At the inauguration ceremony of the new building complex of the National Manufacturing, Research and Education Center and the Faculty of Pharmacy on Monday, Ildikó Bácskay, Dean of the Faculty, recalled that the development of the healthcare industry concept of the University of Debrecen had started more than two decades ago with Pharmapolis Pharmaceutical Cluster, which had several aims. It was partly intended to strengthen the innovation chain of the pharmaceutical industry, with a particular focus on close cooperation between academia and the relevant industry.
“The construction of a new faculty building and a teaching, production and research facility is an outstanding and decisive milestone in the history of the Faculty of Pharmacy, which has almost 600 students, as we did not have our own building until now. It is simultaneously a great opportunity and a great responsibility for us to live up to expectations. We are aware of the tasks we have to complete in the training of pharmacists in Hungary in cooperation with other educational institutions, professional organizations, industrial and international partners,” said the Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Debrecen.
Ildikó Bácskay continued: “The building will have its doors wide open to the university's faculty, researchers and students as a base for the healthcare industry, and they would very much like to hope that it is not only the faculty that is going to find a new home there, but also this strong university community in Debrecen.”
In his welcome address, György Kossa, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Count István Tisza Foundation for the University of Debrecen, which maintains our institution, said that the main goal would be to support the University of Debrecen in expanding industrial relations and utilizing the knowledge and innovation capacity accumulated here.
“The new building complex of the National Manufacturing, Research and Education Center and the Faculty of Pharmacy is a perfect embodiment of the unity of teaching, research and medical work at the University of Debrecen. Just like the university as a whole, excellent research work, the utilization of results in medicine and the education of students can be realized in symbiosis and in mutual support here in the Vezér Street Science, Technology and Innovation Park," said György Kossa.
Chancellor of the University of Debrecen Zoltán Bács recalled that it was two years ago that the building was re-designed in six months, while the foundation stone was laid last March, and then the facility was built at record speed.
“The planning, the procurement process, the tendering and the accounting were all the results of superhuman efforts. Thanks should go to the sectoral ministry, the licensing authorities, the Dean's Office as well as to the contractors, who carried out the high-quality work virtually day and night, often in the cold and mud,” said Chancellor Zoltán Bács.
Also present at the ceremony, the Mayor of Debrecen praised the significance of the developments taking place in the university's industrial park.
“Any city can only be successful on a serious development path if the local university is able to forge an alliance with the economy. This is what we are witnessing in the Innovation Park of the University of Debrecen,” said László Papp.
He also added that, at present, the pharmaceutical industry is a major employer in Debrecen, with a current headcount of almost 2,500 people, and that pharmaceutical manufacturing would remain a strategic sector in the future as well. As this sector is extremely crisis-resistant, it is necessary to continuously develop it and train new professionals. Thanks to this new complex, everything is now given for this,” said our city's mayor.
“We are gathered here today to celebrate a great occasion for Hungarian pharmacy and the University of Debrecen. This is the Hungarian model, which has been inspired by Debrecen, and it is national, value-based and stable in value. It seeks to implement the success of young Hungarians and Hungarian researchers, and it aims to strengthen the Hungarian economy. This is indeed a successful model,” said the Minister of State for Higher Education, Innovation, Vocational Training and Adult Education of the Ministry of Culture and Innovation.
According to Balázs Hankó, Hungarian universities are becoming stronger and stronger, and continue to moving higher up the international rankings.
“The Hungarian government aims to make Hungary one of Europe's top ten most innovative countries by 2030, and to achieve this, investments like this are needed. We are spending an unprecedented 34 billion Hungarian forints to strengthen the Hungarian model in the international arena,” said the Minister of State.
The Rector of the University of Debrecen mentioned that the development of the pharmaceutical cluster almost had been started twenty years ago, together with the Hajdú-Bihar County Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Municipality of Debrecen, industry representatives, Richter Pharmaceuticals and Pharmapolis Innovative Pharmaceutical Cluster.
Zoltán Szilvássy said: “The development has been uninterrupted since then. For example, a National Vaccine Production Plant is being built in the university industrial park, and the Pilot Laboratory has already been completed, an infrastructure that belongs not only to the university but also to the nation.” He added that the Clinical Centre of the University of Debrecen had the largest healthcare system in the whole of Hungary, with a long tradition of drug trials, so the entire process from drug development to testing can now be carried out within the university.
The building of the National Manufacturing, Research and Education Center and the Faculty of Pharmacy, which was completed out of a budget of around HUF 12 billion, consists of two main parts. The 4,400-square-metre three-storey educational wing will house the Dean's Office and the departments of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Debrecen. The two large lecture halls and four seminar rooms will be surrounded by offices and student-friendly spaces. The complex also houses the laboratories for practical training and teaching as well as research activities, and the Healthcare Industry Institute.
In the production wing of the building, in an area of almost 2,300 square meters, the central plant will be located for the production of functional foods and dietary supplements, as well as for health research. The research and development laboratory will be used to develop a range of medicine products that can be registered for the market. The center will not only be used for the university's own projects, but will also provide a unique research and production facility for industrial partners in the health cluster set up by our university.
Press Centre – OCs
