Prestigious International Certification of Pécs Faculty of Engineering Presented at MIK Partners Professional Day

On 12 November 2026, at the South Transdanubian region’s premier industry–academia summit, the MIK Partners Professional Day, the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology of the University of Pécs (PTE MIK) formally announced that it has become the first Hungarian engineering faculty to be awarded the prestigious international BSIS Impact Label. Held under the motto "Engineering Creativity in a Changing World", the professional day provided a fitting backdrop for presenting the results of the independent international audit: according to the report, the Pécs faculty’s total financial and economic footprint in the region exceeds HUF 23.6 billion (€65.2 million) annually.

Launched in 2018, the MIK Partners Professional Day has grown into one of the most prominent meeting points for the Hungarian engineering sector and the South Transdanubian region, bringing together leading industrial corporations, professional chambers, and university researchers and students to jointly seek answers to the challenges of climate change, green technologies, sustainable architecture, and artificial intelligence (AI). As the highlight of this year's event on 12 November, the faculty’s leadership presented the outcome of the rigorous impact assessment process operated by EFMD Global and FNEGE—the Business School Impact System (BSIS)—and the resulting international certification to key corporate decision-makers.

Developed by the Geneva- and France-based international organisations, the BSIS assessment evaluated PTE MIK’s regional and international embeddedness across seven key dimensions: financial, educational, business development, intellectual, ecosystem, societal, and image impact. The on-site audit took place in the summer of 2026, led by Prof. François Bonvalet, Director of BSIS, and Prof. Ramon O’Callaghan, President of Gisma University of Applied Sciences in Germany.

A Multi-Billion-Forint Economic Engine and 144 "Invisible" Workers in the Region

One of the key findings of the international report presented at the MIK Partners Professional Day is that PTE MIK serves as an indispensable economic anchor institution in the South Transdanubian region. The faculty’s operating budget, combined with local spending by students, lecturers, and conference visitors, directly injects HUF 8.45 billion into the area—which, together with the economic multiplier effect, generates a total annual financial impact of HUF 23.65 billion (€65.2 million).

Equally striking for the companies attending the event is the faculty's contribution to business development: through dual-training programmes, internships, and industrial project assignments, PTE MIK students perform work for regional businesses equivalent to 144.5 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees each year. The market value of this output approaches HUF 1.44 billion (nearly €4 million)—meaning that without the faculty’s students, the local economy would have to spend that much extra annually to recruit nearly 150 specialists.

A National Talent Magnet and Living Bridges to Industry

Operating with 3,523 students—nearly 20% of whom are international—the faculty not only retains local young people but also acts as a national and international talent magnet, with 56% of admitted students coming to Pécs from outside the South Transdanubian region. Each year, the faculty sends 675 highly trained engineers, architects, and IT specialists into the labour market, while practice-oriented education is supported by roughly 150 full-time lecturers alongside a nearly equal number of external industry experts, engineers, and company executives serving as visiting lecturers.

The BSIS report—which itself cites the MIK Partners Professional Day as a flagship event—highlights the faculty’s corporate partnerships as exemplary, including collaborations with Körber Hungária (which was also featured as a standalone international case study in the Geneva report), Deutsche Telekom IT Solutions, E.ON, the Paks Nuclear Power Plant (MVM), Bosch, and Holcim. From secondary school talent development and dual training to targeted corporate continuing education (attended by 500 regional professionals annually), PTE MIK ensures knowledge transfer across the entire career lifecycle.

Scientific Excellence for the Challenges of a Changing World

The international auditors also commended the performance of MIK’s research workshops and the Marcell Breuer Doctoral School: over three years, the intellectual hub has produced 41 successful PhD defences, more than 360 peer-reviewed journal articles, and 22 organised conferences. In the fields of Building Information Modelling (BIM), nuclear and energy technologies, noise and vibration protection, and sustainable architecture, the faculty has become an internationally recognised centre of competence, while also setting an example through community initiatives such as social architecture programmes assisting those in need. Within the University of Pécs, MIK is the second faculty—following the Faculty of Business and Economics (PTE KTK)—to earn the BSIS Impact certification, placing the university at the international forefront of socio-economic impact assessment.

"There is a special symbolism in celebrating the BSIS certification right here at the MIK Partners Professional Day, surrounded by our most important corporate and chamber partners. This recognition is not merely another international plaque on the wall, but an objective mirror and confirmation that our faculty—built on more than half a century of Pollack traditions—creates genuine, measurable value. When the international auditors asked our partners which three words come to mind regarding PTE MIK, the most frequent responses were collaboration, opportunities, and support. This certification is a shared success: the result of the joint efforts of our lecturers, students, and the industrial partners here today, upon which we will build our data-driven developments and innovation ecosystem in the coming years," emphasised Dr Márk Balázs Zagorácz, Dean of the PTE Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, in his opening address.

This year’s MIK Partners Professional Day featured 160 presentations across 29 sessions, with keynote plenary addresses delivered by Prof. Dr Eörs Szathmáry, Academician and Professor at the Department of Plant Systematics, Ecology and Theoretical Biology at ELTE’s Faculty of Science; Péter Rudolf, CEO of Pannon Hőerőmű (Pannon Thermal Power Plant); and Géza Csörnyei, CEO of Fővárosi Vízművek Zrt. (Budapest Waterworks). The event was attended by over 200 guests representing partner organisations, alongside faculty staff and students.