3 Bangladeshi students win 'Excellence Award' in Hungary

Three Bangladeshi students have won the 'Excellence Award' introduced for the first time in Hungary.

The award was presented to selected students from different countries at a ceremony jointly organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in the Hungarian capital Budapest on October 26.

The Bangladeshi students are: Aminul Islam Saadi, a graduate student, and Sadan Mohammad and Samin Yasir, undergraduate students. They were awarded in recognition of their good results in exams as well as their role in creating a university-centric environment.

All three of them are studying at universities in the country on "Stipendium Hungaricum" scholarships.

"The Hungarian government understands that we too need to keep pace with the rest of the world in the face of global change. To that end, the government is working to attract talented people from around the world," said Dr Orsollo Pax, secretary of the Stipendium Hungaricum Management Committee.

Congratulating the awardees, he said, "You are selected from over 50,000 applicants who continue to support quality study at the university and our activities. The Excellence Award is being given in recognition of your participation".

Sadan Mohammad completed his HSC from Rajuk Uttara Model College in Dhaka and received a scholarship from the Hungarian government in 2020 and started studying at the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He has recently started working as a mentor with university students.

When asked about how he felt after receiving the award, Sadan said, "The reason behind winning this award is that my CGPA is good. Besides, I am a mentor of Stipendium Hungaricum."

Samin Yasir is in his third year at the Budapest University of Engineering and Economics. Always busy with studies, Samin is a well-known name among the teachers and students of the university.

Good results have played a big role in receiving the Excellence Award, Samin told reporters. This award is a unique achievement for his educational life, he said.

Aminul Islam Sadi graduated from Shahjalal University of Science and Technology in Sylhet and moved to Hungary in 2020 on the scholarship. He graduated this year from the University of Debrecen with a degree in Food Safety and Quality. He thanked all concerned for receiving the award.

Since 2017, the Hungarian government has been providing more than 100 "Stipendium Hungaricum" scholarships to Bangladeshi students every year.

As of last year, about 100 students from Bangladesh for honour's, master's and PhD courses are now studying at universities in various cities, including Budapest.

The writer is an expatriate journalist living in Hungary.