ELTE Faculty of Economics Programme and Course Guide 2024-2025 by ELTE GTK

Programme and Course Guide

Dean’s welcome

Welcome to the Faculty of Economics of Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE GTK), Budapest.

The Faculty of Economics, where you are about to start your studies in economics and business, is the youngest and most dynamic faculty of ELTE, Hungary’s oldest, most prestigious and internationally highest-ranking research university. Its picturesque, state-of-the art, airconditioned buildings on ELTE’s Astoria Campus in the city centre of Budapest are a true impression of the faculty. It is both historical, as the predecessor of the current GTK, was established 100 years ago, and 21st-century, as it became a faculty in 2021 four years after being established as an institute. We are proud that, in just a few years, GTK has become a deﬁning centre of economics trainings in Hungary with popular programmes oﬀered on all study levels.

International students like you have been a precious addition to our currently 7,000-member student community since the arrival of the ﬁrst cohort in 2020, thus making faculty life vibrant and the learning experience particularly inspirational and eﬀective. Use your opportunity to study together with local and other international students to learn from another and to forge personal and professional relationships for the future.

All along the way, you will be supported and taught by our accomplished Faculty consisting mostly of associate and full professors with decades of teaching experience and close collaborations with international partners and organisations. All our community, including teachers, staﬀ, and the various student organisations, is committed to make your studies rewarding and your time in Budapest, whether several years or a mere few months, the best experience in your life.

Once again, I warmly welcome you to ELTE GTK. Enjoy your studies at Hungary’s most popular university and all the experiences one of the world’s prettiest cities can oﬀer.

Dr Tihamér Margitay dean

IMPRESSUM

Publisher: ELTE Faculty of Economics

Dr Tihamér Margitay dean

Editors:

Dr Judit Fortvingler

Dr Gábor Zemplén

Dr Nóra Kelecsényi

Photography:

Balázs Gyüre, Péter Horváth, Ilka Bőhm-Verebics, Gergely Bernáth

Zoltán Csorba, Anilla Lazar

Bence

Layout design: Orlando Stúdió Kft., Áprili Zoltán

Pre-press: Rózsa 44 Bt.

Web & contacts:

Faculty website: https://gtk.elte.hu/en/ International Oﬃce Contact: https://gtk.elte.hu/en/contact-us

Social Media: http://facebook.com/eltegtk

Instagram: @elte.gtk_oﬃcial

Introducing ELTE

Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), founded in 1635, is a public research university and the largest academic and scientiﬁc establishment in Hungary. It is the country’s oldest and most popular university with close to 400-year-old traditions.

It has the widest educational portfolio in the country, over 170 bachelor's and master's programmes as well as close to 130 doctoral programmes at nine faculties in two cities, and several campuses in Budapest alone. Nearly 140 degree programmes are offered in foreign languages. It has the largest research community in the country and over 75% of its teachers have academic and scientific qualifications.

Thanks to the efforts of ELTE’s teaching and research community, it is the country’s internationally highest-ranking university. Over 35,000 students from approximately 130 countries study at ELTE and out of these, nearly 5,000 are full-time international students. Exchange opportunities at ELTE abound: the university receives short-term exchange students from over 300 bilateral partner and more than 500 Erasmus partner universities, and hundreds of ELTE students experience life on study-abroad programmes or traineeships annually. Students can also benefit from, among others, the opportunities offered by the illustrious Charm-EU University Alliance, of which ELTE is a founding member.

Learn more about ELTE’s history, governance, internationalisation eﬀorts, sports achievements, and famous ELTE graduates and researchers here: https://www.elte.hu/en/about-elte.

You may also wish to browse the following information booklets: https://www.elte.hu/en/brochures and visit the page for “Prospective students”

Founded in 1635 by Cardinal Péter Pázmány

Moved to Pest in 1777

Established Economics Faculty (1920 – 1934)

A leading institution in economics studies

Innovative full-degree English and bilingual BSc programmes

Summer University in English (one-week courses for credits)

Visiting studentships and exchange placements

Why study at the Faculty of Economics?

GTK is currently the largest institution for Master's and MBA studies in the country and is one of the top two centres for academic excellence in the Bachelor's trainings, with quickly increasing international visibility.

Students are attracted to the Faculty of Economics by several factors, and the faculty’s academic offer is likely to be of primary importance. Additional reasons may include the support students receive, the physical environment in which they study, as well as the international and extracurricular opportunities they have. These will all be described in detail in later sections of this brochure.

International and domestic recognitions in the form of accreditations and membership in profes sional organisations serve as a proof of the institu tion’s commitment and a guarantee of its excellence. You can read more about these here.

BUSINESS GRADUATES ASSOCIATION (BGA) FACULTY MEMBERSHIP oﬀering students and graduates numerous bene ﬁts from attending online workshops to CV development.

Doctoral School of Business and Management (Hungarian)

5 Master’s and an MBA programme (Hungarian)

4 Bachelor's programmes including:

2 English degree programmes

– International Business Economics (8 semesters, 240 credits)

– Finance and Accounting (7 semesters, 210 credits)

2 Hungarian and bilingual programmes

GTK’s admirable student Hoang Nguyen Khanh An (IBE 2020, left) ﬁnished as runner up in the prestigious “BGA Student of the Year Award 2024” competition.

ASSOCIATION OF CHARTERED CERTIFIED ACCOUNTANTS (ACCA) RECOGNITION

4-STAR RECOGNITION BY THE EUROPEAN FOUNDATION FOR QUALITY MANAGE MENT (EFQM)

ELTE Faculty of Economics was the ﬁrst institution in Hungary to become a BGA member.

GTK ﬁnance students are exempted from certain ACCA exams and may look forward to a signiﬁcant competitive advantage in the job market worldwide.

The following attributes of GTK’s academic oﬀer for the bachelor’s and master’s programmes are particularly inviting:

Versatility of academic areas and forms of instruction: thorough knowledge gained in compulsory subjects complemented by subjects dealing with legal, psychological, social, IT, and socio-environmental issues. ELTE’s full English-language course oﬀer available to students for credits. Regular (in-class) forms of teaching are complemented by other student-friendly modes of instruction (video sessions, consultations, etc.) allowing students more freedom to acquire knowledge at their own pace.

Flexibility to change your programme after one year – all subjects are shared in the ﬁ rst year of the two English bachelor’s programmes. Also a ﬂexible

workload to suit your learning habits and to maximise your success.

Application of theory to practice and development of soft and transversal skills valuable in the workplace (extended and closely monitored project work and thesis process in a workplace simulation format supervised by experienced teachers), and work experience during internship periods.

Equal opportunities and fair assessment by using 21st century technology: computer-based assessments at the GTK Exam Centre, and the availability of class recordings to prepare for assessments at the Video Library.

Our Bachelor’s programmes

Our Bachelor's programmes cover all the important areas of the economy and provide several learning options — to become a successful employee in a modern company, a team player, a specialist in a particular field, or a manager in an organisation, or even an entrepreneur; — to be a confident professional with economic, legal, financial, and communications expertise.

Students can choose from diﬀerent Bachelor’s programmes in the ﬁeld of economy and business:

Bachelor's in Finance and Accounting

(Hungarian or English degree, workload: 210 credits, length: 7 semesters)

Bachelor's in International Business Economics

(Hungarian or English degree, workload: 240 credits, length: 8 semesters)

Two Hungarian degree programmes which are bilingual (most courses are oﬀered both in English and in Hungarian).

— Bachelor's in Economics and Management (Hungarian degree)

— Bachelor’s in Trade and Marketing (Hungarian degree)

Plan you own curriculum – optimise your workload to fit your learning strategies!

Midterms OR Exams

Freedom to distribute workload to suit your learning habits and strategy: you can complete a course in two manners: either during the teaching period or by taking an exam. A total of 100 points worth 100% can be earned in midterms and short assignments and quizzes during the teaching period. If you earn 30.00%

points on a 100%-point scale in the midterms and in the in-class quizzes during the teaching period or 50.00%-points in a speciﬁc midterm, you will be eligible to take the exam. If you earn over 60.00% points in your midterms and quizzes, you can get an ‘oﬀered grade’, and thus be exempted from taking the exam.

