Preparatory Year, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts, Master of Science, Doctor of Philosophy). The Tuition fees vary from €2250 - €4500 per semester. 6% of all students come from different countries of the world representing over fifty different countries; the majority of the students in the English Program are from Turkey, Iran, and Cyprus.

Location

The university is located on the right side of the Danube between Szabadság Bridge and Petőfi Bridge and towards Rákóczi Bridge. This makes the university campus especially long and narrow: walking from one side of the university to the other can take as much as 20 minutes.

The Inner City of Budapest (Pest) is just across the river, about 10 minutes' walk by either of the bridges.

Sports

The University hosted the IFIUS 2008 World Interuniversity Games in October.

Notes and references

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Budapest University of Technology and Economics.

• Official website
• International Education Center
• Detailed history in English and in Hungarian
• Photo Gallery--A very large collection
• Map of the university
• Education informations
• Aerial photographs of the University

Coordinates: 47°28′53″N 19°3′20″E / 47.48139°N 19.05556°E / 47.48139; 19.05556

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Universities in Hungary Universities in Budapest Eötvös Loránd University Budapest Business School Budapest University of Technology and Economics Corvinus University of Budapest Central European University Semmelweis University Óbuda University Pázmány Péter Catholic University Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music Andrássy Gyula German Language University of Budapest Károli Gáspár University of the Hungarian Reformed Church Evangelical-Lutheran Theological University Budapest University of Jewish Studies Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Academy of Drama and Film in Budapest Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts Zrínyi Miklós National Defence University National University of Public Service Universities in the rest of the country Debrecen Reformed Theological University Szent István University Széchenyi István University University of Debrecen University of Kaposvár University of Miskolc University of Pannonia University of Pécs University of Szeged University of West Hungary Former universities Franz Joseph University Universitas Istropolitana

Conference of European Schools for Advanced Engineering Education and Research Aalborg Aalto Athens Polytechnic BME BUT Chalmers CTU Prague DTU École Centrale Paris ENAC ENSMA EPFL ETH Zurich Florence Ghent GIT Hanover Heroit-Watt INSA de Lyon INSA de Toulouse ISAE IST ITU Karlsruhe KTH KTU KU Leuven LTH METU NTNU ParisTech Politecnico di Milano POLITO Porto PUB Queen's PUT RWTH Aachen Southampton Stuttgart Supélec Technion Thessaloniki TPU TU Berlin TU Crete TU Darmstadt TU Delft TU Dresden TU Eindhoven TU Hamburg TU Ilmenau TU Munich TU Vienna TU Warsaw TUT Twente UCD UCL UPC UPM UPV