Mr. René Ramirez, the Ecuadorian Secretary for Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation and the President of the HRC has signed a memorandum of understanding
Mr. René Ramirez, Secretary for Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (SENESCYT) arrived to Budapest on 20 October 2014. During his visit the Minister signed an agreement with Mr. Zoltán Balog, Minister for Human Resources and Mr. Gergely Prőhle Deputy Secretary of State, Mr. Ramirez met the members of the Hungarian Accreditation Committee, visited the Budapest University of Technology and Economics and signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the President of the Hungarian Rectors’ Conference
The aim of the visit was to foster scientific and technological cooperation between Ecuador and Hungary and to promote the current programs that aim to improve the quality of higher education in Ecuador. These programs are the Yachai, the experimental university city, which is divided into four main areas: nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and basic sciences; and the Prometeo, which encourages inter-university collaborations, provides mobility possibilities for PhD students and professors, and supports the establishment of joint researches.
Ecuador has 55 higher education institutions, 30 is state funded, while 25 is private; at the moment, the country spends 2% of the GDP on higher education and 0,7% on supporting innovation, research and scientific projects.
Mr. Ramirez’ visit also aims to substantially increase the number of students arriving to Hungary from Ecuador. According to the intention indicated at the preliminary discussions, from January and September 2015 one hundred Ecuadorian students can start their BSc and MSc studies in Hungarian higher educational institutions. The organization and coordination of the scholarship program will be arranged centrally by the Hungarian Rectors’ Conference.
Hungarian Rectors’ Conference
Budapest, 20 October 2014