Introducing our English Bachelor’s degrees

If you want a general degree (8 semesters, 240 ECTS), including two semesters of internship (with at least one in an international work environment) preparing you for nearly all positions in the business world, choose

International Business Economics (IBE)

The programme enables students to become experts in international market processes, the operation of the EU, and the economic, political, and cultural impacts of globalisation.

The skills you will need to succeed: openness, communication skills, teamwork skills, systems thinking. What will you be able to do after graduation?

— Solve business problems, conduct successful negotiations as a business manager in international work environments

— Analyse business processes as an academic data analyst

The general training in business economics and the international orientation of the programme help you become successful in multinational and competitive jobs, fast-tracking your career.

If you love numbers, have an analytical mindset, and wish to work with numbers as an economist, we oﬀer you a more speciﬁc degree (7 semesters, 210 ECTS, one semester of internship) with countless job opportunities:

Finance and Accounting (FA)

The programme familiarises students with economic processes both on macro and micro level and acquaints them with the European monetary and business environments with a focus on ﬁnance, accounting, and controlling.

The skills you will need to succeed: analytical skills, precision, attention to detail, problem-solving skills. What will you be qualiﬁed to do after graduation?

— Work in finance: predict economic viability in future scenarios as a stockbroker. Do reporting, forecasting financial situations, financial planning, expected costs, incomes, taxes as a as a financial analyst.

— Work in accounting as a chartered accountant / management accountant: understand and present past ﬁnancial data

This programme enables students to become experts in economics and financial planning, to manage financial projects, and help financial decision-making in companies.

If you want to learn more about the above English degrees, see the programme structure and the admissions criteria here: https://www.elte.hu/en/international-business-economics https://www.elte.hu/en/ﬁnance-and-accounting

No February intake, enrolment only in September. For application and admissions details, see https://gtk.elte.hu/en/fulldegree

Fee: 2,700 EUR/semester for EU/EEA students, 3,600 EUR/semester for non-EU/EEA students.

Subjects, courses, the standard curriculum –Information for full-degree students

Full-degree students will find that their subjects fall into three categories: compulsory, compulsory elective, and free elective (optional) ones, all with their own specific requirements and recommended order. Discover all your future subjects and their details (recommended semester, assessment, credit value, etc.) by studying the Standard Curriculum and proceed smoothly in your studies. The different subjects are described in detail on the next pages.

Erasmus+ and guest students, please proceed directly to the Section entitled “Course Selection for Erasmus+ mobility” on page 18 to see the list of English-language courses oﬀered to exchange students. For you, all courses are of the same value and can be chosen without considerable restrictions.

If you are curious about your individual subjects and your future teachers, browse the Section entitled “Course Selection for Erasmus+ mobility” on page 18.

“Subjects” are the theoretical study units which students must complete to progress in their studies and to earn a degree, while “courses” are the realisation of subjects in a given semester.

Full-degree students:

each programme has its own Standard Curriculum, and the curricula are regularly revised. If you are a full-degree student of an earlier intake, check your Standard Curriculum using your IIG (institutional email address), here.

Introducing the Standard Curriculum to full-time students

First-year subjects for students enrolled on the International Business Economics (IBE) and the Finance and Accounting (FA) programmes in September 2024.

STANDARD CURRICULUM, YEAR 1

All the ﬁrst-year subjects are shared by the two English degree programmes so you can change programmes after your ﬁrst year, if you wish. More specialised subjects will follow from Year 2. Credit Value and Weekly Hours (lectures and seminars) are in close correlation: by default, 3-credit courses have 2 contact hours/week (in the form of 6 lectures, 4 seminars, 2 video lectures + 2 midterms), while 6-credit courses have 4 (12 lectures, 8 seminars, 3 video lectures altogether + 3 midterms).

*Notes:

1. Some of the subjects may belong to different categories (compulsory or compulsory elective) on the two English programmes (IBE and FA). | 2. Any of the subjects offered on a programme different from yours, can be studied as a free elective (optional) course. You may even choose courses offered by ELTE’s other faculties as your free elective (optional) course. | 3. The list of courses running in a given semester is finalised shortly before the start of the semester. This is particularly true for compulsory elective courses. For the final list, go to the document “Information on Course Registration for International Bachelor Students”, which is accessible with your IIG. | 4. Registration details for all courses are announced at the start of each semester in the course registration document mentioned above.

Second to fourth-year subjects for new students enrolled in 2024

Courses are listed per semester (in an increasing order from 3 to 6) in which they are recommended to be studied.

COMPULSORY SUBJECTS IN SEMESTERS 3 AND 4 (BY DEFAULT, YEAR 2) FOR BOTH COHORTS, UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED

Other forms of teaching and learning

Apart from regular in-class teaching, GTK also oﬀers other forms to study and complete compulsory subjects. These include individual and group consultations combined with independent research, the recognition of your work experience at various stages during your studies, a choice between exams during the teaching period and the exam period, etc.

These courses have speciﬁc registration and completion rules, which determine the exact semesters, the prerequisites, and many other requirements related to them. You will receive detailed information when approaching the relevant default semesters. If you are an early planner, read the relevant sections under Current students on the website. Three pieces of information may already be relevant to you in earlier semesters: The two Comprehensive Exams are scheduled for semester 5 but can also be completed later. They repeat the most important details of the ﬁrst half of the

bachelor’s programmes but in a broader perspective. The Internship subject(s) can be completed in several diﬀerent ways, e.g. by working before the relevant semesters (e.g. in the summer holidays) or during them. Regular online internship info sessions are held, and information is also available on the website and in Moodle.

Project Work I only runs in the autumn semester and Project Work II in the spring semester. The Thesis can be submitted in both semesters and the Final Exams are organised in both semesters as well.

Elective subjects in different academic areas

Conceptual Tools of Sociology

Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

Sociology and the Study of Modern Societies

Schools and Methods in Cultural Anthropology

Fundamentals of Political Science

GTI92AN802EN

GTI92AN803EN

GTI92AN804EN

GTI92AN805EN

COMPULSORY ELECTIVE COURSE UNIT IN LAW

Law, State, Democracy

International Business Law

European Union Law (EU Law)

Fundametals of Labour Law

Information Society Law

Business and Human Rights

GTI22AN810EN 5autumn 3 2

GTI22AN811EN

GTI22AN812EN

GTI22AN813EN

GTI22AN814EN

GTI22AN820EN Press Knowledge and Press Law

Not all compulsory elective courses must be completed, only as per the Standard Curriculum (one or two per academic area). Students can choose according to their interest and the availability of the individual courses in any semester.

GTI22AN815EN

COMPULSORY ELECTIVE COURSE UNIT IN ECONOMY AND SOCIETY

Problems in Contemporary Philosophy

Transdisciplinarity and Expertise

Business Ethics

GTI21AN822EN

GTI21AN821EN

GTI21AN824EN

COMPULSORY ELECTIVE COURSE UNIT IN INFORMATICS

Data Analysis in the Social Sciences

Finance and Accounting Informatics

Business Analysis

The art of data analysis with Python

Advanced Excel

GTI10AN002EN 4spring 3 2

GTI24AN818EN

GTI10AN004EN

GTI10AN005EN

Free Elective (Optional) Courses

The Curricula also list free elective (optional) subjects worth 12 credits altogether to be taken by full-degree students in various semesters. Complement your main programme and satisfy your interest by choosing any English-language courses from other GTK or ELTE programmes, or even other universities during your exchange semester abroad.

Course Selection for Erasmus+ mobility

Our courses are oﬀered either in the Autumn/Winter semester or in the Spring/Summer semester

Elective courses have ﬁxed timeslots and generally no prerequisites. (10 x 90-minute lectures, 2 video lectures, 2 midterms)

Other courses have a modular timetable, and some of the compulsory courses may require previous acquaintance with the subject area or the completion of prerequisite courses.

