Dr Zoltán Szalai has been the Director General of Mathias Corvinus Collegium for more than 10 years. In addition, he is the editor-in-chief and managing editor of the Mandiner weekly newspaper and online news portal. He completed his university studies in Budapest, Pécs, and Heidelberg, majoring in German language and literature and receiving his teaching qualification at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) while obtaining his Master's degree in Human Resource Consulting at the University of Pécs. He earned his doctoral degree at ELTE with a summa cum laude distinction in 2016. He has been a scholarship recipient in Heidelberg, Munich, Frankfurt, and Leipzig. He is active in the field of education and is the editor and author of numerous books and studies in Hungarian, German, and English. He is married and the father of two children.