Higher education internationalization and diplomacy: Successes mixed with challenges. A case study of Hungary's Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship program

This paper presents a case study of the Stipendium Hungaricum (SH) scholarship program and contributes to the existing body of knowledge on the characteristics, goals, and outcomes of government-sponsored scholarship programs, which typically feature big players like the US, the UK, Germany, France, and China. The central research question is: “What are the stated goals and expected benefits of the SH from the perspectives of key stakeholder groups?” The study focused on three key stakeholder groups, namely: 1) The Hungarian government and the Vietnamese government; 2) Hungarian higher education institutions (HEIs) hosting Vietnamese scholarship recipients; and 3) Vietnamese SH scholarship recipients. Findings from this study suggest that the SH program is driven by three motives: diplomacy, human capital investment, and internationalization. Although internationalization appears to be the dominant goal, elements of diplomacy and human capital investment are indispensable, especially within the context of bilateral cooperation between Hungary and Vietnam. This purposeful combination has both positive and negative impacts. There is evident frustration among the Hungarian HEIs about the inclusion of Hungarian-language degree programs, which seems inconsistent with their internationalization strategy. Furthermore, there is a question about transparency in recruitment of SH scholarship recipients. The SH is an interesting case study to examine the dynamics of internationalization in Hungarian higher education and the multiple roles of government scholarships sponsored by small/middle-sized countries.