A new connection in the spirit of the Belt and Road Initiative

The University of Debrecen and Bengbu Medical University have signed a cooperation agreement on education, research and mobility. The document was signed by Zoltán Szilvássy, Rector of the University of Debrecen and Sun Yanhui, President of the higher education institution located in Anhui Province, China. Before arriving in Debrecen, the delegation also visited our university's campus in Szolnok.

Founded in 1976, Bengbu University is one of only 13 universities in China to offer Hungarian courses, and the only one in Anhui province to do so. This is one of the reasons why this Chinese institution of higher education seeks cooperation opportunities with Hungary's oldest university that continues to operate in the same city.


At a meeting with UD’s Rector, its Director of Coordination and Strategy and the Director of Economic and Industrial Development, President Sun Yanhui and his delegation received a detailed overview of the University of Debrecen's education and research portfolio, its extensive industrial relations, the quadruple helix structure of corporate cooperation, its role in research harmonization and its university science and technology park, which is unique in Hungary.


Rector Zoltán Szilvássy also emphasized that the University of Debrecen was the first in Hungary to join the Belt and Road Initiative, and the institution also places great emphasis on the promotion of Chinese culture, with the Confucius Institute opened in November 2019. He also outlined the university's objectives in the field of traditional Chinese medicine and the development of functional and therapeutic foods.


It was also mentioned at the meeting that, currently, there are 350 Chinese students studying at UD, most of which are enrolled in various programs of the Faculty of Economics, the Faculty of Informatics and the Faculty of Humanities.
Presenting Bengbu University, President Sun Yanhui highlighted that their 14 faculties cover seven disciplines, including engineering, management and economics, food and bio-engineering, computer science, literature and arts. While the Chinese institution is actively seeking to cooperate with the University of Debrecen in the field of education and research, they also plan to organize joint professional programs, conferences, mobility opportunities for students and faculty members, and professional support for the activities of BBCA, a partly Chinese-owned company in Szolnok with a manufacturing and pharmaceutical profile.


At the conclusion of the meeting, a cooperation agreement was signed by Rector Zoltán Szilvássy and President Sun Yanhui.


Prior to the meeting in Debrecen, the representatives of Bengbu University also visited our university's campus in Szolnok.



Press Centre