It was way back in 2015 that Beijing International Studies University (BISU) launched a special program for secondary school students, which offered them the opportunity to study at a university in Hungary after three years of intensive learning of the Hungarian language.
With the assistance of Beijing Hungarian Cultural Institute (BISU) contacted the University of Debrecen (UD) and Debrecen Summer School (DSS), following which they together worked out the basis for the joint training, so that the students could start the program in China with the help of Hungarian teachers.
The first twenty students from China arrived in Debrecen in September 2017 to take part in a one-year Hungarian language and culture course and then continued their studies at the university in the bachelor's degree (BA) program. Teachers and doctoral students from the Institute of Hungarian Literature and Culture and the Institute of Hungarian Linguistics of the Faculty of Humanities of UD participated in their training, with the support of the Confucius Institute of the Faculty of Arts.
In June 2022, 12 Chinese students graduated and earned a bachelor's degree in Hungarian studies for the very first time in the history of UD and, in 2023, another 15 students graduated with a BA degree. This year, it is the first time that Chinese students graduate and receive a Master's degree in Hungarian.
“This event is indeed a milestone in the life of our faculty, of the university but, first of all, of the students, as they have successfully passed the final exam in the Hungarian language and literature MA program, which means that their education at this point has come to an end,” said Péter Csatár in his welcome speech.
Vice Dean for Strategy and Economic Affairs Csatár emphasized that it had been a rather long journey from their first Hungarian language classes to the present day, and that they have now learned to understand the Hungarian language, they are familiar with the basic works of Hungarian culture, they have become acquainted with the history of our country and, what is really very important, they have become truly mature and adult during these years.
“There are some who will return home and continue to live in China, while others will stay here and work in Hungary. Perhaps they are not wrong at all, since there is a great demand at present for people who can speak both Chinese and Hungarian in Hungary, and the same will be true for a long time to come. We hope that they will be able to make good use of the knowledge they have acquired during their training when they find their future jobs," said Péter Csatár.
The seven young graduates were also addressed and praised by Péter Szaffkó, Director of Debrecen Summer School. He said that they were brave enough to take on the unknown and to get to know a culture that was completely alien to them and of which they now could become ambassadors.
“I hope that these students graduating from Debrecen will feel and prove in their successful careers that building bridges between cultures is indeed the key to a better and happier future,” concluded Péter Szaffkó.
The graduates, on behalf of whom Meng Zhengyu, or Diána in Hungarian, thanked their teachers, received their diplomas from Elek Bartha, Vice Rector for Education, and Péter Csatár, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Humanities.
At the same event, the diplomas of eight students who successfully completed the classical Chinese dance course offered by our Confucius Institute were also awarded. As part of the ceremony, a poem by Sándor Petőfi was recited in Hungarian and Chinese, symbolizing the cultural bridge between the two countries. Wednesday's event could be followed live online by relatives and friends of our recent graduates in China.
Press Centre – BZs
