Corvinus University of Budapest has taken sustainability education out of the lecture hall and into listeners’ headphones. A new weekly sustainability podcast — fifteen episodes created entirely by students — launched on 31 August, with fresh episodes arriving every Monday throughout the autumn semester. Produced by third-year Communication and Media Studies students, the series examines environmental responsibility from academic, community, and personal perspectives, with conversations delivered in both English and Hungarian.
The project carries extra weight: the course behind it earned a Disciplinary Honorable Mention in the Communication and Media Studies category at this year’s teaching awards from the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), a United Nations-supported initiative. The news, announced at the end of June, confirmed it was the only Hungarian initiative recognized in the 2026 call. Read on to learn how this award-winning sustainability podcast came together, what listeners can expect from the first episodes, and what its success reveals about the power of student projects in higher education.
If you are considering a university where hands-on projects are part of the curriculum, explore Corvinus University’s Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD programs to see where your own ideas could take shape.
A Sustainability Podcast Built Inside the Classroom
Many university podcasts function as top-down communication exercises, scripted by marketing departments and polished until little trace of student voice remains. Corvinus University chose a different route. The podcast grew directly out of the Communication of Responsibility and Sustainability course taught during the autumn 2025 semester, meaning students carried the project from research and scripting through recording, editing, and release.
That origin matters. Because students produced the episodes as coursework, the series works simultaneously as an educational tool, a public-facing communication project, and a portfolio piece for everyone involved. Listeners hear genuine curiosity rather than rehearsed talking points. The students, meanwhile, graduate with published media work — a tangible asset in a competitive communications job market.
The weekly format also reinforces the university’s commitment to sustained engagement rather than a one-off campaign. Fifteen episodes released every Monday create a rhythm that mirrors the semester itself, giving audiences a dependable window into how a major Hungarian business university thinks about sustainability in Hungary and beyond.
International Recognition from PRME
The educational model behind the podcast attracted attention before the first episode even aired. The course received a Disciplinary Honorable Mention in the Communication and Media Studies category as part of this year’s PRME teaching awards, and the results of the 2026 call showed just one Hungarian initiative among the recognized projects — this one.
PRME evaluates how business and management schools integrate responsible leadership and sustainability into education. Recognition in this context signals that the podcast is not simply a communication exercise. It represents a teaching approach that faculty and administrators believe can change how students learn to communicate about responsibility.
Five Corvinus professionals developed the award-winning project:
- Zsófia Nemes, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Sustainable Development
- Katalin Ásványi, Dean for Sustainability
- Réka Matolay, Head of the Science Shop
- Márta Frigyik, Science Shop Manager
- Mónika Fischer, Director General of the University Library and Archives
The team combines expertise in sustainability research, community engagement, and information services — a mix that explains the podcast’s three distinct content strands.
Three Pillars That Structure the Series
The fifteen episodes divide naturally into three focus areas, each supported by a different corner of the university. This structure gives listeners variety while keeping every episode connected to a common theme.
1. Making Academic Research Accessible
Some episodes translate outstanding academic publications into accessible conversation, produced in collaboration with the Corvinus Library. Research on sustainability often stays locked behind paywalls and disciplinary jargon. By bringing scholars into conversation with student hosts, the podcast gives the wider public direct access to ideas that would otherwise remain inside academia.
2. Showcasing Community Collaboration
Other episodes highlight course projects and partnerships with civil society organizations, supported by the Corvinus Science Shop. The Science Shop connects university expertise with community needs, and the podcast documents those collaborations in a format anyone can follow. Expect to hear how students and local organizations work together on real sustainability challenges.
3. Reporting on University Sustainability Efforts
The third strand draws on topics from the Office of the Dean for Sustainability, covering what the university itself is doing to reduce its environmental footprint and embed responsibility into campus operations. For prospective students evaluating how seriously a university takes its own sustainability commitments, these episodes offer direct, first-hand answers.
Themes That Push the Sustainability Conversation Forward
The topics explored across the series avoid the most predictable territory. Students tackle questions such as the role utopian thinking might play in a post-growth future, how habits related to sustainable living could realistically change, and what might inspire truly radical shifts in consumption. The series also introduces the regenerative initiatives of Gellért Garden, collaborations between the university and local communities, and student projects and volunteer programs running across campus.
