“The transaction aims to provide a long-term sustainable and competitive organisational and financing structure for Hungarian engineering and IT education and research and development, and to strengthen MOL’s role in the development of the Hungarian innovation ecosystem,” the oil and gas company said in an announcement posted on the bourse’s website.
“Through the transaction, MOL will build a knowledge base that will facilitate both the expansion of its R+D and innovation activities and their direct integration into its business operation,” it added.
“Cooperation with BME enables us to train engineers with state-of-the-art knowledge and to carry out real industrial research. This step is not only crucial for the future of MOL, but it can also open new perspectives for other industrial players,” said MOL Group CEO Zsolt Hernadi.
As part of the new maintenance model for the university, the parties established a a 25-year framework agreement and a 6-year financing agreement between BME’s operator and the state of Hungary. This will be further strengthened by revenues from industrial cooperation, grants and tuition fees.
Additionally, the state has agreed to a repurchase commitment for the shares of the operator which can be exercised in the event of a deterioration of the regulatory and operational environment. The state and BME will have veto rights over certain issues, in particular the sale of the shares of the operator and the autonomy of the university.
At the signing ceremony on Monday, Culture and Innovation Minister Balazs Hanko said BME’s financing stood at an annual HUF 21 bln at present, but would climb to HUF 30bn in 2025 as a result of the agreement. If the university achieves targets, that amount could reach HUF 60bn, he added.
BME is a regional leader in mobility and automotive research, chemical research and education, engineering and energy research such as hydrogen and nuclear energy, circular economy, recycling, digitalisation, and IT research. With more than 20,000 students in its eight faculties, BME is a major player in European research programmes, having so far been awarded 22 Horizon Europe grants.
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