It was three years ago that the University of Debrecen signed an agreement with South Dakota State University on precision agriculture education and research. Thanks to this and the preparatory work conducted in the institution over the past twenty years, the first bachelor's degree program in precision agriculture engineering was launched last year at UD’s Faculty of Agriculture, Food Science and Environmental Management.
“The programs offered at the two institutions are almost identical and, as a result, we have created an exchange program that gives both students and instructors the opportunity to study, teach and do research at the partner university, which is unique in the world. What is more, the degrees that can be earned by the future professionals will be recognized not only in Europe but also overseas,” said Endre Harsányi, Vice Rector for Sector Development, responsible for the development of agricultural and food science, at the press conference on Friday, where it was announced that four students of the program would be able to participate in a six-month study trip to the USA.
Credits earned in the United States by completing the joint training and exchange program will be accepted in Debrecen and vice versa. Nevertheless, this is not the only reason why the program named Precision Agricultural Engineering is popular with young people who consider a career choice in agriculture.
“Students who participate in the training program will acquire a special kind of expertise that will represent a “bridge” or a transition between farmers and IT specialists, helping the two disciplines to cooperate in understanding certain processes and using the most recently developed technologies in agricultural informatics more efficiently,” said Péter Sipos, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Food Science and Environmental Management at UD.
The six-month exchange program will last from August 26 until December 15. The four students, who have been selected on the basis of their academic achievements and language skills, are all very excited looking forward to the trip.
“It has been the best decision of my life to switch to this program, and this trip is probably the biggest opportunity in my life,” said Ádám Hosszú, who had previously majored as an IT specialist for one year, but then did not really regard this profession as his own. Since he was always interested in agriculture, he immediately switched to this program when Precision Agricultural Engineering was first launched.
As for Ákos Bíró, he decided to join the program because of his genuine interest in drones, while Ferenc Kis and András Tóth thought that they would be able to apply the specific knowledge they acquire here to their family farms, because, as they said, the future belongs to precision agriculture.
Press Center - TB