6-credit courses: 12 lectures, 8 seminars, 3 video lectures, 3 midterms

3-credit courses: 6 lectures, 4 seminars, 2 video lectures, 2 midterms

Exchange students are welcome on any of the courses. However, to minimise clashes in the timetable and the midterms, you are advised to pick courses belonging to the same semester (e.g. Semester 2 or 4, or 6 if you come in the spring or 1 or 3, or 5, check this in the above lists) as those are ideally scheduled not to clash.

The semester offer is finalised right before the start of the semester and if your previously chosen course does not run, you will be offered others to replace it, and you will also be able to change your documents accordingly.

In general, there is no compulsory attendance in the lectures, seminars, or midterms. However, attendance will help you complete your courses, as it is on these occasions that you can collect points towards your oﬀered grade. See the details in the Principles and Ground Rules of Assessment.

Accounting I Corporate Finance II

The primary objective of the course is to develop the understanding of financial accounting information for decision-making, and the discussed case studies focus on the role of financial accounting in communicating business performance. A specific aim of the course is to develop the participants’ skills in producing and using accounting information in real-life business situations.

Have you ever wondered how the stock price of a company is determined? Have you witnessed some recent rallies or plummets in stock prices and feel you might have missed out? Building on the principles acquired in Corporate Finance I., here you will learn the methodology of stock valuation based on the firms’ fundamentals. This is no wizardry as many investment advisors would present it but is rather a question of following a series of rigorous logical steps, grounded on facts and science. Besides the necessary theory, you will be walked through reallife examples step-by-step from start to finish, with links to the various data sources. After mastering this course, you will understand the mechanics behind, and thus surely become a more confident investor with significantly less FOMO when seeing swings in stock prices. This knowledge will also come in handy when deciding about corporate acquisitions outside the stock market.

Zoltán Bűdi

Dr László Szívós

Dr György Walter

Dr Marcell Dülk

Investment and Financing

The course explains the essential characteristics of financial markets and financial intermediaries. The subject is divided into two parts. In the first part, students learn investments, including different portfolio management theories. The primary goal of the first part is to show the complexity of the relationship between risk and expected return. The second part provides insight into financial intermediation, lending activities, and project financing. Students understand different types of risks and how they are managed by financial intermediaries.

Analysis and Controlling

The purpose of the course is to provide the skills and knowledge necessary for students to analyse, interpret, and criticise accounting information. The objective of the module is to extend the scope of using financial information for both external and internal purposes. The prerequisite of the course is accounting knowledge. The course also includes an introduction to auditing.

Dr Judit Fortvingler

Dr Gábor Bóta

Dr György Walter

Accounting II Corporate Finance I

Accounting II. applies the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as a framework for financial accounting, and provides special advanced accounting knowledge for students on the accounting treatment of complex transactions that have an impact on the financial position and financial performance of a business entity. Both theoretical and practical aspects are discussed.

Corporate Finance discusses the theoretical background of financial decisions of corporations, methods, and tools supporting these decisions, and their applications. Corporate Finance class serves as the background for the subjects dealing with the functional areas of corporate finance such as Advanced Corporate Finance, Investment and Financing Decisions, Project and Corporate Valuation. The main purpose of corporate finance decisions is to decide if the change, resulting from the decision, increases the value of the company and shareholders’ value. During the course, students get familiar with savings (risk and return, time value of money, capital market pricing) and their effects on the methods and costs of raising capital. Students get fundamental knowledge about investment and financing decisions, including net present value calculations, risk analysis, financing techniques, and liquidity management. By the end of the semester, students have a solid understanding of the system of corporate finance decisions, they are able to raise relevant questions and to use their theoretical knowledge to solve corporate problems.

Dr Judit Fortvingler

Dr Gergely Harsányi

Dr Tamás Tóth

Dr György Andor

Finance and Accounting Informatics

Nowadays, companies are using information systems supported by information technology to collect, store, manage, process, and retrieve financial and non-financial data in order to prepare insightful management reports that are used by business analysts, managers, accountants, and C level executives in their operational and strategic decisions. The course introduces students to the foundations of database management systems, the enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, and the world of business intelligence (BI). If you attend this course, you can learn how to manage ERP selection and implementation projects, how to prepare and present management dashboards with Microsoft Excel and Power BI, and why you need to support your IT projects with BPR (business process reengineering) tools.

International Financial Management

International Financial Management explains the essential characteristics of financial markets and financial intermediaries. The subject is divided into four parts. In the first part, students learn behavioural corporate finance. The second part provides insight into financial assets, clearing and settlement, and the current regulatory issues in the EU. In the third part, students understand different types of risk, and how they are managed by financial intermediaries. The primary goal of the fourth part is to explain operations of currency and derivative markets, including the most prevalent financial instruments (swap, futures, options).

Dr László Szívós

Dr Mihály Ormos

András Bohák

Dr Gabriella Lamanda

National and International Taxation

The subject covers two major topics. The first aim is to introduce the theoretical background of taxation, to reveal the basic relationships of tax forms and taxpayers, and to describe the development of the three main tax types. The second aim is to introduce the principles of national and international taxation, the interconnection between them, and to introduce rules and legislation of taxation (scope of directives) of the European Union. We address the need for state involvement, public finance subsystems, general government revenue, public finance expenditure, and the financing of social systems, including the role of tax as a state revenue in the financing of the budget. In a more detailed discussion of the revenues of the public finances, we provide students with the basic principles of taxation, some fundamental ways of computing the tax liability in the frame of personal income tax, corporate tax, and valueadded tax. This is related to the description of the structure of the taxation procedure, turnover, and tax compliance in the Hungarian tax system and its administration. In the second major topic, students acquire knowledge of the basic system of international taxation and the systems of tax compliance.

Management Accounting

Management accounting is a superpower in your hand if you know how to use it. This ﬁeld of accounting is much more on the business side, it is a system that uses accounting and other information to support managerial decisions. We learn how to calculate the cost of running the business and how to use cost information in pricing, proﬁtability, and cost management decisions. The course demonstrates how you can prepare a budget that helps you to coordinate and control the operation of the business, and also supports performance evaluation.

Dr Mária Lakatos

Zoltán Bűdi

Dr László Szívós

Argumentation

The course improves the participants’ argumentative and rational conflict management skills and helps them develop a critical and reflective attitude. We are going to study the central logical, argumentation-theoretic, and rhetorical concepts and will apply them to reallife dialogues. We are going to pay special attention to those aspects of argumentation that are particularly important in business settings like negotiation, decision making, and selling.

Community and Individual

The course introduces the students – through lectures and related seminars – to the theories of the relationship between individuals and society with special emphasis on social practices in business life. Students get acquainted with the basic elements and procedures of social psychology, famous experiments, ethical implications of actions, and the mechanisms to which humans are necessarily exposed in social situations. The course serves as a basis for several other classes in business and economics.

Dr Benedek Láng

Dr Gábor Forrai

Marketing

The objective is to enable students to understand the impact of marketing orientation on organisational behaviour and to learn about the related tasks and tools. The course familiarises students with the core concepts and tools of marketing starting with answering the question ’what is marketing?’ To put it simply, marketing engages customers and manages proﬁtable customer relationships, so the aim of marketing is to create value for customers in order to capture value from customers in return. Secondly, the course discusses the steps of the marketing process from understanding customer needs by the methods of gathering information and market research, through designing customer valuedriven marketing strategies and integrated marketing programmes, building customer relationships to capturing value for the organisation. Marketing tools, from product policy to branding, pricing strategies, and sales to marketing communications will be presented. The major trends and forces aﬀecting marketing, e.g. trends in digital, mobile, and social media are presented for each topic.

Dr Erika Hlédik

Negotiation

The aim of this course is to help students understand the basic theoretical background for successful negotiation (BATNA, competitive arousal etc.). The course covers these topics not only from a theoretical point of view. The basic aim is to improve the negotiation skills of students and, therefore, it includes in-class negotiations and group work in preparing for business negotiations. The course focuses on the strategies and tactics of negotiation but also includes some psychological background knowledge on the topics. It also develops the models of adversarial, cooperative, and integrative negotiation structure. Case studies exemplify the usefulness of these models.

