Expanding International Academic Cooperation through CEEPUS Networks

At the Institute of Political and International Studies

In the 2026/27 academic year, the Institute of Political and International Studies at Eötvös Loránd University’s Faculty of Social Sciences will further strengthen its international academic presence by participating in two mobility networks. Through these collaborations, the Institute continues to expand opportunities for student and staff mobility, joint teaching, and research cooperation with partner universities across Central and Eastern Europe.

These activities are supported within the framework of the Central European Exchange Program for University Studies (CEEPUS), a multilateral initiative designed to promote academic mobility and cooperation among higher education institutions in the region. By enabling exchanges and joint academic activities, CEEPUS contributes to long-term regional partnerships and sustained knowledge exchange.

Launched in the 2025/26 academic year, the CEEPUS Network Civil Society, Human Rights, and Regime Change in Central and Eastern Europe (CiHuReC) has once again been awarded funding for 2026/27. Coordinated by Alíz Nagy, with the Department of Human Rights and Politics serving as the main coordinating unit, the network brings together leading universities from across the region—including Babeș-Bolyai University (Cluj-Napoca), University of Belgrade, Eötvös Loránd University (Budapest), Adam Mickiewicz University (Poznań), University of Zagreb, and Comenius University Bratislava—to foster collaborative teaching, research, and dialogue on the evolving landscape of civil society, human rights, and regime change in Central and Eastern Europe. The network will also keep on supporting academic exchange through student and faculty mobility, joint research initiatives, curriculum development, and international conferences and summer schools.

Alongside CiHuReC, the CEEDev—Development Studies in Central / Eastern Europe network continues its activities under the coordination of the Department of Global and Development Studies within the Institute of Political and International Studies, led by Béla Soltész. The network provides a platform for teaching, learning, and research cooperation in the interdisciplinary field of development studies, focusing on the global embeddedness of Central and South-Eastern Europe. Guided by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, CEEDev examines developmental trajectories, inequalities, and policy ambitions in the region, with particular attention to social and ecological sustainability. Its broad international partnership—spanning from Albania and Austria through the Western Balkans to Central Europe—includes Epoka University (Tirana), Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (Salzburg), the University of Sarajevo (Sarajevo), Palacký University (Olomouc), Eötvös Loránd University (Budapest), South East European University (Tetovo), the Jagiellonian University (Krakow), the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration (Bucharest), and the University of Economics in Bratislava (Bratislava).

In the 2026/27 academic year, ELTE Faculty of Social Sciences’ Institute of Political and International Studies advances its cross-border engagement through two regionally embedded academic networks. These initiatives broaden opportunities for exchanges, shared educational activities, and research-driven partnerships across the wider CEE region.