We would like to express our deepest gratitude to the Central Europe Foundation ‘“Mitteleuropa Stiftung’ for its generous and longstanding support of the Geneva Graduate Institute’s mission to foster academic excellence and global understanding.

Professor Marie-Laure Salles, Director of the Geneva Graduate Institute

The Central Europe Foundation (Mitteleuropa-Stiftung) is a Swiss charitable foundation,  founded in 1997 thanks to a bequest of the Hantos family to honour the memory of Dr. Elemér Hantos (1880-1942). The foundation seeks to further economic cooperation regionally and worldwide, notably by helping students from Central Europe and Latin America to study at selected universities in Switzerland, Central Europe, Latin America, and North America. 

Since 1997, the Foundation has played a vital role in enabling talented graduate students from Central Europe and Latin America to pursue their studies at the Institute by funding full scholarships. These scholarships are awarded based on both financial need and academic merit, opening doors to transformative educational and professional opportunities.

Each year, thanks to this invaluable support, students are empowered to engage in rigorous academic training, contribute to a vibrant international community, and become future leaders in their fields.

The foundation also awards the Dr. Elemér Hantos prize to people or organisations in recognition of their outstanding achievement in promoting economic cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe. The prize honours the memory of Dr. Hantos who made major contributions toward creating zones of economic cooperation in Central Europe and elsewhere and whose work the foundation seeks to research, preserve, and disseminate.
 

Interview with Charles Epping, President of the Mitteleuropa Stiftung

What inspired the Central Europe Foundation to establish this scholarship programme ?

The scholarship programme of the Central Europe Foundation came from the bequest of a member of the Hantos family who lived in the Geneva area. The scholarship programme's purpose was to honor the work and ideas of Dr. Elemér Hantos (1880-1942), a Hungarian economist and one of the principal promoters of Central European and Pan-European integration during the 1930's. To promote his idea of Central European economic integration, Dr. Hantos published several books and numerous articles, and gave many conferences throughout Europe. He also created the Central European Institutes in Vienna, Brno and Budapest, as well as the Central European Study Centre in Geneva. Dr. Hantos participated in numerous Pan-European conferences in the 1930's, facilitating the elaboration of the economic programme of the Pan-European Union and promoting Central European integration as the first step towards a Central European economic union. It is hoped that the students receiving the scholarships in some way further the ideas of Dr. Elemer Hantos, contributing to the promotion of economic cooperation worldwide.

Why was the Geneva Graduate Institute chosen as its partner?

The inclusion of the Geneva Graduate Institute in the Central European Foundation’s scholarship programme originated from a series of conversations between Professor Swoboda — then Director of the Institute — and Janos Farago, a member of the Board of the Central Europe Foundation and a mutual friend of Professor Swoboda and Randy Charles Epping, the foundation's President.

Janos Farago, a renowned architect, was notably responsible for the transformation and restoration of the Institute’s cafeteria and pavilions in Parc Barton. His close ties to both the Institute and the Foundation played a pivotal role in fostering this collaboration.

Following Farago’s departure from the Foundation’s Board, Professor Swoboda succeeded him, continuing the legacy of engagement and support between the two institutions.
 

The Central Europe Foundation is recognised by the Swiss Federal Government as a tax-exempt foundation placed under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of the Interior.

For any inquiries, candidates must contact the Geneva Graduate Institute directly. The Central Europe Foundation does not respond to unsolicited requests.