Marketing Research

The course is designed to provide a fundamental understanding of marketing research methods. Marketing research focuses on helping students recognise the role of systematic information gathering and analysis in making marketing decisions. The topics of this course include problem deﬁnition, research design (exploratory, descriptive, and causal), data collection methods, questionnaire design, measurement scales, sampling techniques, and data analysis. Emphasis will be given to both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of marketing research.

Dr Erika Hlédik

Dr János Tanács

Dr Gábor Forrai

Persuasion

The course provides a comprehensive introduction to persuasive communication by looking at various techniques of social inﬂuence. In addition to presenting the social science perspective on persuasion and attitude change, the classes focus on classic and contemporary tools used for persuasion, including sequential techniques, self-presentation, wording, emotional appeals in everyday situations. Numerous examples and case studies of persuasion in action are presented.

Dr Gábor Forrai Dr Gábor Zemplén

three Credits none prerequisite flexible timeslots class 2 admitted at

Business Law II

This course is speciﬁcally designed for non-law students. It focuses on a concise introduction to the way law generally operates in business decisions. The method is manifold, it includes historical explanations, institutional descriptions, text, and case analysis, as well as comparative approaches. Wherever we go, whatever we do, we are bound by legal relationships, we enter into dozens of contracts each and every day. A newborn baby has the right to inherit, and a kindergarten pupil may engage in basic transactions (exchages, gifts) years before the legal age, when one has full capacity to manage his own aﬀairs. While lately rights might be more in the focus of attention, duties are equally important and indispensable. The course focuses on contracts and enables students to understand the basic reasoning in legal thinking, the basic concept of properties and contracts, to carry out negotiations, to interpret contractual clauses, and to recognise the meaning of special contractual clauses.

International Business Law

The course is designed for non-law students. So the classes focus on the understanding of the legal background for states to business negotiations at an international level. The main topic of the International Business Law course is the operation of the WTO, the dispute settlements, the considerations of states entering trade treaties, and the enforcement thereof. The objective is to demonstrate how rational business decisions are to be made in a legal environment and what kind of issues are to be considered in the decision-making. The course focuses on cases, explanations, argumentations, and interpretations necessary for a manager in making business decisions. Students are welcome to discuss issues in class.

Dr András L. Pap

Dr Kinga Pétervári

Business Law I

This course is speciﬁcally designed for non-law students. Its objective is to demonstrate, by using examples, how rational business decisions are to be made in a legal environment. The operation of the basic legal institutions is discussed in an international, global context. Legal studies deal with many aspects of our everyday life. What are the unalienable rights of men? What is private property? What should free trade mean? The course enables students to recognise legal problems (not to solve them), to understand the approaches and attitude of lawyers (judges), to be able to read basic legal documents (not to write), to make business decisions, to argue with regard to basic legal aspects, and carry out business negotiations with regard to basic legal aspects.

Business and Human Rights

This course is designed for non-law students. This course is designed to show students how international human rights standards and ethical business practices are incorporated into the design, implementation, and evaluation of multi-national business activities, especially in developing countries. It will demonstrate how active cooperation among governments, local organisations, international NGOs, and the international corporations are incentivised in order to maximise political and economic development beneﬁts. Students will examine the role of the United Nations and its human rights processes, and other components of international codes of conduct. The course focuses on international documents, cases, explanations, argumentations, and interpretations useful for a manager in business decisions. Students are welcome to discuss issues in class. This course is designed for Business Law course students of various nationalities and backgrounds.

Dr András L. Pap

Dr Kinga Pétervári

Dr András L. Pap

Econometrics

This course introduces the basics of econometric analysis. We deal with cross-sectional and time-series analyses. The course starts with the foundations of classical multiple linear regression models. After that, we present the tools of model building and the choice between nested models. The discussion is continued with the requirement of spherical disturbances in classical linear models and the treatment of heteroskedastic error terms by robust standard errors and generalised least squares. We also deal with models which are non-linear in their explanatory variables. We discuss the topic of nominal explanatory variables and their incorporations into regression models.

Mathematics I

Review of elementary functions, their graphs, and applications. Linear, quadratic and power functions. The exponential and logarithmic functions. Composition of functions. Mathematical models. Limits of functions and continuity. The number e. Differential calculus of real-valued functions. The concept of the derivative at a point and its interpretation as rate of change, as slope and as a linear approximation. The derivative functions. Derivatives of the power, exponential and logarithmic functions. Differentiation rules. Applications of the derivative. Increasing and decreasing functions, optimal values. Percentage changes: the logarithmic derivative and elasticity. Functions of several variables. Partial derivatives and local optimum. Level curves, optimum problems with constraints. The definite integral as area. The fundamental theorem of calculus. Indefinite integrals. Improper integrals. Applications of the definite integral to probability.

Dr Ákos Dombi

Business Statistics

The primary purpose of the course is to acquaint students with the basic statistical toolbar and its business applications including the tools and methods of collecting, graphically presenting, describing, measuring, and analysing statistical data. The lessons focus on business statistics, sampling, and descriptive statistics. The course enables students to test hypotheses and to analyse regression and correlation in practice.

Mathematics II

Vectors in 2 and 3 dimensions. Coordinates. Equations for lines, planes. Vectors in n-dimensional space. Matrices. Systems of linear equations, Matrix equations. Determinants and inverse. Eigenvalues and eigenvectors. Basics of probability. Events, their probability. Independence. Conditional probability and Bayes theorem. Random variables and their expected value, variance and standard deviation. Discrete random variables. The binomial distribution. Poisson distribution. Continuous random variables. The cumulative distribution function and probability density functions. Uniform distribution. Normal probability distributions. The central limit theorem (statement only).

Dr Gábor Árva Dr Zsuzsanna Tóth

Calculus, statistics & econometrics

Economics I

The primary aim of the course is to acquaint students with the basic deﬁnitions of economics and the fundamental relationships in microeconomic context, which are important for those professionals who are going to work either in the business sector or in the various social sciences. The mind of economics and its toolbar can be successfully utilised in various business and social problem-solving situations. This course focuses on the principles of economics and the basic models of microeconomics. The analysis of consumer’s and producer’s decisions is followed by equilibrium and market failure analyses. The course also discusses models dealing with time and uncertainty. In the second part of the semester, a brief overview is provided on the foundations of welfare and political economy. This course is viewed as the grounding course of further optional and advanced courses in various topics of economics.

International Finance and Economics

This course aims to acquaint students with basic international economic and financial issues. During the classes, students learn about the macroeconomic theory and policy of open economies. We discuss the background of international financial flows and the key contexts and concepts of balance of payments statistics. Lectures address the theme of the exchange rate policy, and also the issues of the eurozone. We deal with the capital market actors, the development of financial markets, and international funding. Finally, we look into financial disturbances, crises, and crisis management.

Dr Tamás Pál

Dr Patrick Baude

Foreign Economic Policy

This course introduces the main concepts, mechanisms, and areas of foreign economic policy. The major goal is to equip students with the knowledge necessary for the successful management of international ﬁnances, commerce, and business both at the enterprise and the government level. Building on the foundations of economic policy and international economics, we aim to oﬀer a practice-oriented approach that, beyond the theoretical basis, also pays special attention to the newest empirical results regarding the individual topics. After the introduction of the main goals, concepts, and schools of foreign economic policy, we discuss two crucial aspects of the international political and economic environment of national economic policies: globalisation and regional economic integrations. We investigate the tendencies of economic development in the latest century focusing on inequality both between and within countries. The course continues with the discussion of foreign trade with a special focus on its potentials in enhancing economic growth. We also investigate the main aspects of international competitiveness, the related dilemmas of measurement, and foreign direct investments.

