This year again, the main objective of students was to study the Hungarian language, but participants also had a number of other programmes to choose from, even though some of them were cancelled due to rainy weather. The most popular programmes were the bicycle tours, the sightseeing at night, and the walk in the Jewish district.
The folk art programmes on Tuesday evenings have been popular for decades. In additIon to learning the songs and dances of specific regions, students also had an opportunity to taste local dishes. Every week the cuisine of a different region was presented, including the Hajdúság, Transsylvania, Mezőföld and Moldva.
Every year new programmes await students. This year, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Petőfi's birth, international students cited poems by the author in the framework of The Night of Poems. It seems that poetry connects people, because many students participated in the programme. Some of them even cited poems in their mother tongue.
Every year, there are students who come to the Summer University due to their family relations.
Two brothers from Ireland could stay with their grandma during the course in Hajdúszoboszló, where their mother had been born. A German girl found the name of her grandfather on a memorial column in Hortobágy, and there was a student whose parents lived in Serbia, and communicated in Hungarian at home. However, the "list" is probably topped by Zsuzsa Vitéz Fodor, who has been visiting the Summer University to study Hungarian for more than 40 years.
Press Centre - PE
During the one month of the event close to a hundred students obtained their certificates at the Summer University of Debrecen, 52 in the first two weeks, and 43 after the second one. Most of them completed a written examination, but oral exams were also available.
