The University of Debrecen is a leading and prominent institution of higher education in Hungary. It is not only at the forefront of Hungarian and international education but also active in the fields of research, innovation and development, and enjoys fruitful links with the business sector. The ever-changing social and economic environment demands continuous renewal from the institution and there is a constant need to adapt to new requirements. The mission of the University of Debrecen is to contribute to the education of future generations in co-operation with Hungarian and international partners, with high-quality interdisciplinary programmes, and research built on versatile and practical experience. As the most popular higher education institution outside the capital, it offers academic programmes, conducts research, and providers RDI opportunities in the fields of agricultural sciences, law, economics, engineering, educational sciences, medical sciences, social sciences, natural sciences, art and music.
Besides education, the institution also provides European-quality patient care with comprehensive services to fulfil its obligations in the city, county and region and often on the national level as well. The University of Debrecen is also renowned internationally. In Hungary this is where the greatest number of international students study, coming here from all parts of the world. The university also occupies prestigious positions in international rankings due to the academic work and success of our faculty and researchers involved in international projects. It now features among the top 200 universities in several disciplines in the QS ranking.
As an Elite Research University, University of Debrecen is an institution with outstanding academic values that offers the widest range of programmes in the country. As a University of National Excellence, the institution has training and research capacities and scholarly achievements in several disciplines, which contribute to its central role in the implementation of national strategy objectives. At the most popular university of the country outside the capital, there are close to 30.000 people studying, either on state scholarships or paying tuition fees. The number of international students is over 3,500 and this increases year by year. Besides Hungarian programmes, students from outside Hungary can study on one of 25 programmes run in English. With their educational, research, and development activities, more than 1,500 faculty members in 14 faculties and 23 doctoral schools help graduating professionals enter the world of work successfully with competitive degree in their hands.
The Campus of the Faculty of Education for Children and Special Educational Needs is outside of Debrecen in a town called Hajdúböszörmény. The Faculty offers a wide range of educational programmes: Early Childhood Education for Kindergarten Pedagogues / Preschool Teachers, Social Pedagogy, Infant and Child Care Studies, Special Education Studies and several specialised in-service education and graduate vocational training programmes. The mission of the Faculty is to provide quality education with highly qualified staff and equip our students with skills and up-to-date knowledge that will enable them to excel professionally and fulfill their potential in the various fields of education and social care.
Besides the educational and scientific activities offered, we seek opportunities for professional collaboration at an international level. We have successful partnerships with several educational institutions offering similar training profile in Europe and worldwide.
Our international network offers our students the opportunity to gain experience of studying abroad with scholarships to improve their knowledge and adapt to today’s new challenges which require flexibility.
The professional development at our Faculty is supported by high-quality research work, which also involves our students. The research teams are led by highly reputable academics, who are book authors and are published in course books, periodicals and journals.
The Faculty also has its Training Kindergarten on Campus, where students can gain valuable experience in caring for and teaching children aged 3-7 and highly qualified early childhood educators and trainee pedagogues take care of the holistic development of the children. Practical training in kindergartens is an integral part of the Kindergarten Pedagogue/Preschool Teachers BA programme.
The University of Debrecen is the largest higher education institution in Hungary, so our students are part of a prestigious professional community. We are proud to broaden our students' perspectives while keeping our traditions. Our programmes offer diversity and opportunities for students to become successful graduates.
The conference venue will be the Budapest University of Technology and Economics which is a prestigious higher education institution in Hungary. Its main mission is to educate professionals for the industry in the disciplines of technology, informatics, natural sciences, economics, business and management. The university’s mission, inseparable from the education, is to cultivate the sciences, to make scientific research, which encompasses fundamental and applied research, technological product and service development, and exploitation of results making up the innovation chain.
Thanks to the high level undergraduate degree programmes built on a general basis, and the subsequent master’s programmes for the fine-tuning of their knowledge, students graduating from BME have a wide range of employment opportunities geographically and in terms of the field of employment as well. the institution’s several doctoral schools qualify students for scientific researcher-developer careers. In the Hungarian higher education rankings the university’s technology and informatics degree programmes take the first place, and the sciences and economics degree programmes are among the best ones. For BME, however, international rankings are the real measure.
The venue is located in the heart of Budapest, the canteen where the meals will be during the conference is nearby. Restaurants, spas, places for leisure and shopping are also nearby to the venue. Easily accessible by public transport and by car as well. The building is on the bank of the Danube, so it has a fabulous view of the river.
KultúrÁsz Cultural Association, Debrecen (Hungary)
KultúrÁsz Public Benefit Association is a civil organisation specialised in adult training, event management and tender writing, with a prominent role in the North Hungarian region. The association specialises in the further professional education and training of professionals in the fields of education and culture as well as in the education and training of career starters and young people looking for a job. The Association’s strategic goals include enhancing its current international relations network in the public, civil and corporate sectors.
One of the main strength of our organisation is its highly qualified workforce. Currently, there are 7 full-time employees in the association and another 30 trusted professionals. Annually, 10-12 interns and volunteers help us in our work as well as 144 partner organisations. We have a close relationship with the local higher educational institution, in our training and programmes there are many teachers and lecturers from the University of Debrecen. Among our professionals there are adult educational specialists, cultural managers, lawyers, teachers, media specialists, sociologists and economists.
Our activities
Centre for Research in Early Childhood (CREC), Birmingham (United Kingdom)
The Centre for Research in Early Childhood, more commonly referred to as CREC, is the home of CREC in Birmingham (Charitable Trust) and Amber Publications & Training Ltd (APT). Established by Professor Chris Pascal and Professor Tony Bertram, CREC has been working to improve early years provision for over 25 years. Located in Birmingham, United Kingdom, CREC specialises in early childhood research which has relevant and meaningful outcomes for practice and policy. Some of its research is transformed into training and development programmes designed for the specific needs of the early years sector. CREC also offers postgraduate research degrees and has a strong reputation for undertaking reviews, reports, evaluations and consultancy work with many UK local authorities, NGOs and countries. Examples include the British Council, QDCA, OECD, Portugal, Qatar, South Australia, Birmingham and Gloucestershire. CREC also runs British Early Childhood Education Research Association (BECERA) Conference and has been EECERA's strategic partner supporting the delivery of the annual conference since 2009.