Credits

prerequisite

timeslots

2 admitted at

economy & economic

Dr Márk Molnár

Dr Ákos Dombi

Economics II

This course introduces the foundations of macroeconomics. We start with the basic concepts in macroeconomics and the very notion of economic modelling, endogenous and exogenous variables. After that, we discuss the characteristics of the major macroeconomic indicators (such as the GDP, inflation, and unemployment). We deal with the theories of short-term economic fluctuations in details. We investigate the mechanisms of aggregate demand via the IS-LM models both in closed and open economies. After modelling aggregate demand, we switch to the theories of aggregate supply. We introduce the Phillips curve. We also discuss the interface of economic policy and macroeconomics. In the frame of the latter, we introduce how the different schools of economic policy relate to the toolkits of fiscal and monetary policies. We also present the advantages and disadvantages of rulebased and discretionary decision-making in economic policy. Finally, we discuss the concept of microeconomics-based macroeconomics.

Economic Policy

This course offers insight into the basic concepts and schools of economic policy with a special emphasis on some crucial aspects of current national economic policies. The primary goal is to empower students to understand and interpret the national and global economic and social processes. With this end in view, we touch upon a broad spectrum of topics. We introduce the main schools of economic policy such as neoliberalism, the social market economy, the welfare state, Keynesian economic policy, and supply-side economic policy. We discuss economic globalisation as an essential part of the responsibilities and available tools of national economic policies in the 21st century. We deal with the two major sub-areas of economic policy, fiscal policy, and monetary policy, the financial crises, the redistributive systems of economic policy.

Dr Patrick Baude

Dr Tamás Pál

Dr Ákos Dombi

Industrial Organisation

The course aims to study the structure of firms and markets and their interactions. Instead of idealised models of firms and markets analysed in microeconomics, this course takes a closer, more realistic look, providing practical knowledge and a theoretical framework for analysis and prediction. The study of the industrial organisation adds real-world frictions such as limited information, transaction costs, costs of adjusting prices, government actions, and barriers to entry by new firms into a market to the perfectly competitive model. It then considers how firms are organised and how they interact in such a world. The course goes beyond the descriptive traditional structure-conduct-performance approach by using the latest advances in microeconomic theory, including transaction cost analysis, game theory, contestability, and information theory.

Data Analysis in the Social Sciences

This course will cover how regression analysis can be used to identify causal relationships. Much of the presentation will follow a policy evaluation perspective. We will discuss the implicit assumptions underlying each research design, read published papers that implement each design, and will see examples of how to execute each strategy using the freely available statistical software package R.

Dr Márk Molnár

Dr Patrick Baude

Management I

This course acquaints participants with the functioning of business organisations, as fundamental units of economy and society. Students will learn about the characteristics of human work in organisations, understand the behaviour of leaders and subordinates, peculiarities of group work in work settings as well as design and cultural aspects of an organisation as a whole. Applicable management methods and tools with their expected eﬀects will also be covered within the diﬀerent topics. Students will develop their knowledge, for example, in terms of organisational structure and culture, motivation, leadership, and management theories.

Leadership and Organisational Studies

The course aims to familiarise students with the challenges and difficulties of running and leading organisations. Participants will learn about the basic concepts of strategic management, managerial decision-making, management consulting, and organisational development. This course also provides students with the theoretical knowledge and technical skills to manage diverse personalities and solve workplace conflicts. Finally, participants will study the modern management theories and their lessons. Through the theoretical and practical knowledge acquired in this course, students will be able to use management tools, analyse organisations and treat different organisational areas as a system.

Mónika Bárány

Dr Anita Kozák

Dr Katalin Pádár

Management II

This course introduces the organisational aspects of Human Resources Management (HRM), which is a strategic approach to the effective management of organisational workers so that they can help the business gain a competitive advantage. The course includes the basic systems of HRM, enabling participants to apply theories and methods in their work environments successfully. In the course, attention will be paid to the development of individual knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs), which, can contribute to employees’ success in organisational settings (e.g., competencies to increase individual efficiency and performance, collaboration in different cultures).

Dr Eszter Daruka

three Credits none prerequisite flexible timeslots class 1 admitted at

Schools and Methods in Cultural Anthropology

The course focuses on different schools and methods in the complex field of cultural anthropology. In reviewing different subdisciplines of cultural anthropology throughout the semester, the course – after the general introductory sessions – concentrates on issues of psychological, aesthetical, linguistic, legal, and medical anthropology. The general structure of the course is such that in the first class dealing with each topic offers a theoretical overview, while the second class focuses on case studies, researches, and debates. The aim is to demonstrate the cultural anthropological viewpoints and approaches irelated to the above-mentioned topics. The objective of the course is to familiarise students with different subfields of cultural anthropology and to help the application of an anthropological understanding of current societal issues.

Sociology and the Study of Modern Societies

This is an introductory course not requiring any previous knowledge. It oﬀers a survey of some of the major research ﬁelds of sociology and, through their lens, some particular domains of social life in modern societies from deviance to education and from religion to lifestyle.

Máté Kiss

Dr Ottó Gecser

Fundamentals of Political Science

Don’t be turned oﬀ by the word “politics”! Our ability to solve our common problems lies in our capacity for politics. In this course we will learn about the processes, ideas, institutions, and skills that make for able and aware citizens and capable democratic polities. We will challenge each other to think critically and knowledgeably about politics and to become engaged participants in democratic life. To that end we will not only do a course together, but be part of a conversation on how best to improve our societies and our world.

Frank Thomas Zsigo

three Credits NONE prerequisite fixed timeslots class 2 admitted at

Transdisciplinarity and Expertise

The course offers an introduction to the growing literature on expertise and transdisciplinary research and innovation strategies. Topics include the ‘public understanding of science’, the ‘fractal model of expertise’, as well social and cognitive biases, 21st-century skills, and all the tools you need to survive in a post-truth world. The problem-spaces covered in the course will be illustrated with case studies, ranging from ‘wicked problems’ for sustainable development, through crisis-response in pandemic to pseudoscience, and more. The lectures trigger the reflection of the students on their worldviews and epistemologies, on their understanding of the nature of science, the difficulties one faces when making decisions in considerable uncertainty. By the end of the course, students will have improved their ability to interpret information relevant for (business) decision making by a deeper understanding of media-mechanisms, the nature of science in society, and the challenges of picking reliable expertise to solve complex problems.

Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

The course is built on the assumption that cultural anthropology, on the one hand, is a discipline that defines itself based on its research subjects (cultures outside of Europe) while, on the other hand, it can be regarded as an approach that is commonly used to analyse various social structures and cultural situations. The aim is to demonstrate the potential application of the cultural anthropological approach in social research; what cultural anthropology can communicate as “unusual” or unique. The objective of the course is to familiarise students with the defining nature of cultural anthropology, its trends, specific methods, and cultural anthropological theories developed in relation to culture in general and its elements, to help students recognise the world’s cultural diversity in order to develop sensitivity towards other cultures, and to prepare them to be able to identify and understand those.

Máté Kiss

Dr Gábor Zemplén

Dr Benedek Láng

Conceptual Tools of Sociology

This is an introductory course not requiring any previous knowledge. It acquaints students with essential forms of analysis and explanation used by sociologists, and it gives them conceptual tools for unpacking complex phenomena around them in sociological terms.

Dr Ottó Gecser

Gain international experience in Budapest!

Internationalisation at ELTE GTK

International students have been a much-valued part of our community contributing to the success of the Faculty of Economics through their extensive knowledge, diverse experiences, ﬂexible attitudes, and commendable work ethic. Local and foreign students have been able to learn from one another by attending the same classes and working in mixed project groups since the arrival of the ﬁrst few international students in 2019. By 2024, the number of non-Hungarian students has grown considerably to over 200 full-degree students and to 50-100 incoming exchange students per semester, and as our visibility grows, we expect to attract even more students in the coming years.

Our on-site offer: Internationalisation at home

All students are keen to experience other cultures and educational systems. Thanks to a number of internationalisation opportunities available to GTK students on campus, this is now feasible even without travelling abroad. Choose from among the following.

Charm-EU online and hybrid courses

ELTE is a founding member of the nine-member CHARM-EU University Alliance and undergraduate students can beneﬁt from the online and hybrid transnational courses oﬀered in various languages by six partner universities every semester. All the completed Charm-EU courses can be transferred and recognised at ELTE GTK.

