About Us

Origin of the Collegium

The Simonyi Károly Collegium is a student-based professional organisation, which operates at the Schönherz Dormitory of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and  Informatics (VIK) of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (1117 Budapest, Irinyi József u. 42). As the successor of the Schönherz Collegium founded in 1997, the Collegium took over the name of Károly Simonyi, the admired professor of the BME VIK in 2003. The aim of the Collegium is to foster engineering culture and to educate intellectuals. To this end, it organises courses, presentations, conferences and other professional events. The organisation brings together several professional circles, the aim of which is to provide VIK students with the opportunity to acquire knowledge and practical experience that complements their university education. The Collegium’s societies ensure the development of students through courses and well-equipped workshops. In 2009, the Collegium was awarded the Junior Prima Primissima Prize in the category of Education and Public Education.

Foundation

The Schönherz Dormitory has a number of professional amateur clubs with a long history, the oldest of which is the HA5KFU Rádióamatör Klub, founded in 1954. The professional societies of the dormitory jointly founded the Simonyi Károly Collegium. In 2003, the collegium took the name of the Károly Simonyi Collegium. The integration of the groups into the collegium has strengthened internal cooperation, one of the most visible results of which is the annual Simonyi Conference.

Values and visions

• Community: 'A professional team with similar interests, motivated to develop and open-minded. A community that accompanies you throughout your life." There is a strong sense of cohesion among the members of the Collegium, they serve as role models. Thanks to the residential community and the many community events, lifelong friendships are often formed.

• Connections: 'Getting to know the intellectuals of the future.' The students are in active contact with the graduates of the Collegium, with the other members of the Collegium and with the industry.

• Professional playground: 'Uninhibited self-realisation in a professional environment.' Members of the Collegium can try everything from creative innovation to serious projects that can be found in companies. They can do all this with the support of the Collegium, with mentoring if necessary.

• Technical intellectuals: ‘Professionals with a broad outlook and a sensitivity to social problems.’ Technical Collegium members create value for members of society. They are at home in professional topics thanks to their participation in professional events (conferences, lectures, round table discussions) and are attentive to society and their environment (social responsibility, environmental awareness).

Prof. Károly Simonyi

Károly Simonyi was a legendary electrical engineer and one of the most influential teachers at BUTE. The great figure came from a peasant family of ten children, but his distant relative Sándor Simonyi-Semadam, former Prime Minister, helped him with his studies from an early age.

At a young age, he chose engineering because he saw it as his greatest opportunity for success, but before enrolling at the University of Technology, he was already a law student in Pécs. As a testimony of his versatility, his interests ranged from the literary history of Mihály Babits to the relation of Heisenberg's indecision. His book, The Cultural History of Physics, is one of the most important pieces of natural science literature.

He was always attracted to nuclear physics, but he began his academic career in the Department of Electrical Machines and Measurements. From 1940, he continued his work at the Department of Atomic Physics, where he built Hungary's first particle accelerator. He also founded the Department of Theoretical Electricity and the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

Károly Simonyi's conscientious work has made him the man to whom the Collegium pays tribute with his choice of name. His work is also highly respected by the Hungarian state, and he has been awarded the Kossuth Prize for his research and has received several honours as a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

Social life

The communites of the Collegium

The Collegium is made up of a number of societies designed to complement university education. In addition to the regular forms of education, students can take part in organised activities that provide an opportunity to broaden their knowledge and gain practical experience. The Collegium's departments offer courses to help students develop their professional skills. They also have access to workshops with advanced infrastructure and modern equipment to acquire marketable skills. Newcomers to the Collegium can participate in a variety of project tasks under individual mentoring.

In practice, individuals with a wide range of interpersonal skills (soft skills) are more welcome in industrial companies. The Collegium circles operate on a kind of client-executor model, reflecting industry. This gives members the opportunity to acquire the specific skills they need to learn confidence, stronger opinion-forming skills, strong persuasion and a value-oriented mindset.

Life in the Collegium

The membership and management of the Simonyi Károly Collegium is entirely made up of university students who, in addition to their university studies, also fulfil the requirements of the Collegium. The Collegium provides a residential community on the 13th floor of the Schönherz Dormitory. In addition to their professional activities, the members of the Collegium take part in a wide range of organisational and community events (participation in joint cultural events, visits to companies, professional lectures and round tables, camps, fund-raising, ...). The Collegium is closely associated with the Schönherz Electrical Engineers and Informaticians Association (SVIE) and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics (BUTE VIK). The Collegiums have produced hundreds of highly qualified engineers over the years.

Culture - Collegium members respect each other's work and help each other to get ahead. Ultimately, core values are intertwined: the network of relationships is built by the members themselves. Technical intellectuals can be developed through joint efforts and exemplary behaviour. Without community, there is no one to hold up the professional springboard. Even in a professional playground, it is not interesting to play alone. Keeping that bond is a common goal.

Conferences - One of the strongest representations of cohesion within the Collegium is the annual Simonyi Conference, where some of the industry's most prestigious companies, such as Google and Microsoft, are represented. The high-quality conference attracts over a thousand registrants each year. The event is organised with the help of all the Collegium's departments. The Simonyi Conference is the largest annual professional event in Hungary organised exclusively for university students. The aim of the event is to present the latest developments and challenges in the field of electrical engineering and information technology in a way that is easily understandable and enjoyable for all, regardless of their field of specialisation. The vast majority of the conference presentations are freely available for viewing in the archives of the Budavári Schönherz Studió.

Collegium Associations

EucA - The European University Collegium Association (EucA) is an international network whose core objective is to create links between European university Collegiums and university organisations. They work primarily to create cultural exchanges and strengthen European identity. We joined the association in 2016.

Interkoll - The Intercollegiate Consultative Forum - better known as Interkoll - is a common interest grouping of the specialised Collegiums in the country and across borders. The Simonyi Károly Collegium has been part of the national movement of vocational Collegiums since its beginnings. It was awarded the title of "Qualified Specialised Collegium" for three years in 2011 as part of the first accreditation process by the Accreditation Forum for Collegiums of Advanced Studies, which it has successfully renewed every three years since then. The Collegium is actively involved in the forums and events of the collegiate movement.

MŰSZAK - Within the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, the Association of University of Technology Collegiums (MŰSZAK) provides an internal forum for cooperation between the Collegiums. In addition to regular community events and team-builders, it organises a biannual MŰSZAK Camp with professional programmes and an annual Collegium Expo. A founding member of the community (2008-2009) is the Simonyi Károly Collegium.