Professor György Hajnal, head of the Department of Public Policy, opened the evening with a look back. He recalled the early 1990s, when the former Department of Public Service—the predecessor of today’s Department of Public Policy—was founded in 1992 at one of Corvinus University’s predecessor institutions. Among its founders was Professor György Jenei, who, sadly, could not be with us this year. Professor Hajnal emphasized that the department’s unique academic profile was already outstanding in Hungary at the beginning. While leading Western European and North American public policy and public administration programs are multidisciplinary, Corvinus has developed a particularly strong economic component that remains a defining feature of the program. 

Attila Bartha, program director of the PUMA MSc, spoke about the current state and future of the program. Next academic year, the program will be renewed with the introduction of four new, relevant, and internationally competitive specializations: Climate Policy and Regional Development, Global Development, Health Policy, and Public Governance. 

One of the evening’s highlights was the presence of Alumni “veterans” – those who were part of the very first cohorts or pioneers in the academic exploration of public management. Today, they continue to shape the professional community as senior public officials, lecturers, and researchers. Gábor Zupkó Head of the Representation of the EU in Hungary recalled how, as a PhD student of Professor Jenei, they faced the challenge of coining new terms—such as public management—to describe a new way of thinking about public administration, at a time when such concepts were still unfamiliar in the Hungarian professional context. Participants shared stories of diverse and exciting career paths: many now work as analysts, consultants, ministerial experts, staff at international NGOs, or researchers. These varied trajectories, along with the supportive alumni network, clearly demonstrate that the Public Policy program goes far beyond classroom learning—it lays the foundation for real careers and equips students with practical, relevant knowledge and skills. 

For the younger generations, hearing these success stories was especially inspiring, and graduating students found it easier to envision their own futures as the sharing of experiences and personal stories opened new perspectives.