Our university’s new nameplates were unveiled

On 1 October 2025, the Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College was elevated to university status. This historic step is a milestone not only for the institution itself, but also for the entire Hungarian community in Transcarpathia. On 28 November, the university’s new trilingual nameplates were unveiled in a ceremonial setting.

At the beginning of the ceremony, those present sang together our university’s anthem, the Kuruc-era song Rákóczi Ferenc bús éneke. This was followed by the reading of the resolution declaring the elevation of the Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University to university status.

In his ceremonial greeting, István Csernicskó, the Rector of our university, emphasized that when we became an independent institution in 1996, education started in only four majors with 74 students. Today, students can choose from 34 study programs. At the beginning, we trained only teachers, while now we offer training in 7 fields of study and 11 specializations. Between 2015 and 2025, the number of students enrolled in the first year of the bachelor’s program increased from 151 to 520, and our total number of students almost tripled during the same period, rising from 549 to 1582. Since the first graduation ceremony organized in 2001, a total of 2,832 individuals have earned 4,376 higher education diplomas at our institution.

“All of this, of course, we could only achieve together. In our results — and of course in our smaller or greater setbacks as well — we are all included: lecturers, administrative and technical staff, and naturally the students,”

he added.

Balázs Hankó, Hungary’s Minister for Culture and Innovation, said in his greeting that the Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University serves the Hungarian community.

“The community is a preserving force. And here, the Hungarian community — here, the university community — has leaders, such as President Ildikó Orosz and Rector István Csernicskó, who work for the Hungarians, together with the Hungarians, in their everyday activities. They save the lives of Hungarians day by day,”

he emphasized.

Zoltán Babják, the Mayor of Berehove, said: “With the college becoming a university, I believe that everyone in this city has become more valuable and stronger. I am very proud to be here, and that during my term I could have even the slightest connection to the fact that this city has become a university town.” Following this, he presented a certificate of recognition to Ildikó Orosz, President of the University of Rakoczi, and to Rector István Csernicskó, in which the city of Berehove congratulates the leaders of our institution on achieving university status.

In the following, the persons and organisations were listed – Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary, Zsolt Semjén, Deputy Prime Minister of Hungary, László Kövér, Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary, Péter Szijjártó, Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Lőrinc Nacsa, State Secretary for National Policy of the Prime Minister’s Office, Gabriella Bali, Deputy State Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet Office – who sent congratulatory letters to our institution on the occasion of our elevation to university status.

The most solemn moment of the ceremony was the unveiling of the new nameplates. The plaques were unveiled by Ildikó Orosz, President, Minister Balázs Hankó, Rector István Csernicskó, and Veronika Varga-Bajusz, Secretary of State in charge of higher, vocational and adult education, and youth.