The building renovation and expansion of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Debrecen has begun. The aim of the modernization of the educational unit on Ótemető Street is to provide UD with the highest level of infrastructural background for the practical and theoretical education of technical engineering training, in line with the city’s decisive role in the vehicle industry. The complex is being expanded with a new building wing, increasing its area by almost 4,500 square meters.
The modernization of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Debrecen is carried out in four phases. Following the current assessment and relocation of utilities, the first phase of the development will begin within weeks. A new education building wing facing Virág Street will be built, and a new main entrance block will be created. The part of the building will primarily house educational units, laboratories, student community spaces, and offices. However, the installation of the galleries planned for the mechanical engineering and civil engineering labs will be completed by the beginning of the next academic year.
In the second phase, the faculty’s U-shaped, six-story “A” building and the three-story facility housing the Department of Mechatronics Engineering will be connected by a bridge structure. The latter will be completely renovated, and its area will increase significantly thanks to the floor extension and addition. In the third phase, building “A” will be renewed, and in the final phase of the modernization, the southern wing of the building on Ótemető Street will be completely transformed.
Géza Husi, dean of the Faculty of Engineering, said: the expansion was also justified by the significant increase in the number of students at the faculty: when the educational palette expansion started in 2006, the institution still had two thousand students, now it has more than three thousand. Based on the needs of the automotive and vehicle industry supplier companies settling in the city, the training portfolio of the Faculty of Engineering is constantly renewed to ensure a workforce with the appropriate professional knowledge and practical experience.
We can no longer significantly expand our technical training courses because according to the signs, there is no greater market demand for them than at present. At the same time, we are investigating the possibility of starting technical logistics and health engineering courses. Through the large-scale modernization that has begun, our students have access to new spaces that offer the opportunity to carry out individual or group projects. In addition, we have acquired several new, modern tools that will significantly improve the conditions and efficiency of education. In the long term, all of this can contribute to the further increase of our enrollment numbers
– explained the head of the faculty.
Géza Husi added: the modernization, reconstruction and expansion of the Faculty of Engineering buildings are scheduled to be completed in four years. In this connection, he emphasized that the construction works are scheduled in such a way that they hinder education as little as possible.
During the development of the Faculty of Engineering, the current area of the Ótemető Street complex will increase to more than 12,000 square meters. The contractor of the investment is the Építő- és béindkarbantártó Zrt. The modernization will be realized in the context of the construction of the Debrecen Automotive Center related to the construction of the BMW factory in Debrecen, with government funds provided on a schedule for the progress of the investment, amounting to almost 11 billion forints.
(unideb.hu)