The 9 members of the Charm-EU University Alliance

GTK’ students who have already participated in the Charm-EU courses:

Botond Békés-Bajkay

(IBE student from Hungary) participated in the course “The Nordic Model of Welfare” organised by Åbo Akademi University (Turku, Finland): “I have been interested in Finland and Finnish culture for a long time…. This Charm-EU course helped me see how the Finnish system works in an international environment. In addition, the reading and writing of academic essays are skills that … will be useful in my later university years…. I would specifically advise people who want to study abroad with Erasmus to …. see if there are any course in their chosen Erasmus country.” Read the full story here.

Le Vu Phuong Uyen

(IBE student with a Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship from Vietnam) participated in the course “Sustainable and Circular Economy” organised by Åbo Akademi University (Turku, Finland): “The course has benefited me in several ways. First of all, I was able to apply what I had learned during my degree program to the problems presented in the course. This has facilitated a deeper understanding of both the materials and allowed me to develop an interdisciplinary approach to research. Furthermore, I came out a better reader and writer thanks to multiple writing tasks… My research skills also improved, …. the final assignment gave me the opportunity to practice citing and using referencing tools. Lastly, the course made me become more aware of specific sustainability problems around the world and what is being done to combat them…”. Read more here.

Spring hackathon with AVANS University (The Netherlands):

This 3-day event (with some preparatory research and online collaboration with the Dutch students) allows GTK students to experience the project-based teaching style of the partner university and to make friends while working on a UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) in mixed groups. Students learn and understand a new way of problem solving and thinking called ‘Design Thinking’ to explore the current situation in Budapest/at ELTE Astoria Campus and to come up with recommendations for making Budapest/the campus a more sustainable place. Through hard work and fun, participants can earn 3 credits in this free elective course.

Layla Gazieva

(IBE student with a Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship, from Azerbaijan) on the 2023 hackathon: “Throughout the hackathon, we worked on our solution constantly, being supported by the professors …. We also had to work within a tight time frame, which made the experience even more intense and exciting…. I learned so much, not just about business and problem-solving, but also about the importance of teamwork and collaboration. I also made many amazing friends….” Read more here.

Hagar Sabek

(FA student with a Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship, from Jordan, second from left) participated in the 2024 hackathon: “… I acquired a strong base of the Design Thinking methodology that will surely beneﬁt me in my future studies, lifegoals, and my career. It also helped me improve my communication, presentation, and teamworking skills.” The full article is available here.

Business case competitions

GTK students can participate in various business-related games and competitions to test their creativity, business acumen, and communication skills both in Hungarian and English. Recently, in the jointly organised GTK-ACCA (ACCA (Association of Chartered Certiﬁed Accountants) interactive business game, students worked in groups to make business and ﬁnancial decisions about the organisation of a large-scale event (a concert) while assessing the potential risks. Read more here.

Jaya Karthikeyan

(Faculty of Economics FA student from India; first on the left): “… overall, the whole event was a great learning experience, and it gave me an opportunity to find out more about ACCA. A primary takeaway from this event was the ideas and important information on things that I definitely need in order to take my future career to the next level.”

Melvin Tammen

(Master’s student on Erasmus+ exchange at GTK, University of Oldenburg, Germany, second from the right): “Overall, I really enjoyed the event. On the one hand, I liked the scenario of being a new event organizer. Secondly, I liked the friendly atmosphere created by … the organizers and … the participants. This meant that nobody felt uncomfortable, and we were able to learn a lot from the event. I think we won partly thanks to our teamwork. We discussed every decision, and everyone was heard. In the end, we made decisions unanimously.”

ELTE Business and Economics Summer University (BESU),

started in 2019, offers one-week courses for undergraduate and graduate students of business and economics from all corners of the world every July. An annually updated variety of courses is offered, which in 2024 included such popular topics as “Building Skills in Business Communication”, “Innovation Management”, “Practical Business-to-Business Marketing in Action”, “Strategies of Multinational Enterprises”. The courses include 25 hours of classroom teaching by local and international teachers and practicing professionals in the morning and extracurricular activities in the afternoon and in the evening. The courses offer a 3 ECTS workload, which may be accepted for credit transfer by the participants’ home universities. Watch the 2024 video here. Further information: https://gtk.elte.hu/sumuni, Facebook: ELTE BESU Contact: sumuni@gtk.elte.hu.

Marth Deferm

(Belgium) participated in the Comparative Development BESU course: rams of GTK seemed interesting to me. I really liked the university, the classes, …, it was also very well organized, and everything was nice. Our tutor also made a good job. The BESU course will definitely be a helpful tool in courses I’ll be taking at university the next few years and later on in life as well.”

from the subjects she was studying: “After the ﬁrst few minutes, I knew that it was a quite good choice.

The teacher (Gabriele TragschitzKöck) is very nice, has a lot of experience and great knowledge. She can keep our attention throughout the lectures with fascinating topics"

David Michiels a participant from Belgium: “It is interesting to learn the point of view of people from different countries … I really like here at BESU that we can learn interactively in smaller classes."

GTK students who meet the requirements set by the organisers and the Faculty are oﬀered free participation and can use their BESU credits to complete individual subjects in the standard ELTE GTK curriculum.

Opportunities abroad

Besides utilising the various on-site internationalisation options, GTK students are equally eager to experience life abroad through study-abroad and traineeship semesters. The following opportunities are open to Hungarian and international students alike during their studies (albeit with some restrictions as Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship holders are not eligible for parallel scholarship during their studies with the exception of some short-term opportunities, including the Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programmes or BIPs).

Erasmus+ is the most popular exchange programme for mobility in Europe (and, in a few cases, outside the EU/EEA). While working abroad with Erasmus+ during one’s studies is increasingly popular, most GTK students go abroad to study at one of our 70+ partner universities in over 20 countries (summer 2024 data). The number of agreements is on the rise and every semester students are oﬀered exchange opportunities at a continuously growing variety of destinations. It may encourage you to apply if you know that Erasmus+ participants need not pay a tuition fee at their host university, and they also receive a generous grant. Furthermore, the fact that the credits earned abroad can be transferred at ELTE GTK (allowing a timely completion of your studies) may sound appealing. The following schemes are available at our faculty, — study abroad (1 semester) — traineeship during studies to meet your curricular internship requirement and/or gain work experience (2-5 months)

— traineeship after graduation (2-5 months)

A highly informative description of the above scholarships (e.g. the process of application, the documentation requirements, the deadlines, and much more) is accessible on the faculty website.

International University Networks:

ELTE actively participates in the work of several prestigious university networks including Charm-EU (the CHARM European University Alliance), the Coimbra Group, the European University Association (EUA), the Network of Universities from the Capitals of Europe (UNICA), and several others. Students can, for example, spend a semester at one of the member-universities of the Coimbra Group or, upon receiving their bachelor degree, consider master’s studies in Global Challenges for Sustainability through Charm-EU.

Institutional Bilateral Mobility:

ELTE has bilateral agreements with around 200 partner universities all around the world. GTK welcomes fee-waiver “guest students” for 1-2 semesters, and our students can also apply to study at such far-away destinations as Japan and South Korea. For more information, go to ELTE’s website, where you can also read about the next opportunity.

Students who prefer not to leave Hungary for an extended period, may participate in short-term mobility, for example, in Erasmus+

Blended Intensive Programmes

(BIPs). The most recent topics included beer brewing and beer marketing in Č eské Bud ě jovice (Czech Republic) and “Digital and Social Media Marketing” at the Summer University offered by the prestigious university and GTK’s strategic partner, EM Normandie in France.

Supporting international students along their educational journey

Being away from home, whether short-term or long-term, is an exhilarating experience, which presents a great number of opportunities from discovering a new country, making new friends, and establishing professional contacts with people from all over the world all the way to ensuring progress and success in a new educational environment. The challenges are also infinite, and this may appear frightening first, especially if you have never been away from home or have not studied in an English-language environment before. To allow you to meet these challenges, overcome any difficulties along your way, and to succeed in your studies and personal life, the Faculty of Economics, together with ELTE, provides support in various forms and by a strong team of dedicated professionals: teachers, coordinators, and fellow students.

