His Excellency Frank R. Cimafranca arrived at the University of Debrecen on Friday, May 3, accompanied by First Secretary and Consul of the Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines Ria E. Gorospe and two student officials from Debrecen, President of the Association of University Students of the Philippines in Hungary Jose Antonio Lorenzo Tamayo and Officer Miguel Angelo Victor Ontog. The delegation was welcomed by Rector Zoltán Szilvássy and Director of Coordination and Strategy Okszána Kiszil in the Main Building of UD.
The Ambassador – who had worked at the embassies in Athens and London before starting to represent his country in Budapest as of December 2020, and who had previously worked as a diplomat in Switzerland and the United States – proudly highlighted that as many as 34 students from his home country are now enrolled at the University of Debrecen.
The largest contingent of students from the Philippines are majors in a variety of programs offered by the Faculty of Health Sciences, the Faculty of Engineering, the Faculty of Economics, the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Science and Technology, while three of them are pursuing doctoral studies. In connection with their status in Debrecen, Frank R. Cimafranca underlined the importance of the program called Stipendium Hungaricum.
After the meeting in the Main Building, Frank R. Cimafranca and his delegation participated in the annual gastronomic festival of the University of Debrecen's international students, called International Food Day, where they met some of the students from the Philippines and tasted their delicacies, such as chicken afritada, pancit or bibingka.
Press Centre - TH
