Semmelweis Sets Sights on Joining the World’s Top Universities

Béla MerkelyBudapestFaculty of General Medicineglobal university rankingshealthcaremedical studentssemmelweis university
Semmelweis Sets Sights on Joining the World’s Top Universities

“Our goal is to place our university in the rankings where it already belongs based on its prestige and quality: among the world’s very best,” said Béla Merkely, rector of Semmelweis University, on Saturday in Budapest at the graduation and medical degree conferral ceremony of the university’s Faculty of General Medicine

In his address to the 492 graduating medical students, Béla Merkely spoke about the unique position doctors find themselves in. He emphasized that, if the university has fulfilled its mission well over the past six years, then there

can be no contradiction among graduating students between ideals and routine, theory and practice, and a sense of vocation and the daily struggle.”

Rector Béla Merkely at the Semmelweis University Faculty of Medicine graduation and medical degree conferral ceremony in Budapest’s MVM Dome on July 4, 2026. Photo: MTI/Bruzák Noémi

He pointed out that the students had completed their studies within the framework of the curriculum reform that prioritizes practice-oriented training and responds sensitively to changing needs, gaining experience in clinical work at patients’ bedsides

The rector recalled that the journey of the students now receiving their degrees began six years ago with a “steep climb” right from the start: the COVID-19 pandemic

“Their first year of college was significantly reshaped by partial distance learning, the extraordinary operations of clinical departments, and the obligation of the university’s students to stand their ground on the front lines of the defense effort,” said Merkely, who added that after the dramatic extremes of the pandemic, no challenge seems insurmountable now

As he said, the university has also grown in recent years, expanding its portfolio on a historic scale and adding new fields such as traumatology, neurosurgery, rehabilitation, neurointervention, and rheumatology. He added that the National Medical Innovation and Training Center—unique in the region—has been inaugurated; the surgical teaching and research laboratory in Herceghalom (near Budapest) has been renovated; the new building of the Városmajor Cardiovascular Clinic has been completed, and the cornerstone for the new building of the Center for Theoretical and Medical Sciences has been laid.

“To keep getting better and better, to always be at the forefront of progress: this is Semmelweis’s tradition spanning more than 250 years, and it is also its aspiration today,” declared the rector, who noted that this is why half of the students in the Faculty of General Medicine are international students

He emphasized that Semmelweis University has now become one of Europe’s leading trilingual medical schools

At the graduation ceremony, Gábor Orbán, chairman of the board of trustees of the Foundation for National Health and Medical Education (NEOA), emphasized in his speech that the conferral of medical degrees marks both the end of a long, often grueling period of study and the beginning of a profession in which knowledge alone is never enough: it also requires sound judgment, a sense of responsibility, human compassion, and a commitment to continuous self-improvement.

Gábor Orbán at the Semmelweis University Faculty of Medicine graduation and medical degree conferral ceremony at Budapest’s MVM Dome on July 4, 2026. Photo: MTI/Bruzák Noémi

He pointed out that technology, digitalization, and artificial intelligence are radically transforming healthcare, but they do not replace the essence of medicine: for patients, a well-trained, responsible doctor continues to be the fore understand science, technology, and people all at once,” he added

Following the graduation ceremony, it was announced that Semmelweis University will sign a comprehensive 10-year agreement on education, research, and scientific cooperation with Westpfalz-Klinikum in Kaiserslautern. The agreement will result in the university establishing another campus in Germany. Semmelweis University is currently ranked 251–300th (top 12–15%of all universities in the world) in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026, making it the highest-ranked university in Hungary.

70 scholarship holders will be able to participate in a 9-month training program each academic year

Via MTI; Featured photo: MTI/Noémi Bruzák

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Source: hungarytoday.hu