ELTE’s administrative centre: You can arrange almost all your administrative matters from collation of data through insurance to ﬁnances in person at Quaestura Oﬃce of Student Services at Egyetem tér 5. or online at https://qter.elte.hu/

Accommodation: The university offers several options. You can choose from dormitories (with high quality and affordable places and a strong community of students) or private accommodation (including apartment houses, flats, and hostels), through the Dormitory Centre and the Housing Office, respectively. As the work of the two offices is coordinated, you can apply for both services simultaneously.

IT Support: If you need help with your IIG, ELTE wiﬁ, Neptun, Moodle, or any other IT-related matters, ﬁrst search the website for guides and detailed descriptions. If you feel lost, contact the operators by email (operator@elte.hu) or visit them personally on the Astoria campus. More information and address: https://www.elte.hu/en/it-support.

Student wellbeing: The social, mental, spiritual, and physical wellbeing of international and local students is a top priority at ELTE, and various services are provided centrally.

Support for special-needs students:

ELTE oﬀers you various accommodations and adjustments (e.g. exam seating or length), personal guidance and counselling, as well as tactile and adapted learning materials, audiomaps, etc. to ensure the full participation of all students in university life. Contact the Disability Center and your faculty disability coordinator.

Counselling: If you experience personal and emotional issues that impact on your academic work and university life, you can get free and conﬁdential counselling from ELTE’s psychologists and psychology students through the Life Management Counselling team and the Peer Counselling Group (alias the International Peer-Counselling Organisation, IPCO). Information: https://www.elte.hu/en/life-management.

Career support and services:

Internships are an integral part of your curriculum so you are likely to have an advantage over many other students when it comes to finding a job after graduation. If you need assistance with planning your professional career (or even with finding part-time and summer jobs), reach out to ELTE’s Career Centre, who provide personal counselling (e.g. CV improvement) as well as regular workshops and career fairs.

It is of utmost importance to ELTE to remain in close contact with its graduates. The ELTE’s Alumni Organisation and its recently founded International Alumni Chapter, invites international graduates and visiting students to join the organisation and look forward to maintaining an active relationship with old and new friends all over the world and to expanding your educational and professional opportunities. The Alumni Card provides various discounts from partner organisations including “Sziget”, several tourist attractions and hotels, theatres, bookshops, etc., as well as newsletters with unique opportunities and exclusive alumni events.

International Oﬃce

Your first encounter with the Faculty of Economics (and perhaps even Hungary) will be through us. From application to graduation, our team will be your closest institutional ally in Budapest. Read our guides on the website and in Moodle, and for the swiftest response, contact us by email. We provide enrolment and inductions sessions for our new students at the start of every semester. Learn about GTK, our academic specifications (from course types and completion to assessment, and beyond), the best study strategies, documentation requirements, and much more already during your first week. And even before your classes start, get tips and advice on how to study in a foreign language and how to get the most out of your studies.

Find the International Oﬃce’s contact details in two places: — on the website: https://gtk.elte.hu/en/contact-us — on the Moodle page for international students

In the ﬁrst semester of its existence in 2022, over 1,300 students used the Video Library for over 17,000 hours. Half the students spent up to 10 hours there. However, the record was held by a bachelor student who spent 97 hours watching class recordings there.

Registry is the short name of the Student Aﬀairs and Regist- rar’s Oﬃce at ELTE GTK. They are responsible for most faculty-related administrative matters in a student’s life.

GTK Video Library

The Faculty of Economics ensures equal opportunities and fair assessment for all its students by using 21st century technology. If you worry about not doing well in your assessments, it will be reassuring for you to know that if you miss any of your lectures (due to late arrival, illness, or for any other reason), you will be able to watch them at the VL six days a week. The recordings can be played at a higher speed, and you can search both the teacher’s speech and written text for key words and expressions. This service enables you to revise for your midterms and exams by watching videos of lectures is unique in Hungary. Simply book a slot at the Video Library via Inform (https://inform.gtk.elte.hu/).

GTK Exam Centre

Another component of GTK’s commitment to equality and fairness in assessment is ensured by computerbased midterms and exams, which have been the norm since autumn 2022. The truly state-of-the-art EC is equipped with 200 computer stations. While taking computer-based exams may sound disheartening at ﬁrst, all new students are given hands-on introduction to EC equipment. Practice exercises and stations, as well as rehearsal slots are also offered. The invigilators are extra helpful, too!

Peer support

GTK’s student community (as part of the university student community) will always be on hand when it comes to supporting new undergraduates, be they local or international. The following faculty- and university-level units are responsible for student support and representation ensuring that students’ voices are heard, represented, and considered so that the University develops to the benefit of all its students.

Social spaces: study areas, student lounges, and kitchens

If you have a break between your classes and wish to prepare for your next assessment, go to the quiet study area at the Video Library. If, however, you would like to discuss your projects with your fellow students or simply want to spend some time with friends, the comfortable student lounges and sunny yards in Buildings Q and P are also at your disposal. Student kitchens with vending machines and microwave ovens, as well as the “Könyvtár Klub & Kert Café” in Trefort Garden (on Astoria Campus) will ensure that you can concentrate on your studies on a full stomach.

EHÖK

The University Student Union represents both Hungarian and international students on different issues, such as educational, allowance, and remedy issues. This autonomous organisation is made up of the faculties’ delegates and coordinates the work of the Student Unions of the different faculties. It has a Foreign Affairs Committee, which, in collaboration with ELTE’s International Strategy Office, has established the International Student Advisory Committee (ISAC) to achieve the formal representation and integration of ELTE’s continuously growing international student community.

— Visit ISAC’s oﬃce at Egyetem tér 5. (next to Quaestura) on Thursdays (12:00-14:00) and Fridays (10:00-12:00).

— ISAC’s GTK members also have regular oﬃce hours on our campus (see Moodle).

— All international students can become ISAC members – look out for the call every summer!

GTK HÖK (GTK Student Union)

founded in 2019, is part of the University Student Union and represents all the students of the Faculty of Economics. Beyond student advocacy, its responsibilities include facilitating communication between instructors and students, organising and coordinating social events, promoting educational opportunities abroad, and advising students on scholarship matters. Like its parent organisation, GTK HÖK also has a team of people directly responsible for the representation and integration of the faculty ‘s international student body.

With the participation of 7-9 Hungarian and (both degree-seeking and exchange) international students, the Foreign Aﬀairs Committee of GTK HÖK created a Working Group in spring 2024 to focus on solving issues speciﬁc to international students and to make recommendations to the Student Union on these students’ behalf.

GTK HÖK is strongly committed to providing academic support to fellow students (study groups) and to integrating international students through various free-time activities (including a whole array of clubs), which will be described in more detail later.

Contact GTK HÖK’s team dedicated to help international students:

— Vice-President for International Affairs, international team coordinator: kulugy@gtkhok.elte.hu

— Officer Responsible for Foreign Students’ Affairs: kulfugyek@gtkhok.elte.hu

— Stipendium Hungaricum Mentor representing SH scholarship holders: shmentor@gtkhok.elte.hu

https://www.facebook.com/eltegtkhok/ https://www.instagram.com/eltegtkhok/?hl=en

TikTok: http://www.tiktok.com/@eltegtkhok https://chat.whatsapp.com/Bqgucpl78vn1LJ6f6BuN3h

GTK Story – international edition 2024: the oﬃcial magazine of the Faculty of Economics Student Union: https://issuu.com/eltegti/docs/gtk_story_2024_international

ESN (Erasmus Student Network)

is one of the biggest volunteer student organisations in international higher education in Europe, which has a university organisation (ESN ELTE) and is active at faculty level, too.

Do not forget:

— you can apply for the ESN card to receive various discounts all over Europe. — you can participate in ESN parties, social and cultural events, as well as sports competitions, and short and long trips and camps organised by ESN.

