It was four years ago that the University of Debrecen signed a cooperation agreement with South Dakota State University on precision agriculture education and research. Thanks to this agreement and to twenty years of preparatory work at our institution, the bachelor’s degree program in precision agricultural engineering was first launched in 2023 at UD’s Faculty of Agricultural and Food Science and Environmental Management.
- This bachelor’s degree program in precision agricultural engineering is unique in Europe in that it is based entirely on precision agricultural technologies. The program has been accredited in Hungarian and English, offering students a truly international educational experience-said Vice Rector for Agricultural and Food Science Development Endre Harsányi at the scholarship awarding ceremony held at our Böszörményi úti campus.
The recently launched program provides an opportunity for students from both countries to participate in the training together, while the partner institutions mutually recognize the qualifications issued by the other. As a result of the cooperation, students can obtain an internationally recognized, joint double degree, which, according to the rector of the University of Debrecen, is of historical significance.
- This is the very first time in Hungarian agricultural higher education that we will be awarding a joint degree together with a university in North America in the highly important field of precision agricultural training. We are extremely proud of you because you have fought tooth and nail through your performance and hard work to get into this program, which is supported by a classic quadruple helix structure, comprising the university, the chamber of agriculture, state organizations and companies. This is something that has also brought China, the United States and Europe to the vanguard of international science-based innovation and cooperation- said Rector Zoltán Szilvássy in his address.
Over the past couple of years, the professional relationship between the University of Debrecen and SDSU has steadily strengthened: Hungarian lecturers have participated in study trips to the US and, in the fall of 2023, several students from Debrecen also completed longer professional internships in the United States.
- We have come a long way, and I believe that, now, we are the leaders among Hungarian universities. However, it is not sufficient just to say that we are cooperating; we must also achieve and deserve this. There are very strict conditions for this status, which we hope to be able to satisfy. In this, you also have a great responsibility, as our partners in the United States will primarily assess this cooperation through your performance- said Chancellor Zoltán Bács to the students, before highlighting the role of agricultural diplomat Béla Kocsy and Vice President of the Hungarian Parliament István Jakab in the implementation of the program.
- I have been actively involved in all the events that have helped these four most talented students to continue their studies on a distant continent, so that they can then return home with new knowledge in order to join the workforce here. There is indeed a great demand for this, as we are facing serious challenges and it is only science and knowledge that can help us overcome these difficulties- said István Jakab.
Based on the structure of the program, the students normally complete the first three semesters of their studies in Debrecen, while they take care of the fourth and fifth semesters in the SDSU program either online or in the United States, following which they return to Debrecen for the sixth and seventh semesters. Upon successfully completing the program, they will receive two degrees: a BSc in Precision Agricultural Engineering from the University of Debrecen and another BSc in Precision Agriculture from South Dakota State University.
Through the scholarship support, our students will be able to gain international experience that will ultimately contribute to the overall development of Hungarian agriculture in the long run.
- Please study hard, so that we can also learn from you when you come back home. This will be necessary as we live in extraordinary times, punctuated sometimes with epidemics, viruses and emergencies, sometimes with frost or drought and other critical moments. As for you, you will be acquiring a profession, obtaining a certificate and a qualification for which the Hungarian representatives of agriculture will look at you with courage and pride and ask you questions,” said Zsolt György Papp, President of the National Chamber of Agriculture.
The four gifted students were selected with the help and assistance of SDSU instructor Michael Gonda and department head Tamás Rátonyi. Csenge Tarjányi, Angéla Kovács, Ákos Bíró and Ádám Hosszú were handed over their certificates of scholarship by representatives of the University of Debrecen, the National Chamber of Agriculture, and the supporting companies TRANZIT-KER Zrt. and Balmaz-Sütőde Kft.
Press Center - TB