“The secret of the success of the almost century-old Debrecen Summer School is that it has always been able to provide topical and valuable content to foreign students even while wars were waged or political systems collapsed. This institution is an important part of our university's extensive system of foreign relations, the chief pillars of which are the international student community of the University of Debrecen, which now exceeds more than seventy-five hundred individuals, the extensive network of foreign partners of the faculties and institutes, and the mission of UD to cultivate Hungarian language and culture and the present its values to whoever is interested,” said Elek Bartha, Vice-Rector for Education, at the press conference held on the occasion of the opening of Debrecen Summer School 2025.
Péter Csatár, Deputy Dean for Strategy and Economics at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Debrecen, said that, because of the summer course, the Main Building of the University of Debrecen and its Nagyerdei Campus would become the virtual home of Hungarian language and culture for four weeks. And, as regards its diverse programs, the month-long event will form a bridge between cultures.
“For so many years, the Summer School has proven its ability to provide quality language teaching through its unique course and the excellent teaching staff of the Faculty of Humanities. The course's constantly renewing programs are now also available online. We believe that this change will broaden the scope of our Summer School, and the possibility of one month of intensive language learning can be extended to 12 months even,” said Péter Csatár.
Of the almost 80 foreign students participating, 25 per cent come to Debrecen for four weeks. According to Péter Szaffkó, Director of Debrecen Summer School, this indicates a strong motivation and determination on the part of the students.
“Our Summer School continues to attract a significant number of students through scholarship opportunities. This time, there are 33 students among the recipients of this form of assistance. The number of students supported by Tempus Public Foundation has decreased, yet other forms of support have been maintained, including scholarships from the Rector of the University of Debrecen, the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, the Bishop of the Trans-Tibiscan Reformed Church District, the City of Debrecen, an organization of the Hungarian community in Cleveland, the Director of the Summer School, and Campus Restaurant. However, the number of self-financing students has increased, so this summer more people are financing their language learning efforts out of their own pockets than before,” said Péter Szaffkó.
This year, the participants come from 27 countries. Most of them (fifteen, altogether) are from the United States of America, but there is still a significant group of Polish students majoring in Hungarian and teachers from bilingual schools in Slovenia. The youngest student is 16 years old, while the oldest is 86.
In 2025, as is customary, the course participants also took a written and an online oral assessment before the start of Debrecen Summer Course.
“The largest group of students at a language course is usually the newbies or beginners, as it is only logical that there are always new participants starting to learn a new language. This summer, however, this ratio has shifted at Debrecen Summer School. Now, there will be more students in the intermediate and advanced groups than in the beginners' groups. It is also good to see so many advanced and higher-level students, because it means that many have persevered and reached a higher level in learning Hungarian,” said Edit Dobi.
Debrecen Summer School’s Director of Studies added that a new phenomenon this year was the high proportion of teenagers on the course. Quite many of them have never been to Debrecen, while most of them have Hungarian roots and/or ancestors. Also, a lot of students have Hungarian spouses.
“The traditional folklore programs will continue to be on offer this year, too: folk songs, folk music and folk dancing on Mondays, and thematic cultural programs on Fridays. The 90s retro party and quizzes will entertain students on Friday evenings. For those who want to explore Debrecen more profoundly, there is a night tour of the city or a visit to the Jewish quarter and the Reformed College Museum. As regards students at higher levels, they can practice their Hungarian in the ‘lounge’ on Wednesdays in the form of informal conversation,” the director of studies added.
At the official opening ceremony of the 2025 summer course of Debrecen Summer School, István Puskás, Deputy Mayor of Debrecen for Culture, also welcomed the foreign students, He, as a former instructor of the course, highlighted the cultural outreach role of the event.
Press Center - PE/ÉE
