The answer to the challenges lies in knowledge, the opportunities that are indispensable for the survival of the nation can be found in the most comprehensive sciences available at the University of Debrecen – stressed István Nagy, Minister of Agriculture, during the institution’s academic year opening ceremony in Főnix Csarnok. In the 2023/24 academic year, a total of almost twelve thousand first-year students will begin their studies at the University of Debrecen.
With the applicants accepted in the 2023 general and supplementary admission procedure, as well as the increase in the number of foreign students, more people than ever will be able to start their studies at the University of Debrecen in September. The new academic year starts at the institution for more than 30,000 students and 10,000 university employees, i.e., a total of about 40,000 university citizens, on full-time and correspondence courses for basic, master’s, undivided and PhD education, as well as higher education vocational education and specialized further education.
The 2023/24 academic year was opened by Zoltán Szilvássy, the rector of the University of Debrecen, on Sunday morning at a festive senate meeting in the Főnix Arena.
The head of the institution emphasized that the decisive years for students who are now starting their university studies will follow, as they are perhaps facing the most important milestones of their lives.
You will be full members of the country’s largest university, which has the widest spectrum of training in Hungary, this is a guarantee that you can plan a successful professional life path. The knowledge of first-year students combines everything that the universal European culture has created, and in a few years you will be the best in your chosen discipline. The University of Debrecen will help with this. Throughout history, the people of Debrecen considered it important to have a university in the city even in the most reciprocated times, and education started every year, regardless of crises, wars, and epidemics. The students are the backbone of this institution, you are the most important pillars. Let them start on the designated path, praying and working
– said the rector.
György Kossa, chairman of the board of trustees of the Gróf Tisza István Foundation for the University of Debrecen, said that knowledge is the most important market value today, and UD students are given a chance to create value and shape their own and their generation’s destiny.
Today we celebrate the beginning of a new academic year, our excellence, our teachers, our students, our anniversaries, and the fact that the new operating model of the institution was successful, it strengthened the autonomy, economic independence, present and future of the University of Debrecen. The university is a European value, a national treasure, which has proven that it has responsibly developed its modern, efficient, value-creating, performance-based, excellence-nurturing, collaborative system. It can give all its citizens a vision of the future that is based on quality and value creation, and a sense of professionalism. Our mission is still to strengthen our domestic and international research, our social responsibility, and to increase the number of our qualified instructors. It is our common responsibility to preserve the knowledge that our ancestors left us in the last five hundred years. Students should create value and be proud of being able to study at one of the best universities in Europe
– said the president of the board of trustees in his speech.
Minister of Agriculture István Nagy also welcomed the first-year students, who emphasized in his speech that the destiny of the nation lies in knowledge, the students of the University of Debrecen have great opportunities, but at the same time, greater responsibility and professionalism are needed on their part than ever before.
For almost five hundred years, the answer to the challenges of the age was always rooted in knowledge, the future depends on what kind of knowledge we have. The University of Debrecen carries on the traditions of nearly half a millennium, while it paves the way for innovation and research and has rightly become one of the most popular educational institutions in the country. Whatever future awaits us, agriculture will always be needed, as it is indispensable for the survival of society and a strategic sector from the point of view of national security. The students’ trust in agricultural higher education is unbroken, and they see it as a sure vision for the future, thanks to which more than four thousand nationally, and more than four hundred first-year students in Debrecen, start their studies on agricultural courses. UD offers a fantastic opportunity since the way to challenges can only be found in the broadest science, which can ensure the future for everyone. The students must draw strength from this, so they can give the most accurate answers to even the biggest challenges
– explained the minister.
After the greetings, the first-year students took a solemn oath. Addressing the new citizens of the university and the city, the mayor of Debrecen, László Papp, said: the institution and the city are connected by such a close historical interdependence, the strength of which can be measured in centuries.
The University of Debrecen is both an intellectually and economically integrated part of the civil heritage, and an organic partner of the city. The exemplary relationship goes back centuries, the university is the city’s greatest intellectual resource. A huge tradition provides the solid foundations of Debrecen’s higher education, tradition and progress are a centuries-old feature of the city’s life as well. The first-year students chose an institution that will be a winner in the future, just like the students thanks to the knowledge they acquired here. Debrecen is facing huge changes, which will require highly qualified professionals in the future
– added the mayor.
President István Csont addressed the first-year students on behalf of the Student Self-Government, drawing their attention to the fact that the unique intellectual milieu of the University of Debrecen is available to all university citizens.
The first-year students have the most extensive knowledge since they passed the matriculation exam a few months ago. University admission also means that the phase of their life when they had to deal with all fields of expertise is over, the time has come for them to specialize, to make the most of their abilities for the sake of the growth of the community and the formation of intellectual existence. The knowledge acquired here also offers significant competitiveness at the international level
– emphasized the president of DEHÖK.
As part of the program, two students from the Institute of Classical Music of the UD Faculty of Music also performed, singing one of Adele’s world-famous songs.
At the opening of the academic year, according to tradition, on behalf of the first-year students, one student of each of the thirteen faculties received their study booklet from the deans, and then, at the end of the festive senate session, recognition titles were presented.
The Board of Trustees of Gróf Tisza István Debrecen University Foundation has established the title of Professor of Gróf Tisza István Debrecen University Foundation in recognition of his outstanding teaching and research activity and outstanding academic and professional work, which can be awarded to teachers and researchers of the University of Debrecen through a five-year application. At the ceremonial opening of the academic year, fourteen university professionals received the professorships awarded for the first time: József Szabadfalvi, professor at the Faculty of Law and Government, Mária Dinya Tamás Ákosné Papp, professor at the Faculty of Medicine, György Panyi, professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Zoltán Papp, professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Klára Papp, professor emeritus of the Faculty of Arts, Anita Rusinné Fedor, professor at the Faculty of Health Sciences, Éva Anetta Müller, professor at the Faculty of Economics, Ildikó Kovácsné Bácskay, professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy, Hajdu András, university professor of the Faculty of Informatics, Judit Gálné Remenyik, scientific advisor of the Faculty of Agriculture, Food Science and Environmental Management, Ferenc Kalmár, university professor of the Faculty of Technology, Lajos Hajdu, university professor of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology, Péter Zombola, university professor of the Faculty of Music associate professor, and Péter Török, university professor at the Faculty of Science and Technology.
Zsuzsa Juhász was awarded the Zsuzsa Juhász Award in recognition of her four decades of conscientious, self-sacrificing and exemplary work in the healthcare sector, and the Pro Auditoribus Universitatis Debrecenensis Award (Award for the Students of the University of Debrecen), founded by the delegate assembly of the University of Debrecen Student Self-Government, was awarded by head nurse Mária Zima on behalf of the university’s students. and in recognition of her outstanding activity, this year it was awarded to Lászlón Lóczi Marianna Kovács, the executive director of DEAC. The Alumni Award, founded in 2015, was awarded in 2023 by KITE Zrt., the recognition was received by Levente Szabó, the company’s CEO.
(unideb.hu)
