You teach a number of animation courses at METU (Budapest Metropolitan University) in addition to your work as Head of the Department of Animation and Media Design. How did you get into research and then academic careers?

I never consciously planned to move to the "other" side, the educational side. However, I have always found the intellectual environment of university life inspiring, as it provides both constant professional challenges and a relatively large scale of freedom. So, when the opportunity to enter higher education arose after completing my doctoral studies, I didn't hesitate much. And although, as in all areas, there are puzzling situations and tasks, there are a much higher proportion of exciting, motivating moments. It may seem like a cliche, but it is very true that you can learn a lot from students, their thinking, their way of searching for the right path is inspiring and encourages continuous self-improvement.

Can you remember the point when you really got interested in animation?

In retrospect, I would probably highlight that I have always been attracted to rhythm and movement in any form of expression. This was complemented by the fact that several of the artistic fields were also of interest from the creative side, such as visuals, spatial design, literature, music. It took me a while to realise that animation was the genre that perfectly embodied this level of complexity, but there was no going back from there.

You are currently Head of the Department of Animation and Media Design at METU. How did you become head of department? What exactly are the challenges you face?

On the one hand, there are obviously professional challenges, as the ever-changing creative approach and the ever-evolving technical possibilities suggest that we need to incorporate them into our education in a well-timed and well-interpreted way. Beyond the technical aspects, there is also a strong organisational and human side to this task.

The functioning of the department must fit into the structure of the university, but at the same time I think it is very important that it should be a supportive and inspiring environment for both students and teaching colleagues.

So it is also a rather complex genre of its kind, and perhaps one of the biggest challenges is that you have to switch from one moment to the next between the nature of the situations you are dealing with. Luckily, I'm pretty comfortable with that, which is probably why this duty found me.

What paths do you see for animation education in Hungary today, as a teacher and as a head of department?

The tradition and reputation of Hungarian animation is outstanding, and Hungarian creators are currently achieving fantastic success in all genres of animation, including internationally. As a student or a university student, learning about a profession in such a professional environment is an exceptional situation.

It is important to strengthen the links between educational institutions and studios, so that young people can get an early insight into real productions.

This requires financial and infrastructural conditions for the animation profession as a whole, which are not fully in place at present. I hope that there will be a positive change in this area in the future, because there is a lot of professional potential in the animation genre in Hungary, both in the field of authorship and in the field of application.

One of the METU's stated aims is to create regional collaborations between creators, involving students from abroad. How would you specify METU's training among other animation schools in the Eastern European region?

We have a diverse student community, and our English-language courses attract students from all over the world, from a wide range of cultural backgrounds. Thus, our main concern is to help everyone towards a quality professional knowledge, according to their own ideas. Technical skills are also essential, so we put a lot of emphasis on this, as we also need professionals who can take on a bigger role in the execution of productions. METU animation is strongly linked to the genre of short film making, but we are also opening up to more applied areas. In short, the uniqueness of METU is in its diversity and in the ambition to keep our training in step with the dynamic evolution of the creative industries.

What expectations do you detect of students coming to the animation course? Have they changed in the last 10 years and how is the university able to respond to these changes?

Students' skills, interests and creativity remain the same, but they are perhaps looking for challenges in a slightly different direction than a few years ago. On the one hand, it is the ever-increasing flow of information that is changing priorities, generating a broader but less in-depth view of a subject. On the other hand, as technology advances, we are surrounded by conveniences from all directions, so that in the creative field, too, more and more is "off the shelf". Some of the processes are done for us by software, apps or, soon, even artificial intelligence. These are very exciting tools, and we need to explore their potential, but there is a risk that we will end up with very similar things. They may be useful at a basic level, but at some point they can become too boring, so the creative plus must still be conjured from within. As we live in a world of constant change, it is no longer possible to pass on all the material knowledge needed for the future, but the need for quality and innovation must be instilled in future generations, as must the need to use ever more advanced technology, but to put it at the service of our creativity.

This year you are also preparing a METU selection for Primanima. How do you think festivals contribute to the development of young creators and students and their career prospects? What do you think are the festival opportunities for animations made at METU?

Festivals are very motivating for all participants. Our students are encouraged to attend these events if they have the opportunity, to gather inspiration and to network. There are a good number of high quality festivals in Hungary, and Primanima is clearly one of them, becoming a professional forum for animation art in record time. We are very happy to be part of the festival with METU, we also have films in the student competition programme, which is a success in itself. We regularly enter our films in festivals all over the world, some of which students are able to travel to in person. A professional career is less likely to be built solely on festival appearances – although not entirely unthinkable – but these events certainly help to develop. The impulses gathered here will drive forward the professional work of all creators.

At this year's Primanima you will be a guest of the festival as a member of the jury of the Masters Competition Programme. If you had to answer very simply why do you like and appreciate animation, what would you say?

I think it is important for a film to consider its chosen audience as an equal partner, i.e. to put the emphasis on inclusiveness in addition to self-expression.

This communication can be dramaturgical, visual or otherwise focused, it can be tighter or looser, but it must exist.