Despite the variety, one central question connects every episode: how can we work together to make the university and the world around us more sustainable? That framing turns the podcast from a collection of interviews into a sustained inquiry — and invites listeners to see themselves as participants rather than spectators.
The First Three Episodes: What to Expect
The opening episodes establish the series’ tone and ambition.
- Episode one tells the story of the Corvinus Green project and the wider sustainability efforts that grew from it. Máté Kovács from the Office of the Dean for Sustainability guides the episode, drawing on an unusually varied vantage point: before taking his current role, he served as editor-in-chief of the student magazine Közgazdász Online, worked in university communications, and completed an internship at the Chancellor’s Office.
- Episode two examines the Sustainability Theme of the Month project, featuring Zombor Berezvai and Máté Kovács — a look at how a university can structure ongoing sustainability conversation rather than one-time events.
- Episode three explores the role of utopian thinking in the transition toward a post-growth future with Alexandra Köves, tackling one of the most conceptually challenging questions in contemporary sustainability debates.
Subscribe to the podcast on your preferred platform and make it part of your Monday routine — each episode offers a compact, well-researched entry point into sustainability topics that rarely receive this level of accessible treatment.
Why Student Projects Like This Matter
The success of this sustainability podcast carries lessons that extend well beyond one Hungarian university.
First, it proves that students can produce professional-grade media. Fifteen published episodes, bilingual content, and international recognition for the underlying course demonstrate that student work can meet standards usually reserved for institutional communications teams.
Second, it strengthens employability. Students who complete a project like this finish their degree with concrete evidence of research, interviewing, audio production, and project management skills. In communications careers, a published podcast series speaks louder than any line on a CV.
Third, it changes institutional culture. When students investigate their own university’s sustainability efforts, transparency becomes a shared expectation. The Office of the Dean for Sustainability, the Science Shop, and the Library all gain a public platform, and the university gains accountability in the process.
Fourth, it models the interdisciplinary thinking sustainability demands. Media students translating research from the Institute of Sustainable Development, or documenting community partnerships brokered by the Science Shop, mirrors exactly the kind of cross-boundary collaboration the sustainability transition requires in professional life.
Curious about the university’s broader commitment in this area? Explore the Ethics, Responsibility, and Sustainability work at Corvinus University to see how teaching, research, and campus operations connect under one strategy.
How to Follow the Series and What Comes Next
New episodes of the sustainability podcast arrive every Monday throughout the autumn semester, with content in both English and Hungarian. The series is available on major podcast platforms, including Spotify, making it easy to follow whether you are in Budapest or elsewhere in Hungary.
The educational model will continue as well. The Communication of Responsibility and Sustainability course runs again this academic year, with students exploring a new range of sustainability topics connected to the university. According to current plans, the podcast series will return with fresh episodes next spring — meaning this fifteen-episode run is the beginning of an ongoing platform rather than a single-season experiment.
Have questions about studying Communication and Media Studies in Budapest, or about how Corvinus University integrates sustainability across its programs? Write to the university’s admissions team for detailed information on requirements, scholarships, and daily life in Hungary’s capital.
Final Thoughts on the Corvinus Sustainability Podcast
Corvinus University’s sustainability podcast shows what happens when a university treats students as capable communicators rather than passive audiences. The result — a series tied to an internationally recognized course — benefits listeners seeking accessible sustainability content, students building media careers, and the university itself, which gains a credible public voice on one of the defining issues of the decade.
For anyone weighing where to study communication, media, or sustainability-related fields, projects like this offer a concrete way to evaluate a university’s promises. Ask what students actually produce during their studies. At Corvinus University, at least this year, the answer is a fifteen-episode sustainability podcast that a United Nations-supported educational network judged worthy of recognition.
Explore the first episodes, follow the weekly release schedule, and see how a student project can shape the public conversation on sustainability in Hungary and beyond. If you found this article useful, share it with someone considering study options in Central Europe, and explore our related articles for further reading on universities, student projects, and sustainability initiatives.
