One of the newly introduced features is that, in the academic year that began this September, institutions of public education and vocational training maintained and operated by our university can also participate in the mobility program for Hungarian students and instructors. Scholarships are available on a rolling basis.
“We have accomplished a lot of over the past eighteen months. First, we submitted our institutional application to the Tempus Public Foundation at the end of January 2024. In March of the same year, we received information about the funding we had been awarded, and then launched the institutional program in June 2024. In the meantime, we re-negotiated the existing inter-institutional agreements with our international partners and concluded new agreements whereever it was necessary, developed our internal procedures, and continued to consult with students, lecturers and faculties in order to identify their needs accurately. Our objective throughout has been to use the funds available to us efficiently and in a way that best meets the needs and requirements of the students and teachers at the University of Debrecen (UD),” said Orsolya Jánosy to hirek.unideb.hu.
The head of the International Office of UD emphasized that the number of participants in the mobility program in the 2024/2025 academic year had increased significantly compared to previous years. During the first year of the program, a total of 950 student and staff mobility projects were supported.
“During the past academic year, 530 students and 320 teachers and staff members participated in mobility programs. It is discernible that, compared to previous years, the number of student mobility programs nearly doubled, while the number of staff mobility programs increased by 60%. The increase in both scholarship categories is mainly due to new types of mobility. In traditional forms of mobility, such as student partial training, internships and staff mobility for educational and training purposes, the number of participants did not change significantly. The increase in the case of student numbers was due to short study trips and research trips, while our teachers showed intense interest in participating in international conferences or research trips,” said Orsolya Jánosy, listing the results of the first year of the Pannonia Scholarship Program.
The head of the International Office highlighted that there was significant demand from the faculties for the organization of short group study trips. These trips were initiated by teachers in connection with particular academic subjects, and they coordinated the specific study programs with the host institutions and industrial partners.
“We saw that group trips helped us strengthen inclusion, which has always been a priority for us. We were able to involve students in the program who had never traveled before or had done so only very rarely, and who would not have participated on their own. A total of 18 group trips were organized in this format during the first academic year. We trust that interest in this form of mobility will continue and that international experience could even become part of the courses offered in several different academic fields,” explained the office manager.
Eighty percent of the mobility projects of students and teachers at the University of Debrecen was implemented in Europe. The most popular destination countries continue to be Spain, Italy, Germany and Portugal. Based on our data, more and more participants travel outside Europe to gain experience. There were 18 mobility programs completed in the United States, 17 trips to China, 12 to Japan, 5 each to South Korea and to Malaysia, but students could also visit quite a few distant parts of the world, such as Brazil, Mexico, Tanzania, Morocco, Sri Lanka, Vietnam or the United Arab Emirates.
“The University of Debrecen produced the highest number of student and staff exchanges in the first year of the Pannonia Scholarship Program. I believe that, in the 2025/2026 academic year, we will be able to support even more exchanges due to the increased level of funding awarded to our institution. In the current academic year, there is also an opportunity to win a Kiválósági Ösztöndíj [Excellence Scholarship]. Up until now, we have awarded grants to a total of seven doctoral students to one of the top 250 universities in the world. Our application process for student partial study abroad for the spring semester has been reopened, and we are continuously accepting applications from students, teachers, and researchers for all types of mobility,” Orsolya Jánosy explained.
A new feature of the Pannonia Scholarship Program is that, starting in the 2025/2026 academic year, public education and vocational training institutions maintained and operated by our university will also be able to participate in the program. Thus, the University of Debrecen can provide funding to support gaining international experience for nearly 120 students and teachers.
For further details on the new features of the Pannonia Scholarship Program and application opportunities, please visit the following link: https://internationaloffice.unideb.hu/en/pannonia-scholarship-programme…;
Press Centre - ÉE
