Two leading figures from the education and construction sectors have joined forces

Duna Group and the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) have signed a strategic cooperation agreement. At the official announcement of the partnership, the agreement was signed by Beatrix Szabó, Chair and CEO of the Hungarian construction group, and Charaf Hassan, Rector of the university.

It emerged at the ceremony held in the Rector’s Council Chamber at BME that,

Cooperation between the two organisations began several years ago, including in the areas of internship programmes and research and development. The current agreement provides a formalised and structured framework for these joint projects, which until now had been carried out on an ad hoc basis.

An international role could become a key factor for both sides

At the event, Charaf Hassan, rector of the university founded in 1782, pointed out in his speech that their stated aim is to invite as many professionals from the construction industry as possible. „We would like to ensure that engineers from Duna Group continue to come to our institution to teach on a regular basis, just as they have done up to now.”

At Thursday’s event, the rector also announced that a bachelor’s degree programme in land surveying and land management will be established at BME, with teaching set to begin in September 2027.

Szabolcs Rózsa, Dean, pointed out that BME has played an increasingly significant international role in recent years, educating many international students. „For this reason, it is particularly important to us that, thanks to Duna Group, we are now entering into a partnership with a group of companies operating at a European level, which will enable our students to gain international experience.”

Associate Professor Tamás Lovas also emphasised that,

that BME is an international university with major international partners in countries where there is a much deeper-rooted culture of cooperation between universities and industry. „We can learn a great deal from their best practices; furthermore, anyone who enters into a contract with us will also be able to establish useful links with the industrial partners of our international university partners.”

Attitude is just as important as knowledge

In her speech delivered at the signing of the strategic cooperation agreement, Beatrix Szabó, CEO of Duna Group, drew on her own experiences as a former student at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. „It is not the specific theory and practical knowledge that I would highlight among the values gained here, but rather the mindset that provides a stable foundation and structure for finding the right solutions in today’s rapidly changing and unstable world.”

Of the collaboration between the two organisations to date, he highlighted the joint R&D projects and the internship programme, during which students were able to practise applying the latest technologies implemented at Duna Group.

„However, the programmes weren’t just meaningful for the students: they also gave us a glimpse into the kinds of questions the professionals of the future are grappling with.”

In the Duna Group and BIM departments, over 80 per cent of staff are young people

Two leading experts from Hungary’s market-leading infrastructure development company also attended the ceremony. József Pál, project director of Duna Group, who was previously featured in our publication as Engineer of the Month, József Pál, project director of Duna Group, drew on his own early career experiences to emphasise that young people should get in touch with an experienced professional as soon as possible, ideally whilst still at university or in secondary school.

Imre Vass, Production Manager for the Duna Group and BIM programmes, pointed out that they provide and receive assistance on numerous technical matters from the teaching staff at BME, and that they are currently collaborating with the Department of Geodesy. He highlighted participation in specialist engineering programmes at Duna Group, both at a theoretical and practical level, as a further excellent opportunity for students. He particularly emphasised the successfully organised geodesy field camps.

He went on to explain,

In the Duna Aszfalt and BIM divisions, more than 80 per cent of staff are under 35. „The dynamism they bring confirms that the key to success lies in young people; that is why we want to invest as much energy as possible in this area”

– stated the expert, who had previously been recognised as Engineer of the Month for the Magyar Építők .

In conclusion, he highlighted that one of the main benefits of the agreement was that the collaboration with the university would operate according to a strategy based on a continuous flow of internal information. He added that, as intended, this more organised approach would be reflected not only in the relationship with BME, but also in the educational activities of the entire group.