The University of Pécs
https://pte.hu/ ; https://pte.hu/english
The University of Pécs is the oldest university in Hungary and one of the largest universities of the country. With its ten faculties and 32 clinics and patient care institutions, the university offers a broad range of training and degree programmes, with more than 25,000 students and nearly 2,000 teaching and research staff. UP is considered as the Knowledge Centre of South Transdanubian Region. The roots of the institution date back as early as 1367. The Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) has published its latest 2016 ranking list. The UP demanded a place for itself among the world’s thousand top universities. The 863th place means that the UP keeps its position and therefore still belongs to the leading 3.6 % of international higher education institutions worldwide.
In order to meet the demands and the needs of the surrounding community for continuing education, UP has started to develop its programmes within the area of lifelong learning. In addition, the university attaches great importance to training in the colleges for advanced studies. Nearly every Faculty offers training in the framework of this organisation that encourages students to pursue their own research. Altogether 20 doctoral schools at the university offer doctoral degrees that cover a wide spectrum of science, scholarship and art, ranging from classical humanities through social sciences to medical and natural sciences.
Due to the credit system, first introduced in Hungary here in Pécs, an increasing number of Hungarian students participate in international study programmes as an integral part of their education, and likewise, an increasing number of international students and researchers come to the UP to study and conduct research every year. Therefore, the university continuously works on expanding and improving its co-operation with other universities and international research institutions and is already part of a large network at different levels.
One of the strategic goals of the UP is to intensify its international activities in order to offer more opportunities for its students, teachers and researchers to measure their knowledge in international environments and also to attract more international students to its campuses. The university keeps expanding and improving its cooperation with other universities and research institutes worldwide. Currently, it has 50 bilateral agreements in 24 countries in 3 continents (Europe, Asia, The Americas). These agreements provide the framework for mutual visits, short term student, teacher or staff mobility, and joint research projects. The university also actively participates in the Central European mobility programme called CEEPUS. An increasing number of international students and researchers have been coming from over 80 countries to the University of Pécs to study and conduct research year by year.
The university plays an active role in the different international university associations (EAIE, EUA, Danube Rectors’ Conference, Alps-Adriatic Rectors’ Conference, Compostela Group of Universities) and operates the Secretariats of two distinguished university associations, the University Network of the European Capitals of Culture (UNEECC) and the Alliance of Universities for Democracy (AUDEM). It continuously works on internationalizing the university in order to meet the demands of a modern, 21st century higher education. UP has been participating in the ERASMUS programme since 1998 with the aim of providing academic and teaching opportunities to our students and professors by deepening their knowledge at partner institutions in an international environment. The university has also put a strong emphasis on integrating its courses given in foreign languages into undergraduate studies.
The promotion of innovation in the member states of the European Union plays a distinguished role in improving competitiveness, which can be promoted mainly by spreading effective research and development (R&D) activities as broadly as possible and giving priority to innovation (especially the practical utilization of the R&D results).
The university knowledge base can be interpreted along three dimensions with respect to the innovative activities pursued at UP. One concerns research results which are produced within the university environment, i.e. in labs and in the heads of researchers. The second one involves teaching, whereby a highly qualified labour force is trained that can succeed in the knowledge industry. The third one is the service dimension, which can ensure several important services that support the utilization of innovations for economic players surrounding the university.
The Open University Koprivnica
The Open University Koprivnica is a public and non-profit city institution for education, culture and information. It employs 17 employees in the areas of adult education, music scene and film. The focus is on adult education and lifelong learning with more than 60 different educational programs for implementation. Nearly a hundred of external experts of various profiles participate in implementation of these programs. The programs are verified and unverified, intended for different target groups and individuals with the aim of raising the level of their general competence and with particular emphasis on their training for occupations in the focus of the labour market. The school constantly explores the real needs and interests of citizens at the local and regional level with the aim of creating cutting-edge and innovative programs that will enable acquiring the knowledge and skills needed for easier employability, greater competitiveness in the labour market and indirectly contribute to reducing the level of unemployment.
The University is one of the leading adult education institutions in the Republic of Croatia, a member of the Croatian Association of Open Universities from Zagreb. The University gives special attention to the research on the deficit occupations at the local and regional level and has achieved significant results in cooperation with neighbouring countries, Slovenia and Hungary as a member of two international consortia: an International Consortium for Roma Education and an International Consortium for Deficit Occupations.
The University, as an institution founded by the City of Koprivnica, has constant support from its founder in the adult education program and LLP, as well as in logistics. The University has quality teaching and other supporting facilities for all its activities (three buildings with 2600 m2). It is equipped with modern teaching materials and aids (three modern computer labs, specialized classrooms for various types of lectures, seminars, workshops - classrooms with 20 to 90 places). The University efficiently uses the position of Koprivnica as a county centre and in cooperation with county structures gives special attention to the education of the agricultural population of the region. In the past five years, the School has organized and implemented programs in the field of agriculture for over 2000 participants. The school has received a lot of recognition for its work so far.
The University has achieved partnerships, informal or through cooperation agreements with partners at local, regional and national level (kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, higher education institutions, economy, Croatian Employment Service…). Within these partnerships, intensive co-operation has been achieved through workshops and courses for elderly population, kindergarten, elementary and high school students. There is also a significant collaboration in the form of theatre performances, cinema projections and various workshops organized for kindergartens, elementary and high school students.
The University has achieved significant results in the area of primary adult education, a program in whose implementation the University has the best results nationwide. The program included a significant number of Roma minority members, thus contributing to their social inclusion. The University has and implements the training program for Roma Assistants, as the only one of a kind in Croatia.
The University has a highly educated team, which is capable of implementing the existing "regular" programs, as well as researching and creating new ones. The University gives special attention to innovative programs, which will give students new knowledge, skills and competencies for new professions that emerge from the needs on the labour market. An example of such approach are the following training programs: homemakers for geriatrics, caretakers, Roma assistants, teaching assistants in working with disadvantaged students etc.