Upon the arrival of the ambassador, the delegation members led by her were given a short guided tour of the Main Building, followed by a presentation in the Rector's Council Chamber on the history of the University of Debrecen (UD), its program offer in Hungarian and in English, its scholarly and scientific activities and its significant network of industrial relations.
“One of the basic pillars of the close cooperation between the city of Debrecen, the university and the industrial companies operating in the Hajdú-Bihar region is the academic activity related to innovation and science that our institution can provide for all the parties involved,” said Rector Zoltán Szilvássy.
The Rector of UD underlined that the relationship with German companies is always of particular importance for the university. A bright future where the labor market needs of the companies operating here would be satisfied in the long run can be built on the historical and cultural roots shared by the two peoples, on the language training provided by the Institute of German Studies at the Faculty of Humanities and on the technical training offered at the Faculty of Engineering.
Responding to the ambassador's question concerning industrial relations, Dean Géza Husi described the program offer available at the Faculty of Technology and said that several German companies are now involved in the academic and practical training programs by providing various specializations and internships. He added that the bachelor's degree programs are routinely meant to prepare future engineers primarily for today's technologies while the master's degree programs are supposed to convey knowledge for applying the technologies of the next couple of decades.
Her Excellency Julia Gross also asked what normally motivates young Hungarians to improve their German language skills at the university level.
Róbert Keményfi, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, said that, in addition to teaching German, our arts faculty also offers interpreters’, translators’ and teachers’ training programs for students who, with the help of German language skills, will have a good chance of applying for and landing jobs in German companies in and around Debrecen.
As a conclusion of the meeting, Rector Zoltán Szilvássy offered to establish a technical cabinet to be organized between the university and industrial companies, to participate in which he also invited the ambassador.
Following the official meeting, Julia Gross visited the Institute of German Studies at the Faculty of Humanities, where she received a basic information package from the members of the teaching staff about the German Studies program.
In her presentation, Andrea Horváth, the director of the institute, highlighted the MA program in Intercultural Corporate Management, launched first in September, and underlined the stable number of students signed up, currently over 100, which is apparently due to the high school recruitment campaigns and the close cooperation with foreign companies and diplomatic bodies.
Julia Gross emphasized her steady support for the German Academic Exchange Service to continue to send a native German-speaking lector to the Institute of German Studies at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Debrecen.
The visit to the university was concluded with a students’ round-table discussion, where the participants analyzed the results of the 2004 Hungarian accession to the EU from the students' perspective.
Press Centre - BZs
