Engineering Courses of UP Popular from USA to China

Back in 2013, the current dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Pécs personally escorted the first international student from the airport to Pécs, since then the number of international students at the faculty has grown to 500 in the past 8 years. The faculty provides 12 training programmes in English and in September 2021, they will launch a new Biomedical Engineering MSc in English. The benefits of internationalization cannot only be seen in the popularity of the faculty’s English programmes among future international students but in the form of newly established connections to universities abroad. The high professional standards of the academic staff of UP teaching their courses abroad are always a huge success among the students there.

The English language undivided architecture programme of Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology was launched as the second in the country. The programme was modernized based on the European architecture and professional practice directives and validated by the European Parliament. At first, international students applied one at a time, however, by now their numbers have reached five hundred at the faculty. Almost every other international students is studying to become an architect; besides the one-tier master programme, the BSc, MSc, and Breuer Marcell Architecture doctoral programmes welcome international applicants as well. In 2015, they launched the IT and Civil Engineering programmes in English and in 2017, the Electrical Engineering programme has become available for foreign students as well.

^{Prof. Dr. Gabriella Medvegy, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Pécs. (Photo: Szabolcs Csortos)}

“The moment our Architecture PhD programme has become available in English, our spectrum has expanded tremendously” - said Dean dr. Gabriella Medvegy. “As of today, we can say that more people apply to our international PhD programme than to the Hungarian. With the PhD programme stepping onto the international stage, we also teach the students, as well as the teachers of multiple foreign institutions as well, e.g. from China and Germany, and these professional relationships will help our work come to fruition. The English programme is based on the Hungarian curriculum, the teaching materials in the two programs do not differ but the methodology does to some extent. The faculty is a European establishment with European content and accreditation.

Those who come to study here, want to experience this European milieu. We represent our own school, attracting students from all over the world.”

In the past years, the faculty has built fruitful professional relationships with many foreign universities. One of the most prestigious of these connections is to the Metropolitan State University of Denver in Colorado, USA. The ABET (American Board of Engineering and Technology) has accredited 6 courses in the 2 semester minor program at MSU Denver in architecture taught by professors of the UP Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology and accordingly since 2014, these courses are held by the academic staff of the University of Pécs. Moreover, the two Institutions conduct joint research, have multiple shared publications and student exchange programmes. The faculty has an equally close collaboration with the Hubei University of Technology in Wuhan. The “Architecture Innovation Class” joined interior design programme was established in 2017, in which students can spend whole years at the partner institute, under supervision, in order to get a diploma from both institutions.

The training programmes offered by the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology are just as diverse as the international students studying there. The intercultural atmosphere and the professional-cultural melting-pot inspires education. The student’s values, their ideologies, professional background, and perspective can lead to high-level professional discussions, which could even contribute in adding new layers of perspectives of the academic staff.

Currently 20% of the students at the faculty come from abroad,

and the faculty’s leadership is proud of this high number. Furthermore, they want to continue to attract international students by raising the quality of education. The main goal is to achieve the joint programme status especially in the IT engineering and traditional engineering programmes, so that they can provide an opportunity for getting a double degree. Promoting the internationalization of Hungarian higher education, in the framework of Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship Programme, four of the first 10-12 study programmes offered by the University of Pécs are taught by the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, which shows just how popular the higher education training programmes in engineering in Pécs are in Europe and other continents of the world.

Interview with an international PhD student studying at the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, UP »