— you can get an ESN mentor (more below)

ESN information and contact:

— Webpage: https://www.elte.hu/en/mentor/esn

— Email: gtk@elte.esn.hu

— Instagram: @esnelte

You can also become a Stu- dent Ambassador. Find out about the newest members and what it takes to join of this respected community, here: https://www.elte.hu/ en/international-studentbodies.

Mentors and Buddies

ELTE’s international student ambassadors

are degree-seeking students whose role is to represent the university on various forums and to advise students who are in the process of applying for the degree programmes. Some ambassadors like Le Ha Anh, however, go far beyond this and are active in helping current students as well.

Contact GTK’s student ambassador, Le Ha Anh (International Business Economics, 2022) at lehaanh@student.elte.hu

are there to help international students. Depending on which group you belong to, you can get help from different groups of students: the ESN, the Stipendium Hungaricum Mentor Network (SHMN), or GTK HÖK’s new buddy system. Naturally, these organisations do more than just provide experienced and trusted advisers. They do everything to make their peers feel at home at ELTE and in Hungary.

| Facebook: ESN ELTE - Erasmus Student etwork ELTE

As an Erasmus student, you can request a mentor through the PAPAYA system. Your own guardian angel in Budapest will help you with all areas of your studies and life during your exchange. ESN mentors are knowledgeable about various educational and administrative matters, can help you get by in Hungarian, provide orientation on campus and in the city, and will help you deal with various other queries, as well.

If you are Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship student, you can request an SH mentor through the Stipendium Hungaricum Mentor Network (SHMN). As SH mentors are students themselves, they are well aware of the administrative and educational tasks you will face and will also be able to help you with getting used to Hungarian transportation, culture, and norms. As they are also holders of this prestigious scholarship, they know everything about the specific requirements you will have to meet during your studies, e.g. the annual credit requirement, the signing of the monthly presence sheet, etc. And if you participate in the free cultural and touristic programmes organised by the network, your integration into local (student) life will be completely guaranteed.

Finally, if you are neither an Erasmus nor an SH student but a selffinanced or guest student, you can still get a helping hand through GTK HÖK’s newest initiative, the Buddy System. Buddies are GTK students, and they will make sure all GTK students receive the faculty-specific information they need. On top of this, they will also encourage you to be involved in the various extracurricular activities organised by GTK HÖK and thus make you a satisfied and happy member of our community.

Extracurricular and recreational activities

You need to balance your academic and personal life to maintain your social and mental well-being, and to be successful. While adapting to a new academic culture may require embracing change and stepping out of your comfort zone, you should not abandon the things that made you happy before you embarked on your new journey abroad, either. Be ready to welcome the unknown but, simultaneously, remain connected to some old interests and routines. Free time activities and hobbies, old and new alike, will help you relax and unwind and also make friends, and thus become more integrated in your new community.

ELTE offers a wide range of opportunities and GTK’s clubs invite all students to participate in countless activities. Pick your favourites from the following options.

GTK clubs

If you want to make a diﬀerence in the commu nity or wish to create communities beyond the classroom join the various GTK clubs (called “societies” at other universities). Try new skills or or develop old ones while meeting friends with similar interests. First-year students are particularly strongly recommended to join/start a club to make friends with older students and receive a lot of useful advice from them.

The ﬁrst GTK Student Union clubs came into existence in 2023. Now you can choose from more than 10 clubs, both business/professional and

welcome to start their own clubs, too.

oﬀered by ELTE oﬀered by GTK

Study groups –a special type of club enhancing learning

GTK students have a sense of responsibility for one another. In the spring semester of 2024, the first study groups were created by the students (with help from GTK Stu dent Union) to improve the academic results of students. The groups are led by peer tutors (students themselves) who help their friends understand the most difficult courses (three finance-related courses in the first semester) and pass the midterms by meeting before the tests and going through the material together.

If you are good in a dif- ﬁcult subject, you, too can become a study group leader! Contact GTK Student Union to discuss the details.

GTK Hiking Club (GTK Túra klub)

aspires to introduce students to the beauty of nature. Join their walks and hikes in and around Budapest to discover your immediate surroundings from a different angle and to make new friends. Wear the right gear (sturdy shoes and weather-appropriate clothing) and build your stamina to walk and talk at the same time. Read some enthusiastic accounts below.

Three Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship holders from Vietnam (Le Ha Anh, Pham Minh Chau, and Le Vu Phuong Uyen, all IBE) participated in one of the three “The lights of South Buda” walks in the spring semester of 2023: “… a valuable opportunity to participate in more extracurricular activities with Hungarian students … without any the language barriers and a chance to boost one's mental and physical health: our muscles were strengthened, and our batteries were recharged after a hard-working week, allowing us for an even more productive week ahead…. We were able to appreciate the beauty of Budapest for the entire evening …and the spectacular view of Budapest at dusk, from up high and afar …. the sight of the dark sky with twinkling stars… ” Read more here.

Julia Huesler (Spring 2023 Erasmus Student from Switzerland) used these words to describe the National Day Hike to Danube Bend: “a perfect opportunity to switch oﬀ from university work and spend several hours in nature; an activity that keeps you moving, … the perfect occasion to meet new people and … to expand your network. …. you get to know not only Budapest but also some more remote, rural areas.” The announcement of the trip can be read here while Julia’s account is accessible here.

Razan Naber (International Business Economics) and Saif Dafesh (Finance and Accounting), both 2022 Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship students from Jordan, attended the “Lunch at Normafa” hike in 2023: “… it was rewarding to reach the top and take in the amazing scenery from János hill Erzsébet lookout tower; …It was nice to see what else is out there in this country …. on days with clear skies, we can even see the mountains of Slovakia! We also enjoyed some Hungarian delicacies at Normafa Rétes Büfé…” More on this trip on the website.

Beyond the free-time activities organised by the Faculty of Economics, students are also encouraged to seize the following opportunities oﬀered by the university in three diﬀerent areas.

Sports

Take sports courses both for pleasure and for credits (registration via Neptun). The University Athletics Club (BEAC, 1898) o ﬀ ers trai nings to people with a desire to be active in over 40 diﬀerent sports including aerobics, yoga, dancing, football, fencing, wall and rock climbing, swimming, martial sports, etc. To choose your best sport, attend one of the sports events during the academic year and try various sports for free.

Culture

BEAC information:

— https://www.elte.hu/en/sport

— https://www.beac.hu/en/

— https://www.facebook.com/elte.beac

— https://www.instagram.com/beac1898/?hl=hu

BEAC members have won six Olympic and over 400 championshipHungarian titles.

If you are already physically active, why not join one of ELTE’S cultural organisations either as a spectator or as a participant. The Eötvös Art Ensemble consist of three groups: the Béla Bartók University Choir, the University Chamber Orchestra, and the Folk Dance Ensemble. Do not miss their most popular concert of the year, the Christmas concert in the Aula Magna Ceremony Hall of ELTE. More information: https://www.elte.hu/en/culture

Hungarian language

All newcomers to Hungary fear the language barrier as Hungarian is said to be among the most difficult languages to learn. Stipendium Hungaricum students have two semesters of Hungarian language and culture classes in their first year, but all ELTE citizens can also attend Hungarian language and culture courses, too. Register for a “General Hungarian language course” in Neptun during the "first-come-first-served" course registration period and even earn credits. Practice your new skills with your Hungarian peers and surprise your friends at home with your favourite Hungarian expressions.

ELTE GTK wishes you an enjoyable stay in Budapest and remarkable academic achievements during your months or years at the youngest and most dynamic faculty of the oldest and most esteemed university of the country.

For correspondence, please use the following emails

Full degree students: degreeprogramme@gtk.elte.hu

Stipendium Hungaricum students: sh@gtk.elte.hu

Erasmus+ Incoming students: incoming@gtk.elte.hu

Erasmus+ Outgoing students: outgoing@gtk.elte.hu

Summer University students: sumuni@gtk.elte.hu

Where to find us?

Building Q, Rákóczi út 7. Budapest 1088, Hungary see map: https://bit.ly/2UaCN4o entry through ELTE Trefort Campus see map: https://bit.ly/2VKZo8r