During the last century education became one of the biggest subsystems of modern society: it is one of the most important employers of active workforce. EU Member States spend 6 per cent of their national income, and 10-15 per cent of their budget on operating this system. In Hungary approximately one fifth of the population is "direct consumer" of education. Based on these facts, in its educational activites the Hungarian Academy of Sciences emphasizes the importance of firm knowledge based on understanding, and the right proportion between knowledge and skills.

Functioning and subsistence of a society is best served by its economic activities. The development of production methods and of people’s knowledge separated production and service activities into more and more branches and placed them on a growing knowledge base. As a result, the actors of economy pay growing attention to the education and training affecting their own development. MTA SZTAKI has always considered graduate and post-graduate university education as an important and vital part of research activity and of building our future. Our researchers are regular lecturers at the following universities and colleges: BME, ELTE, BCE, PE, PTE, ME, PPKE, and many of them educate at foreign universities as well. Such collaboration has many forms: researchers in full-time employment by the university, affiliated departments, heading university departments, participating in opening new informatics faculties. On average 30 PhD students do their research in the Institute. Our researchers have acted as the founding members in 30 doctoral programs in Hungarian doctoral schools.

The Institute – focusing on key competences – plays an important role in E-learning research and development in Hungary.