From Wednesday to Friday, the University of Debrecen is hosting this year’s meeting of the heads of eight European higher education institutions belonging to the CARPE consortium (Consortium on Applied Research and Professional Education). Experts are discussing the development directions of effective cooperation in the coming years.
“The key to the success of the CARPE consortium is that the member universities themselves initiated the partnership. Our joint work over the past years has proven that we share a similar approach to education, innovation, student life, and industrial cooperation. This meeting allows us to lay the foundations for the future and align our ideas for the coming years,” said László Csernoch, Vice-Rector for Science at the University of Debrecen, in his opening remarks on behalf of the host institution.
The University of Debrecen joined the network in 2015, which was established by European universities with a strong focus on applied research. Although not located in their countries’ capitals, the member institutions are among the most significant universities in their respective nations, including the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, Turku University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Universitat Politècnica de València, University of the West of Scotland, Polytechnic of Porto, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, and the University of Debrecen.
Over the years, the University of Debrecen has participated in numerous research and educational projects through the CARPE consortium.
“Since its establishment, the CARPE Alliance has been a partnership based purely on professional cooperation. Even during the challenging years, partner institutions continuously supported our university and treated us as an equal member of the consortium. For example, student and staff exchanges were able to continue under the Pannónia Scholarship Programme. From the 2026/27 academic year, Switzerland and the United Kingdom will rejoin the Erasmus and Horizon Europe programmes, and we hope that EU funding will soon become available again for the University of Debrecen, further strengthening the CARPE partnership,” said Orsolya Jánosy, Head of the International Office.
During Thursday’s meeting, European experts discussed the development directions of future cooperation. As part of the Debrecen programme, a so-called SIG (Special Interest Groups) forum is also being held, where leaders of disciplinary working groups present their recent activities and outline their work plans for the coming period.
On Friday, nearly forty professionals will also become acquainted with the various fields of cooperation between the University of Debrecen and the BMW Group Plant Debrecen.
(unideb.hu)
