About Us

Microdemocracy

Rajk College is an institution based on democratic principles. It is essential for us that the members decide on all issues. Our most important decision-making body is the College Assembly, which all college members are part of. During Assembly meetings, members debate about a variety of issues and then put them to vote. The Assembly is responsible for the election of the committees leading the college, such as the Student Board and the Academic Committee as well as the Admission Board.

Activity

Rajk College’s mission is to educate intellectuals who are responsible and sensitive toward social issues. We often talk and even debate about Hungary’s social problems, international conflicts and other relevant public affairs. We also try to do more than just talking and actively bring change, that is why the college launched several social projects.

Study Corner

The college is a professional hub. Our members are social sciences students, coming from a variety of different academic backgrounds, which serves to help broaden each other’s horizons. We study from the best Hungarian teachers, and we aim to keep in touch with academics of the highest international standards through the college’s Neumann and Simon Awards. We are proud of the professional achievements of both our current members and our alumnni.

Habitat

The collage also serves as a home for its members. We live together in rooms of 3-5, which we decorate according to our own tastes. Other community spaces are also highly important for us: people often arrange common dinners in the kitchens of each living floors, we chill in the yard, hanging our feet in the pool in summer, study in our library and party in the basement.

Student Board

Juhász Réka

Bátor Adrienn

Nagy Péter

Szuhai Flóra (Chair of the Student Board)

Lentner Balázs

Szücs Viktória

Dormán Hanga

Szuhai Flóra

(Chair of the Student Board)

Adults

Chikán Attila

Director (1970-2010) , Founding President (2010-)

Ilyés Márton

Director (2010-2019)

Főző Zsolt

Director (2019-)

Barta Márton

Co-Director (2019-)

Simonovits Gábor

Co-Director (2019-)

Our history

1970
Foundation
Attila Chikán, a Hungarian junior professor at that time, came up with the idea of "szakkollégium" - "collage for advanced studies" in 1969. He wanted to establish a "proper dormitory" and his idea gained the support of Kálmán Szabó, the rector of Karl Marx Economic University (which is Corvinus University today). The rules, structure and everyday operation of the college were designed in cooperation with second year university students who showed willingness to join the initiative. The principles of such a "college for advanced studies" were inspired by two institutionalized educational models: the Hungarian Folk College Movement and the English college-system. After this conscious planning, the college was founded in March 1970.
1970
1974
Naming
During its early years, the college was simply called Karl Marx Economic University's College for Advanced Studies. College members chose the name of László Rajk because of two reasons: First, Rajk was a committed supporter of the College Movement in the 1940s. Second, while he had been the victim of a show trial in the 1950s, his repuation was rehabilitated after his death, with his reburial serving as a significant anti-government protest a few months before the 1956 Hungraian revolution. Hence, the name of László Rajk was a taboo during the years of the Kádár-regime, which aimed to communicate the continuity of the Hungarian communist movement.
1974
1981
Moving
In 1981, the college moved from Veres Pálné Street to Makarenko Street 20 (that is called Horánszky Street 20 today).
1981
1985
Summer Camp at Szarvas
The first Summer Meeting of Collages for Advanced Studies (NYATA) was organized by Rajk and Bibó Collage. The event played an important role in young university students' community building efforts, but it also attracted the attention of the Political Committee of the Hungarian Communist Party. College students discussed the topics of poverty, environment protection, modernization, innovetion and Central European way of life.
1985
1994
Neumann Award
The college founded the John von Neumann Award in 1994. It is given to scholars whose contribution to the advancement of exact social sciences is outstanding, and who also had a great impact on the college members' professional development. The award is unique amongst economic awards, since our students' community decide on whom it is going to be given.
1994
2004
Herbert Simon Award
The college founded the Herbert Simon Award in 2004 to give business thinkers, whose academic works, to a very large extent, helped to solve business problems, and who also had a great impact on the college members' professional development. Similarly to the Neumann Award, Simon Awardee is also elected by the college community.
2004
2006
Moving
In 2006, the college once again moved to another building, but this time we didn't go far. We moved from Horánszky Street 20 to Horánszky Street 6, which has been our home ever since.
2006
2013
Kálmán Szabó Talent Program
In 2012, the number of state-funded scholarships were significantly reduced in the fields of economic and business university programs. These changes further limited social mobility, which was always a central value of Rajk College. Thus, the College members launched the Kálmán Szabó Talent Program in order to enhance social mobility. The program helps talented young people, who come from underprivileged backgrounds, to get into university and cope with their studies once they are accepted.
2013

Advisory Committee

International relations

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Central European Conference

Central European Conference (CEC) is a biennial event organized by Rajk College, usually held in summer. The conference’s various sections are organized around an overarching topic involving Hungarian and international professors’ lectures, discussions and workshops. Rajk members and international students attend CEC. In 2019, the main topic of the conference was ‘Technocapitalist Democracy’. Rajk members studied together with students from all over Europe in six thematic sections, which were the following: Machine Learning, Smart Cities, Changing Social Role of Companies, Big Money, Big Politics, Big Data, Cyber Diplomacy, and Competition Policy.

EUCA

The European University College Associaton (EuCA) is an international hub, which aims to create a platform for networking between European colleges and university organizations. Its primary goal is to facilitate cultural exchange and strengthen European identity. EuCA and the college network it built were the first international platform where Rajk College discovered other institutions resembling the educational model of Hungarian colleges for advanced studies. In 2012 May, the annual assembly of EuCA accepted Rajk College’s application, and Rajk became the first Hungarian member of the organization. Besides having a unique educational model, the active participation and outstanding work of Rajk members in the organization led to Rajk College’s membership in the EuCA Board in 2014.

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Sponsors

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