One of the prioritised strategic objectives of the University of Debrecen is to double the number of international students. The Faculty of Health now also joins in this effort, and therefore, courses for international students will also commence on the Nyíregyháza campus from this semester. This was announced at the event introducing the new programmes of the faculty, held on 19 September.
“Eleven international students will start in the English-language healthcare social work master’s programme on 25 September. Among institutes of higher education, the University of Debrecen has the largest international student body, and we are very proud to say that from this academic year the Faculty of Health will also welcome students from abroad”, said Imre Semsei, dean, who added that in the future they intend to launch additional English-language programmes, and also have plans from joining in the dual training.
The first programme of the Faculty of Health aimed at international students is a master’s programme, which means that all of the students, who arrive from Nigeria, Jordan, Syria, Egypt and Bangladesh, already have undergraduate degrees, typically in health sciences.
“In the home countries of the students there are no traditions of social work, and therefore, after completing the two-year programme here, our graduates will be pioneers in the field of healthcare social work when they return”, said Katalin Szoboszlai.
According to the head of the Department of Social Work, the international students bring significant prestige for the University of Debrecen and the Faculty of Health. The majority of them are able to study on the Nyíregyháza campus with support from the Scholarship Programme for Christian Youth, which was launched by the Hungarian government earlier this year. Some of them participate in the programme with Stipendium Hungaricum fellowships, while one student is here in a self-financing arrangement.
The meeting was also attended by the international students who had already arrived in the city. Tamam Habib from Syria, who has a degree in pharmacy, told unideb.hu that he chose the University of Debrecen for its good reputation and the unique programme it offers. He emphasised that he wishes to use the knowledge acquired here in the efforts to rebuild his home country, and for this he finds it important to learn about, among other things, the good practices of Hungarian social and healthcare organisations.
Another new programme offered by the Faculty of Health is that in the framework of the “Szülőföld” (Homeland) programme, it launched an off-site training in the town of Berehove (Hungarian name: Beregszász), at the “II. Rákóczi Ferenc” Hungarian College of Subcarpathia.
“In the nursing/patient care programme, a total of 24 young people living in Ukraine will commence their studies: 13 in the full-time, and 11 in the correspondence programme”, said Attila Sárvári.
As the deputy dean of education explained, the practical training sessions will be taught by members of the Faculty of Health in Berehove, for which purpose two new training rooms with the equipment necessary to learn basic nursing operations and procedures will be set up in the college. The theoretical knowledge will be predominantly taught with the use of modern infocommunication technology, including a videoconferencing system and other electronic systems assisting education.
Press Office