Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan has awarded as many as 1,427 scholarships under the Stipendium Hungaricum Programme since 2016. The students have availed themselves of the opportunity in various disciplines at Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD levels.
It is pertinent to mention here that the process for award of scholarships for the academic year 2026 is underway and is expected to complete by June 2026, as HEC has received 26,000 applications against its latest call.
The Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship Programme is a fully-funded initiative for Bachelor’s, Master’s, One-Tier Master’s and PhD studies across wide range of disciplines, including engineering, IT, agriculture, medicine, business and social sciences.
The programme aims to strengthen academic and research cooperation between Pakistan and Hungary by offering opportunities that deepen institutional and educational collaboration. It provides fully funded access to high quality European education, including tuition-free studies, monthly stipend, accommodation support, and medical insurance. It promotes cultural exchange and global exposure, enabling Pakistani students to interact in a diverse, multicultural academic environment.
The Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship Programme was started with an initial Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in December 2015, which facilitated 80 annual scholarships over three years. The first batch of 64 students embarked on their academic journey to Hungary in September 2016, marking a successful start. A revised MoU in 2017 elevated the annual scholarship count to 200, followed by a renewal in 2020, extending the partnership until December 2022.
Subsequently, a revised agreement underscored a substantial expansion, offering up to 400 scholarships annually across diverse educational levels for another three years, from 2023 to 2025. Most recently, the agreement has been further renewed, continuing the provision of up to 400 scholarships annually for the period 2026 to 2028 and ensuring sustained opportunities for higher education in Hungary.
