Another development has been completed at the Faculty of Engineering (FE) of the University of Debrecen (UD). A few weeks ago, a machine design room sponsored by a company was completed, then the faculty’s new building wing on Virág Street was delivered, and on Monday, 7 April, three newly designed laboratories were inaugurated, which were established in cooperation with the companies Emerson/NI, Rohde & Schwarz and Festo.
At the ceremony, the chancellor of the university underlined that the Faculty of Engineering is capable of meeting the challenges associated with the reindustrialization of Debrecen. The partner companies of the university support education with infrastructure and knowledge and contribute to the equipment of the rooms.
Zoltán Bács added that the quality of education is also continuously improving, which is confirmed by the fact that the faculty is ranked higher in various international rankings and the number of scientific publications associated with the faculty is growing.
“Time has proved that the strategic plans, which were formulated by the city and university leadership and were aimed at developing industry and education in Debrecen, were correct. I would like to thank the companies for their cooperation and I can promise that we will continue to move forward together”, the chancellor said.
Dean Géza Husi reminded the attendees that the Faculty of Engineering in Debrecen is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. He noted that since the turn of the millennium, the most successful period began when the University of Debrecen was founded, which coincided with the decision of the city to reindustrialize Debrecen.
“We managed to seize the opportunity. Our previous number of 2,000 students has now increased to 3,200, and one-third of them are international students. Currently, our faculty offers 7 bachelor’s and 12 master’s degree programs. The companies that support us contribute greatly to our success”, said Géza Husi.
The head of the faculty indicated that the three laboratories in question have been operational at the institution for 15 years, but now, thanks to the support from the state, the university and the companies, they have moved to a new location and have been equipped with world-class equipment. As many as 2,500 students will use the newly developed facilities.
“Today, Debrecen is the economic engine of the country. Our economic policy took a new direction ten years ago, thanks to which more than 12 billion euros of working capital came to the city and we created 21 thousand new jobs. The Faculty of Engineering of the University of Debrecen has kept up with this transformation, so it has a bright future ahead of it”, said Deputy Mayor Lajos Barcsa at the opening ceremony.
Lajos Barcsa also noted that investors have also come to Debrecen in large numbers because the educational foundations of the city are outstanding, with the Faculty of Engineering being one of the pillars. He assured the companies that the money spent on the laboratories is a profitable investment.
The managing director of Emerson/NI recounted at the event that the company has been present in Debrecen for 24 years, and one of the main drivers of its unbroken growth is the cooperation with the university.
“For us, the best partner in education is the University of Debrecen. With the opening of the laboratories, we are tangibly demonstrating how important this relationship is to us. Here, we are investing in exceptional talents”, said Róbert Hosszu.
The managing director of Rohde & Schwarz recalled that they have been supporting education at the Department of Mechatronics of the Faculty of Engineering for more than ten years.
“We have now brought cutting-edge technology to the University of Debrecen that is not available in any other Hungarian higher education institution. We decided to do this because the development is unbroken here, we see that the university is continuously moving forward, and we can experience a dynamism that is not found elsewhere”, said Zoltán Herczeg.
The managing director of Festo Hungary, which is interested in industrial automation, also spoke about the opening of the lab, saying that the company recently helped a student from the Faculty of Engineering successfully participate in the WorldSkills – EuroSkills competition of skilled workers.
“According to our latest business strategy, innovation and digitalization are very important to us. The lab that is about to be opened will also feature Industry 4.0 solutions that we also use in our factories on a daily basis”, said Márton Szövényi-Lux.
In the Embedded Systems and Measurement Technology Emerson | NI Lab Laboratory, which is equipped at European level, students can gain basic and advanced knowledge of computer-aided measurement technology. The 125 square meter room has 15 workstations, of which 10 are suitable for BSc level education, while 5 are suitable for high tech, MSc level education. In the lab, almost 300 Hungarian and foreign students can develop their knowledge every semester, and 30 can perform measurements simultaneously.
The Rohde & Schwarz Laboratory for Electrical Engineering and Electronics is equipped with the most modern measuring instruments and provides students and researchers with the opportunity to gain deeper knowledge about the operation of electrical and electronic systems. The 125 square meter room is equipped with 10 basic or BSc level and 5 MSc level measuring systems, as well as 5 RF (radio frequency) measuring systems. Since the facility is equipped exclusively with world-class products from Rohde & Schwarz, it has been awarded the title of reference laboratory.
The Festo-Rexroth laboratory, optimized for process automation, aims to cover modern engineering challenges in pneumatics, hydraulics, electro-pneumatics and electro-hydraulics education. The 101 square meter facility provides the opportunity to design, implement and acquire competencies in modern automation processes.
The total value of the equipment in the three laboratories is almost 600 million forints, which was largely donated by the three companies.
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