The University of Debrecen has signed a cooperation framework agreement with Ganz Engineering és Energetikai Gépgyártó Kft [Ganz Engineering and Energy Production Machinery LLC]. The company proposed to hand over to the university unique estate of Láng Gépgyár [Láng Machine Factory].
“This is the meeting of two emblematic partners, as Ganz is significant in industrial history of Hungary, while the University of Debrecen is a decisive entity in the history of higher education. Through this relationship, the golden age of Hungarian industrial history will also come to life,” said Rector Zoltán Szilvássy on the occasion of the February 21 signing of the cooperation framework agreement at the University of Debrecen.
The rector explained that our institution would be in a very dynamic phase of development currently from economic, educational, and research aspects, while the technical-informatics field would also experience a significant improvement due to the increasing demands generated by the regional labor market.
“We trust that, with the help of the experience and expertise of the professional staff of Ganz, the advancement of our technical and engineering programs will gain a significant impulse. The joint work will cover education and innovation, for the evolution of this company has always been connected to inventions patented by them ever since the foundation of the firm. In addition to their participation in our programs of mechanical and electric engineering, we would also like to count on their support of establishing and marketing research and development solutions. Our goal is to implement a well-structured and multi-layer cooperation with Ganz, which is similar to the ones we have with companies in the pharmaceutical and the food industries. I believe that we will create a new segment of the stable and well-functioning corporate-university cooperation system through signing this agreement,” said Rector Szilvássy.
Attila Szitár-Csanádi, Director of Ganz Engineering és Energetikai Gépgyártó Kft. highlighted that their connections with universities had always played an important part in the life of the company, because there had been world-famous experts teaching at the Technical University like Donát Bánki and János Csonka.
“This cooperation is advantageous for both parties, because students can acquire special knowledge and experience that is generated among practical circumstances. As regards the industry, it will be getting experts who are able to forward this branch through creating even more modern, state-of-the-art, and innovative products. The owner of Ganz EEG is a global corporation called Rosatom, which has opened up new channels for the Hungarian company in the field related to investments in nuclear energetics, and we honestly hope this will also contribute to the upgrading of the technical programs offered by the university at present,” said Attila Szitár-Csanádi.
The director added that a great problem for the company would be represented by the aging of their professional staff of experts, which is why they would like to involve more young blood in the development work implemented in the industry, through whose help they could continue the establishment of new technologies.
Starting with the crustcast technology developed by Ábrahám Ganz, the company that was founded in 1844 kept coming up with new inventions in the industry, such as the AC transformer designed by Zipernovszky and Bláthy, the electric locomotive of Kálmán Kandó, and the Jendrassik-engine. Following the 1929 business slump, the firm supplied water pumps for the major irrigation program initiated in Egypt, while the gas and water turbines and loader cranes of the Ganz factory were also popular and sought after. In recent years, it has participated in the construction of nuclear reactors through commissions from its parent company, Rosatom, at locations ranging from Belarus to Turkey, but it also has an innovative mini hydroelectric power station, too. The equipment can be shipped in a container to any location in the world to be installed in 32 days.
According to the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Edit Szűcs, this cooperation could provide a substantial knowledge base for further developments in the current BA and MA programs offered at the faculty in mechanical engineering and mechatronics, as well as state-of-the-art practical training possibilities for the students.
Ákos Pintér, Dean of Faculty of Sciences and Technology, said that, besides engineering, the cooperation possibilities in other fields, like, for example, in medicine, would be investigated, as there are isotopes today used in several areas of health practice from medical imaging to various radioactive therapies.
Lóránd Kóti, Communication Manager of Ganz EEG recalled at the press conference that, in the spring of 2012, their company had taken over for custody the engineering specifications of Láng Gépgyár, an outstanding former representative of Hungarian industrial history, boxed in about 60 cubic meters of packaging. This material covers the drafts and blueprints of all of the products of Láng Gépgyár, founded in 1868, including steam engines, diesel engines and turbines. In the cooperation framework agreement signed now, Ganz offered the entire amount of documentation to the University of Debrecen to make sure that, by processing and digitalizing the estate, they could jointly preserve this intellectual heritage for posterity.
Press Office, unideb.hu
