Hungary: New government starts series of higher education and research reforms to "fix" 16 years of Orbán

Hungary's higher education and research sectors are undergoing major changes and reforms since the new pro-European government took office in May 2026, ending 16 years of far-right rule under Viktor Orbán. The new Prime Minister, Péter Magyar, and his government have notably initiated rapprochement with the EU to recover frozen funds and unban Hungarian institutions from programmes like Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe.

Tamas Ruppert, Head of the Department of System Engineering at the University of Pannonia and co-chair of the Hungarian Young Academy, called the ongoing effort to return to Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe the "biggest, really positive change for the whole country" in an interview with News Tank on 05/10/2026.

The government also proposed a new science and innovation strategy, which…