A delegation from Ningbo City's Agricultural and Rural Development Bureau recently visited the University of Debrecen to explore scientific cooperation opportunities, joint research and development projects and practical teaching methods. The Chinese guests were welcomed by Endre Harsányi, Vice Rector for Sector Development, responsible for the development of agricultural and food science, Okszána Kiszil, Director of Coordination and Strategy, and László Stündl, Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management.
Members of the delegation were given a detailed overview of the history of the university, its multidisciplinary training portfolio, its research objectives and its international relations. In the field of agriculture, Vice-Rector Endre Harsányi presented the institution's farms and research institutes, their role in seed germination, soil cultivation, fruit genebank stock and precision research.
- We have a unique precision infrastructure in Látókép, Nyíregyháza and Újfehérto, as well as an unparalleled training programme in precision agriculture engineering, which we have developed together with South Dakota State University. If our students complete two of the seven semesters in the US, they will receive a duale degree," said Endre Harsányi.
Outlining the further possibilities of education, László Stündl, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Food Science and Environmental Management, stressed that a significant part of the bachelor and master programmes are available in English, adding that ten percent of the students are foreigners.
- In addition to our ten institutes, which mainly serve teaching and research, we also support producers in the region with our service-focused centres. Our main research areas are molecular agriculture, genetics, future farming, future agribusiness, bio-based industry and agro-ecosystems," said László Stündl.
The research directions and best practices in training and providing information to farmers were seen by the experts from Ningbo as key and future-oriented for their country.
- Ningbo is the economic powerhouse on China's east coast, with almost 1,600 km of coastline giving it the world's largest port capacity for goods throughput, and in ters og container transport it is the third largest cargo port in the world. In the field of agriculture, facing low land area and the growing challenges of climate change, precision technology remains the only way forward; however, only two of the 16 universities in our city of 10 million people are related to agriculture," said CAI Weihua, Deputy Director-General of Ningbo's Agricultural and Rural Development Bureau, who led the delegation.
The details of the cooperation with the University of Debrecen were set out in an agreement signed by CAI Weihua, Endre Harsányi and László Stündl.
The delegation members also highligthed Ningbo's key role in the One Belt, One Road initiative to the university leaders. Every two years, the city hosts an expo of great importance for relations between China and Central and Eastern Europe. The University of Debrecen has been invited to this year's event, which will be held in May.
Press Centre - TH
