Corvinus to expand with a technology-intensive new campus on Ménesi Road next year

As part of the complex renewal of Corvinus University of Budapest – digital, infrastructural and educational – the institution will be equipped with a technology-intensive, inspiringly future-oriented and sustainability-oriented building complex, and the Neptun study administration system will be modernised. Part of the improvements will be conducted with a HUF 1.5 billion grant awarded to the University from the EU’s recovery fund, Corvinus said at a press conference on 9 December.

Corvinus is continuously striving to maintain its leading educational role and competitiveness, and has embarked on a comprehensive digital, infrastructure and educational modernisation. In addition to its own resources, Corvinus has been awarded HUF 1.491 billion in non-reimbursable funding from the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Instrument for innovation and academic development, focusing on four interrelated areas: creating an innovative new campus, IT renewal, harnessing the benefits of digitalisation and training development.

The Campus is owned, managed and financed by the Maecenas Universitatis Corvini Foundation, which is the owner of the University, and is providing additional funding of HUF 12 billion in public aid. The total cost of construction, which has started in autumn 2021, is expected to be around HUF 16 billion net. Following preparatory work based on community planning, the new Corvinus campus on Ménesi Road is scheduled to open next autumn. The Campus will have an energy system unique in Hungary, using the latest thermal insulation technologies and providing energy supply through solar panels and ground-source solar probes.

“The renewable building complex will also meet Leed Gold’s stringent sustainability certification criteria, as well as AA+, the highest energy efficiency rating, for the first time in a higher education investment in Hungary.” – Márton Barta, Head of Strategy at Corvinus, said at the press conference. He added: “Between 600 and 700 students will be able to work on the Campus at the same time, with all the educational and social spaces dedicated to creative collaboration. The building will house the University’s Entrepreneurship Incubation Programme and the Data Space, home to innovative data science projects.”

Péter Major, Head of Student Services at Corvinus, while presenting the digital renewal of the university, said, “A good student and faculty experience starts with administration. We must strive to ensure that our students can focus their time and resources on acquiring professional skills, and our lecturers on teaching and research. This requires a smoothly functioning, customisable and system-oriented learning administration, which we plan to further improve through the complex further development of the Neptun system. Among other things, we will enable online enrolment and provide a user-friendly way of tracking applications for part-time courses abroad and internships, as well as providing students with an up-to-date view of the processing of their scholarship applications and their appeals processes.”

IT upgrades include hybrid rooms, the creation of lecture halls with cameras, multiple monitors, advanced sound systems and the digitalisation of meeting rooms. Educational developments will focus on the digitisation of teaching materials and the development of new training courses focusing on data science and the business aspects of artificial intelligence.

The EU contribution to the renewal of the university comes from the EU Recovery Plan call for proposals RRF-2.1.2-21, Infrastructure and skills development for practice-oriented higher education.