Hungary's MOL is set to take majority ownership in the state-owned company running Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) for HUF50bn (€120mn), Hungary's most prestigious engineering institution.

The energy giant did not issue a statement; the announcement was made by Innovation and Culture Minister Balazs Hanko at a ceremonial session of BME on May 31.

The size of the stake MOL would buy was not disclosed, but Hanko said the state and the university would hold on to their golden and silver shares, allowing them to retain their strategic interests. The transition, formalised in a government decree published on May 30, marks the latest milestone in Hungary's ongoing restructuring of its higher education system. Five years ago, the government transferred state universities to public foundations run by public interest trusts.

Universities were granted endowments worth billions of euros in public assets, including valuable real estate and shares. Boards of trustees were appointed by the ruling party for lifelong terms, many of them Fidesz politicians. This has triggered a conflict with the European Commission, which cut off these institutions from the Erasmus+ exchange programme and Horizons research funds, a move called blackmail by the government.

In a statement, BME said the new structure would preserve the university's existing accreditations and state funding out to 2030, with targets set to increase the number of qualified lecturers and researchers, attract more EU and domestic R&D funding and boost publication output and citations.

Hanko said the arrangement in the transition of BME differs from the current model as the university will not be run as a public foundation, which has drawn scrutiny and legal actions against Hungary. This will allow BME students and researchers to participate in Erasmus and Horizon Europe programmes. BME will maintain assets under a 99-year agreement with the national asset manager.

BME, set up in 1782, was one of the last flagship universities to undergo the so-called "model change". The senate and deans of faculty welcomed the decision as a long-awaited step in its transformation programme, which aims to place the institution on a more competitive and flexible footing.