The delegation, which was headed by Chetwyn Chan, Vice President for Research and Development at the Education University of Hong Kong, was welcomed by Endre Harsányi, Vice Rector for Agricultural and Food Science Development at the University of Debrecen (UD). Consequently, it was Okszána Kiszil, Director of Coordination and Strategy of the Rector-Chancellery Cabinet, who gave a presentation on the history of our institution, its educational and research achievements and its international network of contacts to the delegation, which also included Michelle Gu, Assistant Vice President for Research at EdUHK.
The Education University of Hong Kong is a relatively “young” university, founded in 1994. However, in terms of its achievements, it is already ranked among the world’s top 200 institutions of higher education according to the rankings of Times Higher Education, while it ranks 12th in the Education category of QS rankings.
- This university, which is an international leader also based on the rankings, employs world-class researchers in a number of fields, including education-related research and teacher training- said Chetwyn Chan in his presentation.
The official visit on January 16 continued at the Faculty of Humanities, where Péter Csatár, Deputy Dean for Strategic and Economic Affairs, presented the faculty’s educational offerings. During the course of the meeting, Deputy Dean Csatár highlighted that teacher training is traditionally a particularly important area of development for the Faculty of Humanities.
- Therefore, our faculty would like to establish a relationship with the Education University of Hong Kong, ranking so highly in international rankings and even including the word “education” in its name, that could be particularly useful and fruitful in the field of applying artificial intelligence in schools and universities- said Péter Csatár.
Concerning our student and teacher mobility opportunities established with foreign universities, Orsolya Jánosy presented an information package. The head of UD’s International Office underlined that doctoral students of UD can also travel to Hong Kong for a period ranging from 1 through 6 months of partial training or research using the Pannonia Excellence Scholarship Program, while UD students can also be accepted under the umbrella Pannonia Scholarship Program.
In return, the representatives of the Educational University of Hong Kong offered that they could also accept doctoral students for dual supervision under the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship.
Next, the Chinese guests were given a chance to get an insight into the scholarly research projects and activities conducted at the Faculty of Humanities.
Gabriella Pusztai, Director of the Institute of Education and Cultural Studies at the Faculty of Humanitites of the University of Debrecen, gave a talk on the intertwined and complementary activities of the three institutional units she is the head of: the Higher Education Research and Development Center, the Doctoral Program in Education, and the Central European Journal of Educational Research. According to her, there are several research topics that overlap with the research activities pursued at the Educational University of Hong Kong.
Ilona Dabney-Fekete, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Education and Cultural Studies at the University of Debrecen, reported on the composition of the international community of doctoral students, the application and admission process, and the process of integration into the world of the University of Debrecen. The last presentation was given by a recently graduated doctoral student, Gabriella Hegedűs (Institute of English and American Studies), who presented the most important findings of her research conducted in cooperation with international partners, including Hong Kong, on extracurricular English-language education, dubbed shadow education.
At this leg of the meeting, there were several opportunities outlined for cooperation in the fields of humanities and pedagogy, while discussions were also held on joint research and publications as well as scholarship opportunities, which might enable UD students to continue their studies even in Hong Kong.
As a result of the successful visit, the leaders of the two institutions may be expected to sign a cooperation agreement as soon as this coming spring, thus promoting the University of Debrecen to be the first official Hungarian partner institution of the Education University of Hong Kong.
Press Center – BZs