The direct predecessor of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) is the Institutum Geometrico-Hydrotechnicum, founded in 1782, which was the first institute in Europe to train engineers in university structure. The universityâs fundamental task is to train professionals in the disciplines of technology, information technology, natural sciences, economics, business and management. BMEâs mission, inseparable from training and education, is to conduct scientific research which encompasses the three activities required to make up the innovation chain: fundamental and applied research, technological product and service development, and the application of research findings.