– In terms of its complexity, the hydrobiology training of the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the University of Debrecen is unique in that, relying on the multidisciplinary bases of the institution, students gain comprehensive knowledge about all segmenst of the field starting from the flora of acquatic habitats to the chemical and biological factors determining water quality to the most modern biological methods of sewage management to the system of sediment-dwellers – lists Sándor Nagy Alex, head of the Hydrobiology Department.
The training launched in 2009 has hit a new milestone this year, as interested students can choose it in a dual form as well. From September on, three partners of the sector participate in the training (Baranya County Government Office, BIOAQUA PRO Environmental Protection Councelling and Advising Ltd., and InnoWater Ltd.)
– It was common even previously that students worked as trainees in some companies during their university training. Sándor Nagy Alex explains: because the needs of companies dealing with sewage management or water quality control or fish farming are rather different, it is important for companies to find the students who are interested in these respective topics and can transfer the field-related knowledge to them as early as possible.
The head of department added: there is significant interest in the major among other state-run institutions like water departments, national parks, and research institutes but, due to certain financial and regulatory issues, plans for the dual training have not been finalised with them yet.
The Department launched its first English-language version of the Masters training (Water Quality Management MSc), which was popular in its first year already.
– We have six students on this training: 2 from Nigeria, 1 from South Africa, 1 from Mongolia, 1 from Iraq, and 1 from Kosovo. The heterogenous composition of this group shows that people in these countries are aware of the important role of water and why it is necessary to deal with the effects of nature and the environment on water. This is why the students who study here wish to promote this cause in their respective countries, said István Grigorszky associate professor.
The person in charge of the foreign- language training remarked: on the English-language course, the issues of hydrobiology and water management are taught not only with a European focus but with a global one, taking the effects of the seas and oceans into consideration as well.
– Our purpose is to use this training and help not only our Hungarian but also our foreign students to earn doctoral degrees and potentially start scientific careers. And once they have returned to their own countires, we will be able to build professional ties with the countries concerned, said István Grigorszky.
Before the beginnning of the examination session Hungarian students of hydrobiology and those who participate in foreign-language training studied the fauna and flora of the river Tisza and surrounding acquatic habitats, the effect of ecological processes that took place in the area and their relevance to water quality at the „department provisionally located” in the Tiszamogyorós camping site. During the fieldwork, in addition to all kinds of sampling and analyses, students also visited Kőkapu in the Zemplén Hills, where they had an opportunity to study the specially protected Tisza lamprey, one of the rarest and most narrowly distributed freshwater vertibrates, in its natural habitat in the Kemence brook of the Bózsva catchment area.
For more detailed information on the dual MSc training in Hydrobiology go to the website of the faculty.
Press Office, unideb.hu
