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It was three years ago that the Scientific and Social Advisory Board was established in order to assist the chairman of the board of trustees of the Count István Tisza Foundation for the University of Debrecen, consisting of more than sixty domestic and international experts, which presents the achievements of the past year and outlines the most important tasks for the future at a large-scale conference every year.
At the opening session of the meeting and discussion held at the University of Debrecen on Wednesday, Chairman of the Board of Trustees György Kossa underlined that the mission of the board is to develop strategies that support the development of both the community and the university as an institution and ensure the long-term future and prosperity of the young people studying here.
“These are the times that pose a lot of challenges for us, but even in this situation, it is our task to position our institution appropriately and to support science, education, and the advancement of students, teachers, and researchers with all the means available at our disposal. The mission and responsibility of the University of Debrecen is to convey the right values towards our society. The University of Debrecen must set an example and, to this end, it must strive for cooperation that promotes innovation and live up to the trust that society has in academic activities. The members of the board continue to provide support that strengthens the quality of education and our position in international rankings. The University of Debrecen represents quality in the international community as well,” said the Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
In his report to TTTT members, György Kossa highlighted that the University of Debrecen had recently appeared before the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg in connection with a hearing concerning the Erasmus+ program.
It has been demonstrated that certain issues can indeed be approached objectively. A demagogic decision cannot be made in a way that repeatedly harms the interests of a university and its students while it destroys its opportunities. Standing up for the interests of young people is a moral issue, and it is unacceptable to impose sanctions on universities without any legal basis and thus try to undermine the future of young people. Universities must be allowed to function, because this is in the best interests of the European community,” said the Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
During the course of the meeting, György Kossa and Chancellor Zoltán Bács presented Péter Nagy, Chairman of the Scientific and Social Advisory Board, with an István Tisza Memorial Plaque.
The event was also attended by Valéria Csépe, Honorary Chair of Hungarian Accreditation Committee (Magyar Felsőoktatási Akkreditációs Bizottság - MAB), who said in her presentation entitled “The Role of International Accreditation in Quality and Recognition” that competition in higher education is more intense than ever before, but this does not preclude means and channels of cooperation.
“Quality assurance must be student-focused, with mobility being key, as are the regional role and social impact of universities. The most important question is what a specific institution does for its students, as young people need security and a degree that is valuable at a global level. The committee holds up a mirror to the institutions, which are then able to identify themselves and, on this basis, shape and develop their internal quality assurance systems,” said the Honorary Chairperson of MAB.
Next, Péter Nagy, Chairman of the Scientific and Social Advisory Board, provided an overview of the TTTT's achievements and the board's activities, which have greatly contributed to the university's success over the past year.
“Over the course of the past period, we have broadened our international outlook. Among our most significant achievements are the signing of a framework agreement with the University of Central Florida, the start of cooperation with Harvard Medical School, and the conclusion of an agreement with South Dakota State University in the field of precision agriculture. We are also open to cooperation towards the East within the Belt and Road initiative and consortium. We support long- and short-term mobility programs that help hundreds of students. Innovation is an important focus area, and the University of Debrecen excels in this field. The greatest opportunity for development lies in technology transfer, and we support the emergence of new ideas through scholarships, excellence programs, publication awards, and innovation competitions,” said the Chair of the Board.
The guest of honor at this year's TTTT meeting was Tibor Kapu, an astronaut in the HUNOR Hungarian Astronaut Program, who talked about his experiences, preparations before launch, innovations, experiments supporting the space industry, and the cognitive and health selection process of astronauts.
“I went through some defining moments of my life during the selection process, even though the 7G load we were subjected to during preparation was extremely challenging. We are really thankful to Hungarian Defence Forces, who helped us carry out testing with the help of fighter jets. We also obtained licenses for small aircraft, as flying and space flight are in fact inseparable. During our preparation, we also participated in aerobatics and six days of isolation training, cut off from natural light, with the help of the Counter-Terrorism Center. We learned a lot about ourselves, and the several days of isolation without digital technology were instructive. The preparation before the launch was so enjoyable that I would love to participate in it again anytime,” said the astronaut.
Tibor Kapu told the TTTT professors that a total of twenty-five experiments were conducted on board the International Space Station, some of which he briefly described to them. He emphasized that, since every kilogram of equipment launched into space is very costly, it was also investigated how to reduce the weight of the devices the astronauts carried with them while making sure that these could operate for as long as possible. They studied the altered active ingredients of medicines transported to the space station, worked on creating atmospheric phenomena similar to those on the planets Jupiter and Saturn and measured the radiation affecting the astronauts’ bodies using a matchbox-sized dosimeter. Furthermore, they examined brain activity with sensors using virtual reality technology, measured cerebral blood flow with the first robotic TCD (transcranial Doppler) system, and studied the growth of wheat, radishes, and peppers using a special technology. These latter two topics are related to the University of Debrecen. Tibor Kapu emphasized that the objective of all these studies was to show that, if these products can function in outer space, then they can also hold their own in a terrestrial environment.
As integral parts of the conference, meetings were held by several working groups, including the Economics, Food and Agricultural Sciences Working Group, the Life Sciences Working Group, the Humanities Working Group, and the Natural Sciences, Architecture, Mobility, Engineering and IT Working Group.
On these occasions, participants gave talks and held roundtable discussions on the connections between science and innovation, the background of scientific and scholarly careers, and the challenges inherent in a career path in research. The members of the advisory board also met with doctoral students who had been awarded GTIDEA Excellence Scholarships, and the latter presented their research areas and findings.
Press Centre - BZ
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