The ambassador of the most populous state with more than 35 million inhabitants in Central Asia visited the University of Debrecen with his colleagues primarily to explore opportunities for educational cooperation. During his meeting with Rector Zoltán Szilvássy and Director of Coordination and Strategy Okszána Kiszil, Oybek Shakhavdinov said that education is of top priority for Uzbekistan.
“Institutions of higher education in Uzbekistan do not have sufficient capacity, which is why our young people are interested in Hungarian universities, among others, especially for their master's programs. In Hungary, it is at the University of Debrecen that the largest number of Uzbek students are enrolled but, if the circle of partner institutions were extended, their number could be much higher. Several hundred of them apply every year in the framework of the program called Stipendium Hungaricum, too, of whom around 100 are granted the opportunity,” said the diplomat, who has been representing his country in Hungary since March.
Currently, the largest number of Uzbek students at the University of Debrecen is registered at the Faculty of Informatics, the Faculty of Health Sciences, the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Science and Technology. Three of them are pursuing doctoral studies. With regard to the increase in the number of students, Rector Zoltán Szilvássy highlighted the unique training program potential available at the University of Debrecen thanks to its system of industrial cooperation.
“Students at our university can take part in dual training programs in technical fields, such as the automotive industry, gaining work practice and experience at BMW's Debrecen plant. In addition, the Faculty of Pharmacy also has a manufacturing facility, which offers an exceptional opportunity for participating in pharmaceutical projects and education. Our agricultural and food industry programs are also practice-oriented, with a cooperation system of as many as sixty agricultural companies around our university,” said Zoltán Szilvássy.
During the course of the meeting, the parties discussed research and development ideas, including a pharmaceutical project, and defined the next steps of cooperation. As an integral part of these, a delegation of Uzbek leaders in the field of higher education from the Samarkand region will come to the University of Debrecen early next year to build further links. The Ambassador also urged the participation of Rector Zoltán Szilvássy in next year's Rectors' Forum to be held in Tashkent, and offered the Embassy's intervention in the areas of educational cooperation and student recruitment in the fields of engineering, pharmacy, agriculture and food industry.
Following the official discussions, H.E. Oybek Shakhavdinov and his colleagues met the Uzbek students currently studying at the University of Debrecen.
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