Ilona Zrinyi Transcarpathian Hungarian Specialized Course in the light of 25 academic years

The Ilona Zrinyi Transcarpathian Hungarian Specialized Course (ZISZK) is a talent development center that unites Transcarpathian Hungarian students, lecturers, and researchers participating in higher education programs organized at higher education and research institutions in Transcarpathia. It was established in the 1999–2000 academic year by the Ferenc Rákóczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College of Higher Education and has been operated by the “GENIUS” Charity Foundation since 2012.

The goal of the specialized course is to support the most talented Hungarian-speaking students studying at higher education institutions in Transcarpathia (in the fields of natural and human sciences) and, as far as possible, to provide them with all the necessary conditions for their professional development, enabling them to achieve outstanding results.

The specialized course brings together Hungarian-speaking students (those admitted to the specialized course) of officially accredited higher education and scientific institutions in Transcarpathia, as well as lecturers (the tutors who supervise the scientific work of admitted students) to achieve its set goals. The infrastructural and organizational support of the course is provided by the Ferenc Rákóczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College of Higher Education.

The course operates independently of the administration of the respective institutions, making full use of modern information and distance learning systems, as well as collaboration opportunities with institutions in Hungary. The research conducted within the framework of the course is best built upon the student’s studies and the tutor’s ongoing research work and area of expertise.

Students in their 3rd to 6th years of full-time study who have outstanding academic achievements can apply to the specialized course with a scientific research topic and a tutor holding a doctoral degree. The scholarship is granted for 10 months of each academic year. Transcarpathian college or university students conducting their research in Transcarpathia can apply from June to September. The admission exam takes place every September.

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Operational Structure 

The president of the Ilona Zrinyi Transcarpathian Hungarian Specialized Course is the president of the Transcarpathian Council of Talent Development in Higher Education (KFTT), which is operated by the “GENIUS” Charity Foundation. As a result, the KFTT serves as the highest governing body of the course and has the authority to make decisions on any matter within the jurisdiction of other bodies. The exclusive competencies of the KFTT include:  adoption and amendment of the Statutes, decisions regarding dissolution, transformation, merger, integration, or division, election of the Admissions Committee, issuing instructions to the president and approving the president’s semi-annual report, reviewing the reports of scholarship recipients and their tutors, evaluating the annual research work, establishing committees.

The statutes of the Ilona Zrinyi Transcarpathian Hungarian Specialized Course can be downloaded HERE.

Admissions Committee

The KFTT appoints the Admissions Committee of the Ilona Zrinyi Transcarpathian Hungarian Specialized Course. The committee’s responsibilities include: scoring applicants based on submitted applications and oral entrance exams; however, it does not have decision-making authority and must report its activities to the KFTT; electing a chairperson and a secretary from among its own members; establishing its own rules of procedure; in the absence of such, the guidelines provided by the KFTT shall apply.

Since 2012, under the secretarial work of the Ilona Zrinyi Transcarpathian Hungarian Specialized Course, the “GENIUS” Charity Foundation has involved a total of 59 examination board members, who contributed their professional expertise to the entrance examination process. The members of the Admissions Committee include renowned professors and doctors from Transcarpathia (members of the Ferenc Rákóczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College of Higher Education, Uzhhorod National University, Mukachevo State University, and the Hungarian Academic Council of Transcarpathia), as well as recognized professionals with academic degrees from Hungary.

The database of the Admissions Committee of the Ilona Zrinyi Transcarpathian Hungarian Specialized Course can be downloaded HERE.

Following the entrance exam, the Admissions Committee makes a recommendation to the KFTT, which evaluates, discusses, and then makes a decision regarding the list of ZISZK scholarship recipients for the academic year.

The list of scholarship recipients for the academic years of the Ilona Zrinyi Transcarpathian Hungarian Specialized Course can be accessed HERE.

1999–2000

2000–2001

2001–2002

2002–2003

2003–2004

2004–2005

2005–2006

2006–2007

2008–2009

2009–2010

2010–2011

2012–2013

2013–2014

2014–2015

2015–2016

2016–2017

2017–2018

2018–2019

2019–2020

2021–2022

2022–2023

2023–2024

2024–2025

Admission Process 

Students can gain admission to the college through an application process. Proficiency in the Hungarian language is a requirement for both teachers and students. The KFTT determines the application requirements and submission deadlines. Admission is granted to those students who achieve at least 60% of the maximum 60 points available in the entrance exam. Applicants who are applying for the first, second, or third time will take separate entrance exams and undergo separate evaluation. When approving the entrance exam results, the KFTT may set a minimum score based on the absolute list, regardless of the quota.

In accordance with the Statutes of the Transcarpathian Hungarian Specialized Course and taking into account the wide range of institutions and fields of study of the applicants, the admission process consists of evaluating the submitted applications and an oral exam. In both parts of the admission process, the members of the Admissions Committee evaluate as follows:

1. Evaluation of the submitted applications. The points system for evaluating application requests can be downloaded HERE.
2. Oral exam. Each member of the Admissions Committee evaluates the answers to the 4 main questions (a maximum of 10 points per question) as well as the answers to supplementary questions (a maximum of 20 points) on-site during the oral exam.

