The Faculty of Informatics at the University of Debrecen is planning to collaborate with Odesa National University of Technology (ONTU) in areas such as online courses, joint research, and publications. Four staff members from one of Ukraine’s largest universities recently visited the University of Debrecen, where they became familiar with the activities of the Faculty of Informatics and the Faculty of Agricultural, Food Science and Environmental Management, and discussed further opportunities for academic cooperation.
The visit took place within the framework of an international credit mobility program. The ONTU delegation was led by Vice-Rector for International Affairs Olga Olshevska and Vice-Rector for Education Nadiia Dets. During their stay, they explored the educational and research activities of the host faculties and also visited the University of Debrecen’s Food Industry Innovation Center.
According to András Hajdu, Dean of the Faculty of Informatics, the goal is to establish mutual synergy, with particular focus on cybersecurity, robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI) in the field of informatics.
“The leadership of the university in Odesa approached us with the intention of getting to know our faculty’s operations. Every inter-institutional relationship is important, and we are looking for opportunities to complement each other’s research and development. Their primary interests lie in cybersecurity and robotics, so naturally they were curious about our scientific results, research directions, and educational practices related to those areas, as well as AI-based technologies. We hope they can become involved in our ongoing work. As we build this relationship, we’re also mindful of the current difficult conditions in Ukraine.
They were clearly impressed by our efforts to be part of the international forefront in AI. They praised our achievements in industrial partnerships, the quality of our teaching staff, and our co-developed curricula with industry, along with our modern infrastructure. Our goal is to create an ecosystem where high-level expertise in both AI and cybersecurity is readily available. We want to focus on each other’s strengths so we can complement one another across different fields of informatics,” said the dean.
With around 3,000 students, the Faculty of Informatics at UD and the ONTU, which hosts about 1,000 IT students, have been collaborating since 2022 through the credit mobility program. This enables students, lecturers, and staff from both institutions to receive support for exchanges and joint activities. In the field of informatics, online cooperation is also easily achievable.
In addition to research and educational projects, the two universities also plan to co-organize the Black Sea Science international student competition, held annually. The Faculty of Informatics in Debrecen would take part in the categories of information technologies, automation, and robotics.
(unideb.hu)
