The rector of the University of Debrecen has extended the mandates of Róbert Keményfi, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, and András Hajdu, Dean of the Faculty of Informatics. Zoltán Szilvássy emphasized that the work of both faculty leaders is essential to completing key university initiatives.
Over the next year, the university plans to implement strategic developments in several priority areas, which, according to the rector, require close cooperation with both deans.
“We are planning the near future in friendship and mutual trust with both faculty leaders. We can view the present as a special era of artificial intelligence, placing a tremendous responsibility not only on the Faculty of Informatics but on the entire university. These high-performance computers consume significant energy and generate a lot of heat — solving this is one of the tasks. Meanwhile, in the case of the Faculty of Humanities, new international network opportunities have emerged, enabling it to function as a faculty with long-term scientific and economic productivity potential,” said Zoltán Szilvássy.
Róbert Keményfi is entering his final year as Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and will lead the faculty during the rector’s concluding year in office. His goal is to ensure that no important education development tasks remain unfinished.
“The rector asked me to continue in the role of dean during his remaining term, and I gladly accepted the appointment. I consider it important to further strengthen the Faculty of Humanities’ scientific and educational role and to complete the work we have already begun. Our commitments include launching a Chinese Studies program and accrediting additional English-language programs. Essentially, the next year can be viewed as a transitional period, but one that will be marked by the completion of ongoing tasks. My aim is to hand over the leadership of the faculty with a sense of accomplishment, allowing the next leadership to focus on new goals,” the dean added.
András Hajdu will continue to lead the Faculty of Informatics for another three years. He stated that artificial intelligence presents new challenges across all fronts of university operations, and that the Faculty of Informatics now bears greater responsibility than ever before.
“Besides curriculum planning, infrastructure issues, and meeting student needs, there are increasing expectations in terms of economic development. A particularly important task for the next three years will be ensuring that artificial intelligence becomes a central focus across all disciplines — not only traditional IT areas like programming, databases, and networks. This requires a strong multidisciplinary mindset. Cybersecurity and robotics are also priority fields at the faculty, and we will soon need to organize new undergraduate and master’s programs around them. The rise of AI may also influence assessment processes,” emphasized Hajdu.
Róbert Keményfi and András Hajdu received their official reappointments from Rector Zoltán Szilvássy on Tuesday. Keményfi will serve as Dean of the Faculty of Humanities until June 31, 2026, and Hajdu will continue as Dean of the Faculty of Informatics until June 30, 2028.
(unideb.hu)
