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This research aims to contribute to History of Education Studies as well as to New Cold War Studies, by examining a Reactor Technology Specialist Engineer program, launched in Hungary three times in the 1980s for Cuban nuclear engineers, graduates of the University of Havana.

The institutional setting, the content of the program, the teaching staff, the students, and the outcomes are studied. The factors that motivated the birth of this special program are examined, including the following areas; in what ways it was different from the courses in which foreign students participated in Hungary; what its strengths and weaknesses were; how we can learn from this past experience and what relevance it has for the present.

The analysis – carried out within the context of Cuban–Hungarian relations in the Cold War – demonstrates that these two satellite countries used the fields of science and education to widen their international possibilities and at the same time to reinforce their national interests by cooperating with each other.

The investigation is based on archival sources, university yearbooks and journals as well as contemporary Hungarian press. Written sources were complemented by interviews with Cuban students and Hungarian teaching staff, thus providing a personal perspective, balancing official views.

Hungarians’ degree of knowledge of the EU has been increasing over the years, despite the mainly sovereignty-based and Eurosceptic political communication and related political and media narratives in the last 10 years. Still, whereas Hungarians tend to be familiar with factual information on the European Union, they face more challenges trying to figure out how the EU actually works. This is related to the scarcity of this type of information both in public education and the media, which can obstruct not only the adequate understanding of how the European Union functions, but also the support for its policies. The objective of this chapter is to examine how the EU-related content is taught in Hungarian educational system. The discussion covers teaching in primary, secondary and tertiary education. The investigation is based on document analysis, such as the National Core Curricula, secondary school textbooks, baccalaureate topics, as well as completion and exit requirements for bachelor and master programs of higher education institutions.

“Teaching the European Union” is a term as elusive as the notions of “EU Studies” or “European Studies,” both discussed and debated by generations of scholars and practitioners. The case of the EU, and of the art of teaching EU-related content, is one of the most striking examples, where the emphasis on values and principles cannot be passed by indifferently. What is being taught and how it is being taught have a direct impact on the trajectory of the European integration process today and in the years to come. The objective of this introductory chapter is to offer a brief insight into the book’s context and the book’s relevance. Against this backdrop this volume’s content is outlined. A few points for the readers to consider follow.