The cooperation between the two universities, which was established by the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management of the University of Debrecen and its predecessors, dates back several decades.
The delegation from the Slovak University of Agriculture was welcomed by Vice Rector for General Affairs Dénes Páll in the Rector’s Council Chamber. He said that he was pleased about the fact that the partnership would extend to the fields of economics and engineering in the future.
- We were very happy to accept Dean László Stündl’s initiative about elevating the active relationship between the two institutions to a higher level. This collaboration now encompasses as many as three faculties at the University of Debrecen. Through the present agreement, our relationship will become even closer in order to contribute to the internationalization of the University of Debrecen- said the vice rector in his response to a question from hírek.unideb.hu.
The work on joint projects started about 50 years ago in the field of arable crop production, which was then later expanded to include rural development. The components of this included a series of mutual visits to each other’s institutes and conferences first, and the two institutions subsequently took part in joint applications for international grants. The model for the construction of the Food Innovation Center at the Faculty of Agriculture was in fact a similar institute at SUA- recalled Dean László Stündl.
For us, it makes a lot of sense to strengthen ties with the University of Agriculture in Nitra because the different peoples living in the Carpathian Basin face similar challenges. Trans-border regions are equally affected by late frosts and droughts, while the spread of pathogens and pests knows no borders either. Despite all the hardships, we must produce top-quality food. This obviously requires precision farming as well as the comprehensive scientific approaches to establish the technical and economic foundations for it. It is also one of our explicit objectives to revitalize university cooperation in the so-called Visegrad countries, which would encompass institutions of higher education across multiple regions in Central Europe- said the dean.
In the spirit of the above, the current agreement provides a basis for the joint institutional visits, faculty and student exchanges and conference participation in the fields of engineering and economics, too, while also giving the green light for joint research and international projects.
The signing of the agreement, which was concluded by a press conference, Director of the Center for International Relations at the University of Debrecen Orsolya Jánosy presented an overview of our institution’s international goals and network of partnerships, while Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Géza Husi and Vice Dean for International Affairs at the Faculty of Economics and Business László Erdey delivered presentations on the range of programs offered by their respective faculties.
Géza Husi highlighted that, as a traditional engineering school, the Faculty of Engineering seeks to collaborate with companies and other institutions around the world to promote practice-oriented education, while their latest research efforts aim to involve the fields of automation and robotics.
Regarding the range of educational and research activities pursued at the Faculty of Economics and Business, Vice Dean Erdey noted that there are strong ties between his faculty and the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management , but research at the former also extends to the healthcare industry and sports sciences.
The Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra was founded in 1952, and it is the only institution of higher education in Slovakia specializing in this field. Its six faculties offer bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs in agrobiology, animal and plant production, food science, biotechnology, regional development, horticulture, landscape engineering, economics and engineering. The university has 4,500 students.
Vice Rector of SUA Lucia Palsová stated that, for the institution, the signing of this cooperation agreement with the University of Debrecen is not a mere formality, but a genuine milestone.
- It represents a commitment to the future and to joint opportunities. This agreement opens a new chapter in the history of both institutions. It is my conviction that agricultural science, environmental protection, economics and management today are fields that cannot be separated from one another, which is why these partnerships are particularly important- she said.
The deans of the four faculties involved in the collaboration also came to Debrecen for the event. According to Norbert Lukács, Dean of the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences at the Slovak University of Agriculture, there are great opportunities for the two universities in the framework of international projects.
- Nitra and Debrecen are not far from each other at all. Within the European Union, special attention is paid to climate change, food safety and security, and biotechnological innovations. As regards our university, there are high-performing research groups working in these areas, which offers significant opportunities for collaboration- he said.
Following the finalization of the details of the cooperation agreement, the members of the delegation from Nitra visited the three faculties of the University of Debrecen concerned in the collaboration.
Press Center - SzZsL