Dr. Tamás Hegedüs has taken charge as Head of the newly merged Directorate of International Relations and Alumni Affairs at Semmelweis University, aiming to strengthen global partnerships and expand cooperation with top 100 universities worldwide.
The university currently maintains agreements with around 200 higher education institutions, but Dr. Hegedüs says the goal is to enrich these ties with more joint research, publications, summer schools, and specialized programs like the Harvard Medical School Clinical Science Scholars scheme and the trilateral symposium with Heidelberg and Freiburg.
“Our alumni are key ambassadors who build our reputation internationally. About 80 percent of first-year international students come here because someone they know studied at Semmelweis,” Dr. Hegedüs noted. The alumni database already includes nearly 55,000 graduates, among them 10,000 from English and German-language programs.
To support new initiatives, the directorate is building a transparent internal database of partner universities and modernizing application processes for programs like the Pannónia Scholarship, which supports staff and student mobility. Another focus is centralizing short-term, fee-based educational programs aimed at international audiences.
Dr. Hegedüs, who began at Semmelweis in 2015 as a dentistry student, highlighted that his ongoing clinical and teaching work provides crucial insight into how the university operates. “It’s important for our students and staff to gain international experience alongside their academic training—this is how we grow and open ourselves to the world,” he said.
Source: Semmelweis University Bálint Barta, Boglárka Zellei, Attila Kovács
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