Improving the University of Debrecen’s international visibility, expanding its scientific, strategic and industrial partnerships, increasing the practical benefits of international relations, improving its position in higher education rankings, strengthening student and researcher mobility, and developing a long-term, sustainable international branding and communications strategy are among the goals with which Attila Jenei has begun his work as Vice-Rector for International Affairs. The Director of the Center for International Education Coordination has been overseeing the University of Debrecen’s international activities since July 1.
The University of Debrecen (UD) is entering a decisive period in terms of its international competitiveness, reputation and sustainable development. According to Attila Jenei, changing international trends and the transformation of the global higher education environment have created new challenges and opportunities, while competition among universities for students, research funding and international visibility is becoming increasingly intense.
“The transformation of the international higher education system and growing expectations regarding research performance require a change of mindset in both education and research. This global restructuring fundamentally challenges the sustainability of traditional university operations. Universities must simultaneously meet scientific, educational, economic and social expectations while also facing financial and labour-market pressures. That is why developing international relations is a fundamental prerequisite for the university’s competitiveness, the quality of education and research, and strengthening its institutional prestige,” Jenei Attila told hirek.unideb.hu.
Drawing on the international network and professional experience he has gained during three decades of educational organisation and coordination, the Vice-Rector believes that the university’s international visibility is essential to its success in the global higher education market. It helps attract talented students and researchers and supports the university’s progress in international rankings.
“In terms of the institution’s international relations, we do not simply need to shift our priorities, but to expand and qualitatively transform our partnerships, building them on professional programmes. Among our existing collaborations, including those in Asia, China will remain an important partner, among other things through our off-campus educational programmes. Another key objective is to involve international companies operating in Debrecen in research and development cooperation. At the same time, as a regional higher education centre, the university wants to place greater emphasis on enabling Hungarian students to gain international experience in every field of study. Therefore, alongside mobility programmes such as the Pannónia Scholarship Programme, Erasmus+ and CEEPUS, we also want to provide short- and long-term mobility opportunities in Western Europe. Compared with the size of the university and the opportunities available, there are still relatively few students who undertake one or two semesters of study abroad,” Jenei said.
The Vice-Rector also highlighted the importance of supporting international experience for academic staff and increasing the number of foreign researchers and visiting professors, with the aim of strengthening the university’s teaching and research base.
“Over the past two or three decades, the number of young researchers going abroad after obtaining their academic degrees to gain professional experience and build their university careers has declined significantly. That is why we would like to revive the once-successful postdoctoral programme, the essence of which would be to make international experience for a period of six months to two years virtually mandatory after obtaining a degree. This is a long-term programme, and we can now lay its foundations and establish its conditions and incentive system,” Jenei explained.
The Vice-Rector stressed that improving the university’s position in higher education rankings and developing effective science communication that presents as comprehensive a research portfolio as possible would also support its international visibility and success. This is particularly important because international students often use global rankings when assessing and choosing educational institutions.
“We need to improve the University of Debrecen’s performance in key ranking indicators such as publications, citations and citation impact. The existing Scientific Publication Support Programme also serves this purpose. It is also necessary to map international research experience and establish connections with research networks. We must also involve and encourage large companies, SMEs, institutions and employers in the region to strengthen the reputation of the University of Debrecen internationally and improve the labour-market perception of our graduates through their feedback,” Jenei added.
The University of Debrecen currently hosts the largest international student community in Central and Eastern Europe, with nearly 7,800 international students from 139 countries studying at the institution. The university’s growing international popularity is also reflected in the increasing number of foreign students choosing UD in recent years.
The head of the Center for International Education Coordination believes that the university’s international visibility, prestige and recruitment opportunities could be further strengthened in the global higher education market by developing an international alumni network and tracking graduates’ careers, as well as by creating a unified PR strategy that goes beyond academic performance and the university’s educational portfolio.
“The institution needs to have a clear identity and communicate consistently on the international stage. We need to be able to clearly demonstrate what values we represent, how we position ourselves in education and research, and what vision we offer to our students, staff and partners. We need to provide a clear answer to the question ‘Why UD?’ We must also be able to convey experience, identity and a sense of community,” he said, referring to his role as co-founder of the UD International Food Day, an event that has been held successfully every year for two decades.
Jenei Attila believes that a comprehensive and multifaceted international development plan will produce tangible results in the University of Debrecen’s educational quality, research performance and international visibility. He stressed, however, that achieving these goals requires coordinated cooperation among the university’s organisational units and, in many respects, a radical change in mindset.
The Vice-Rector for International Affairs is supported in his work by the Center for International Education Coordination, the Center for International Higher Education Rankings, the Center for International PR and Marketing, the Center for International Relations, and the International R&D Center, which also supports the work of the university’s Vice-Rector for Science and Vice-Rector for Education.
Attila Jenei graduated from the Faculty of Natural Sciences of Kossuth Lajos University in 1991 and obtained his PhD from the University of Debrecen Medical School in 1997. He completed his habilitation in 2012. He began his professional career in 1991 as a research assistant at the Institute of Biophysics and Cell Biology of the University of Debrecen Medical School. Since 1996, he has been involved in organising English-language programmes and recruiting international students, and during this period he participated in launching almost all of the university’s foreign-language programmes apart from medical education.
Between 1995 and 1998, he was an assistant lecturer, and from 1999 to 2005 he served as an associate professor at the Institute of Biophysics and Cell Biology of the University of Debrecen’s Medical and Health Science Center. In 2005, he was appointed associate professor at the Faculty of Dentistry. In 2016, he joined the Institute of General Medical Knowledge at the Faculty of Dentistry as acting head of department and later as a full professor, becoming its director in 2017. He stepped down from the latter position when he was appointed Vice-Rector.
In 2005, Jenei Attila was appointed Deputy Director of the International Education Center, and between 2008 and 2014 he served as its director. Since the institution changed its name in 2014, he has been the Director of the Center for International Education Coordination, a position he intends to continue holding alongside his work as Vice-Rector.
(unideb.hu)
