Senators were briefed on the rector’s activities during the previous year. Dr. Béla Merkely shared that the university’s vision remained to be ranked among the world’s top 100 universities, adding that Semmelweis was already among Europe’s top five medical and health sciences universities. Among the strategic goals, he highlighted the evaluation and fine-tuning of the curricular reform, the strengthening of synergies between faculties, the further development of international training programs, as well as the expansion of student services, community spaces, and dormitory capacity. The university’s mission is to ensure that it plays a leading role in research, development, and innovation by boosting its innovation ecosystem and RDI grant activity. In the field of patient care, he emphasized the importance of quality assurance, expanding the range of disciplines, and increasing performance. He went on to talk about giving Semmelweis citizens the financial and moral respect they deserve, improving infrastructure, and strengthening communication platforms. He presented how the institution had advanced in higher education rankings, how the number of employees and students had grown, and how the Family-Friendly University Program had contributed to increasing employee satisfaction. He pointed out that the university currently had 487 active international partnerships in 72 countries, and the Semmelweis Alumni network comprised more than 52,000 members. With Westpfalz-Klinikum in Kaiserslautern, Germany, the number of international campuses has increased to six. On the subject of the innovation ecosystem, he highlighted that the university was able to participate in the space program, and Semmelweis TTC Ltd was becoming increasingly effective in supporting innovation. He described the improvement in the citation rate of scientific publications as remarkable. He noted that the number of highly cited publications and PhD students is also growing. Dr. Béla Merkely’s report covered a wide range of further topics, including the patient transport managed by the university, and the fact that the institution had become one of Europe’s largest cardiovascular centers. He also mentioned that the stroke care program of the Department of Neurosurgery and Neurointervention had received the Diamond Status of the ESO Angels Awards Program, the highest qualification to be granted by the European Stroke Organisation (ESO) and had become the largest interventional stroke center in Europe in terms of patient traffic. He spoke about cutting-edge technologies, including robotic surgery and photon-counting CT scanners, interventional oncology, transplantation activities, the musculoskeletal rehabilitation center, the country’s largest neonatal intensive care unit, and the fact that the university’s Clinical Center is Hungary’s largest clinical research center. He drew attention the role of space medicine and reported on infrastructural developments, too, including the completion of the new Diagnostic and Therapeutic Center at the Városmajor Heart and Vascular Center. The rector also spoke about the university’s fundraising and communication activities. He concluded that the university was on the right track, the pace of development was appropriate, and its leading role in education, healthcare, and research within the country and the region was growing stronger.
A decision was made to amend certain provisions of the Organizational and Operational Rules (SZMSZ). Accordingly, the Directorate for Student Services was replaced by the Directorate for Support Services and Student Relations, which was established under new management. From now on, their tasks will include the coordination and supervision of student grants awarded by the Students’ Union (HÖK). In accordance with the amendment to the Remuneration and Benefits Policy, in addition to the normative funding allocated to individual student grants, when adopting the annual budget, separate amounts shall be set aside from the university’s revenue, external donations, and contributions, and the rector and the chancellor may allocate additional funds upon the initiative of the body or person authorized to make decisions regarding the given benefit. In addition, the organizational changes resulting from the internal reorganization of the Directorate General of Technical Affairs were implemented. The position of the information security officer within the organization structure was defined, along with the rules and guarantees of independence required by the Information Security Act. The appendix to the Remuneration and Benefits Policy concerning self-financed students was clarified and supplemented. The provisions of the Employment Requirements Scheme relating to the filling of certain positions and management assignments were also amended.
The Study and Examination Regulations (TVSZ) were amended, with the aim of increasing the number of successful exam results while maintaining the quality of teaching. To ensure the homogeneity of examinations, the educational and research units are required to keep track of the exam failure rate, i.e. the number of students who receive a failing grade, per subject and per exam day. If, on a given exam date, given that at least half of the maximum number of students registered for that exam day with the same examiner, but at least 5 students (both Hungarian and international) are present, and the failure rate exceeds 30 percent, the failing grade obtained on this exam shall not be taken into account as an exam grade, thus it does not reduce the number of available exam opportunities. The student – as an exception to the provisions of Section 34 (4) of the TVSZ – may retake the exam on the next scheduled exam date. In the case of written tests only, if necessary, the minimum pass mark of the given exam day shall be adjusted so that the failure rate for students taking the exam on that given exam date does not exceed 30 percent. In a given academic year, examiners whose student failure rate exceeds 30 percent shall not be eligible for the fees and awards referred to in paragraph (1) for activities related to teaching.
A decision was made to amend the Student Standards and Admission Regulations of the SZMSZ. The learning outcomes and requirements for the Systemic Psychology MSc were registered by the Educational Authority, which approved the launch of the program, thus making it necessary to specify the admission rules. The admission scores and detailed rules of the Mental Health and Mental Health Marriage and Family Counseling specialist training courses were modified.
New quality targets, quality and professional policies were approved. Accordingly, the Institutional Development Plan (IFT) and the University Quality Objectives were harmonized. The existing general quality policy was updated, and specific sub-policies were developed in several areas.
By decision of the Senate, new training programs may be launched at the Faculty of Health Sciences (ETK). A new master’s degree program in Cardiology Physiotherapy is planned, while a new specialization in Cardiac Technology and Circulatory Support Nursing is planned within the Nursing MSc program.
The proposal of a new program director of the Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety Management MSc program at the Health Services Management Training Center (EMK) of the Faculty of Health Sciences (EKK) was accepted. The sample curriculum for certain courses offered by the EKK Mental Health Institute were modified in accordance with the decision of the senators. This affects the master’s program in Systemic Psychology, as well as the Mental Health and Mental Health Marriage and Family Counseling specialist training courses.
The Senate also reviewed applications for management positions, including those for dean, director, and deputy dean.
Ádám Szabó
Translation: Judit Szabados-Dőtsch
Illustration: Attila Kovács – Semmelweis University
