Quality and Innovation Management

Registration number: FNYF/1030-2/2016.

Name of the professional qualification obtainable through specialized continuing education: Quality Innovation Manager

Field of study for the specialized continuing education program: Economics
Duration of the program: 2 semesters
Number of credits required to earn the professional qualification: 60 credits

Competencies, knowledge elements, and skills to be acquired

• Students who complete the program will be familiar with the history of quality management, early quality concepts, and quality management systems. They will be familiar with the TQC and TQM models. They are familiar with EOQ, the Japanese CWQC, the American TQM, Baldrige, the European EFQM, the Canadian model of excellence, Asian quality concepts, certification and award systems, and certifications.
• The student is familiar with the competency frameworks for quality innovation: the elements of the CQI competency framework (British): leadership, context, governance, assurance, and improvement; international and national quality infrastructure organizations (regulatory agencies, intellectual property management); international accreditation services; standards development organizations; and models for the use of standards.
• Students are familiar with sector-specific models, systems, and certifications in quality and are capable of improving service quality in knowledge-intensive fields such as the IT industry, logistics, tourism and hospitality, biotechnology, healthcare, entertainment, education, etc.
• Beyond traditional utilitarian standards of quality (world-class products and services at a reasonable cost), students will be able to address the speed of new product and service development, personalized consumption, reliability and safety during use, aesthetic quality, and processes related to the well-being, involvement, and participation of consumers and employees.
• The student understands and is able to implement the concepts, methods, and techniques of co-creation and collaborative production in the value creation process. Issues of quality and innovation in the sharing economy (Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, etc.), user-generated content (DIY), “do-it-yourself” systems, and the “green perspectives” (being green) of the sharing economy and the new economy.
• Is familiar with the fundamental organizational development, internal organizational training, and quality and innovation methodological techniques and procedures related to quality and innovation, as well as measurement and performance evaluation systems and impact assessment models.
• Is familiar with the hierarchy and structure of quality training programs, as well as the networks and practices related to certifications, professional registries, and professional communities.
• Is familiar with successful strategies and consulting methods and strategies for leading quality and innovation teams. Is familiar with IT solutions suitable for collecting quality data, managing information, and preparing reports.
• Is familiar with the principles of adult education and vocational pedagogy (teaching thinking, performance, and integrated action)—the so-called “signature pedagogy”—related to corporate training in quality and innovation (the surface structures of learning, the deep structures of learning; the implicit or hidden structures of learning)?

Personal Qualities and Skills

• A quality innovation specialist is able to contribute to the production and sale of products and services that meet customer needs by applying quality concepts, tools, methods, and techniques.
• The quality innovation specialist is directly involved in the organization’s strategic innovation processes and plays a key role in linking organizational innovation with world-class manufacturing and service delivery.
• They play a key role in identifying customer needs and the capabilities of customers and partners: in exploring the framework for future co-creation and collaboration. It contributes to organizational innovation in the narrow sense—incorporating scientific discoveries, patents, inventions, and technologies relevant to the field into process management and the breakdown of quality functions ( QFD), as well as in a broader sense (in the development of differentiated applications of new ideas, procedures, concepts, and perspectives, and in the organizational implementation of incremental, radical, and breakthrough innovations.
• Is capable of analyzing the value chain processes of new products, services, and business lines; achieving greater effectiveness; interpreting the concept of customer value in a company-specific context; and contributing to the introduction of new business models.
• Is capable of applying collaborations appropriate for the new era of quality management, the data economy, and new IT technologies to develop information services based on big data and organizational analytics. Is capable of processing new-level information and business intelligence in a manner that provides appropriate and useful added value from a quality perspective.
• Is capable of shaping the service principles of “design thinking” in the operations of companies and organizations, and of implementing the principles and practices of D4QI—that is, quality, innovation, design, and collective innovation for quality excellence.
• Is capable of developing quality-centered models for existing organizational services (excellence, innovation, wellness, healthy workplace, workplace mental health, Asian holistic models, etc.).

Application of professional qualifications in specific contexts and systems of activities

• Graduates of this program typically work in quality management units, innovation and development units, or in quality management roles established within professional organizations.
• Graduates of this program are qualified to develop corporate quality units, formulate quality strategy concepts, design and implement quality innovation services, evaluate quality performance and impact, and prepare for and conduct international and domestic quality accreditation and certification processes, as well as audit procedures.
• Graduates of this program are qualified to organize quality and innovation training courses within organizational continuing education systems.
• Graduates of this program are qualified to advise employees who perform quality-related tasks as part of their job responsibilities.
• Graduates of this program are qualified to prepare self-assessment and technical/technological description documents for quality, innovation, and quality-innovation award applications.
• Graduates of this program are qualified to prepare quality communication and quality marketing documents and press materials.

Program Structure

• Characteristics of the Knowledge Economy 10–20 credits
• Concepts of Quality Innovation in the Local and Knowledge Economy 10–30 credits
• Organizational Development 10–15 credits
• Quality Innovation Practice: 10–20 credits
• Ratio of theory to practice: 40–60%

DETAILED TRAINING AND OUTCOME REQUIREMENTS

When are the consultations held?

In the correspondence program, consultations are held on Saturdays, totaling 90 class hours per semester.

Admission Requirements

Only those who have earned at least a bachelor’s degree (or, previously, a college-level degree) may participate in the program.

Additional Information

We also welcome applications from those who meet the requirements listed in the “Admission Requirements” section, have successfully passed the final exam in one of the programs listed there, are in the process of receiving their degree, and can provide proof of this.

Inquiries

Faculty of Economics

Email: gtk@kodolanyi.hu

INFORMATION ON THE APPLICATION PROCESS AND PROCEDURES

Program location: Budapest

Start of the program: 2026/27 academic year, first semester: September 2026

Application deadline: For programs starting in the first semester of the 2026/27 academic year: August 31

Scheduled first day of classes: September 26, 2026

How to Apply

Via the online application form available on the website.

Required documents

• copy of diploma,
• an English-language cover letter, if available,
• proof of payment of the registration fee.

If applying with a degree obtained abroad, the following documents must be attached to verify the degree: 1. A Hungarian translation of your foreign degree 2. A decision on the recognition of your degree level (Office of Education
) 3. A decision on the recognition of your professional qualification (Office of Education)

Detailed information on the recognition of higher education degrees obtained abroad can be found on the Education Office’s website.

Minimum enrollment: 10 students

Tuition

300,000 HUF per semester, of which the registration fee (tuition deposit) payable upon application is 30,000 HUF
; this amount will be credited toward the tuition fee for the first semester.

Information for transferring the registration fee (tuition deposit)

• Beneficiary: Kodolányi János University
• Account number: Erste Bank 11600006-00000000-33437190
• Amount: 30,000 HUF

Please enter your name in the “Message” field.

ONLINE APPLICATION