Main Questions:

1. Outline your scientific research topic and research plan, explain its novelty, importance, and its place in today’s science.
2. Outline your ideas for your future career path.
3. You will be required to solve a reading comprehension task in a European language necessary for the given field of study.
4. Present a recent scientific, technical, or cultural achievement related to your area of expertise.

Supplementary Questions: The Admissions Committee may ask questions to assess the applicant’s aptitude, professional knowledge, and general cultural awareness.

The duration of the individual exam is 15 minutes. Each member of the Admissions Committee records the points achieved during the oral exam on the admission form. At the end of the exam, each committee member summarizes the points entered on the admission form. The Chair of the Committee sums up the total points achieved and ranks the applicants accordingly. The proceedings of the exam are recorded in the minutes by the designated secretary. The summary document, signed by all members of the Admission Committee, is submitted to the Transcarpathian Council of Talent Development in Higher Education for approval.

Subsequently, a meeting of the Transcarpathian Council of Talent Development in Higher Education is held, where they make a decision regarding the scholarship recipients for the academic year.

The work of the Admissions and Supervisory Committees, as well as travel and other expenses, are covered by the Transcarpathian Council of Talent Development in Higher Education in accordance with the approved procedures.

Ilona Zrinyi Transcarpathian Hungarian Specialized Course Membership

The members of the specialized course are students and tutors. A course student is a young Hungarian from Transcarpathia who is enrolled in full-time education at an accredited Transcarpathian higher education or research institution and has been admitted to the course through an application process. Specialized course tutor: a researcher with an academic degree whose nominee has been admitted to the course. A course student can only be a person who does not hold any other research scholarship for the duration of the application academic year. The applicant provides proof of this with a declaration of honor, the form of which is an attachment to the application notice. The member of the course is obliged to comply with the course’s statutes. A member of the course is obligated to act diligently in fulfilling the tasks assigned and undertaken by the course and to provide a detailed account of the work completed. A student member of the course is required to participate and present their research findings at the Transcarpathian Scientific Students’ Associations Conference organized by the “GENIUS” Charity Foundation, the Ferenc Rákóczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College of Higher Education, and the National Council of Student Research Societies’ TDK Without Borders (HTDK).

Attendance at tutoring sessions (at least 2 hours per week) is mandatory. The content of the tutoring sessions is determined by the tutor based on the current curriculum or as a supplement to them. Consultations on ongoing academic matters can be provided according to the work schedule. During the period of course membership, students are required to produce at least one scientific work (article or conference paper) per year. The tutor may supervise a topic within their field of expertise. A student’s academic average in their institution must not fall below 4.0 in their specialized subjects. The termination of course membership is decided by the KFTT, and a record of the decision is documented.

The payment of scholarships under the Ilona Zrinyi Transcarpathian Hungarian Specialized Course Program is made in a single installment during the academic year, specifically at the annual “GENIUS” Talent Day held in June. Each scholarship payment is preceded by a reporting period, during which supported students must submit a minimum 10-page report and a consultation form. These documents must be signed jointly by the students and their tutors.

Membership ends upon the student’s withdrawal from the course, in the event of their death, upon the termination of their student status, or through expulsion.

The member may exercise their right to withdraw by submitting a written declaration to the president of the specialized course. The membership ceases to be effective upon the president’s receipt of the declaration. This does not affect the member’s financial or other obligations towards the course or any individual acting on its behalf. A member may be expelled if they fail to fulfill the tasks entrusted to them or voluntarily undertaken, consistently or persistently neglect their obligations, significantly hinder the operation of the specialized course, or jeopardize the achievement of its objectives. The acceptance of a member’s resignation or termination, as well as decisions regarding expulsion, are made by the Transcarpathian Council of Talent Development in Higher Education upon the president’s proposal. The council also settles the member’s outstanding obligations and informs the individual concerned.

The Ilona Zrinyi Transcarpathian Hungarian Specialized Course has had a total of 287 members under the mentorship of 114 tutors during the academic years from 1999 to 2024, with 415 scholarship recipients, as some students received support for multiple years. The members of ZISZK have been students of the former Transcarpathian Hungarian Teacher Training College, later the Ferenc Rákóczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College of Higher Education, as well as Uzhhorod National University and Mukachevo State University.

The database of former ZISZK members can be downloaded HERE, and the database of tutors can be downloaded HERE.

The following table provides a detailed breakdown of the institutional composition of ZISZK scholarship recipients:

The institutional statistics of the Ilona Zrinyi Transcarpathian Hungarian Specialized Course are available HERE.

The participation statistics of the departments of the Ferenc Rákóczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College of Higher Education in the Ilona Zrinyi Transcarpathian Hungarian Specialized Course can be downloaded HERE.

In the 2008–2009 and 2009–2010 academic years, the Ilona Zrinyi Transcarpathian Hungarian Specialized Course also announced a doctoral program. In both academic years, two PhD students were granted membership in the course, all of whom were students of the Rákóczi College.

The Ilona Zrinyi Transcarpathian Hungarian Specialized Course research scholarship was previously funded by the Ministry of Human Resources, then from 2020 by the Ministry of Innovation and Technology, and since 2022 by the Ministry of Culture and Innovation. The scholarship program was not announced in the 2011–2012 academic year, as the coordination and implementation tasks transitioned to a new secretariat during that period.

Dr. habil. Váradi Natália, 

Head of the Ilona Zrinyi Transcarpathian Hungarian Specialized Course

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