Opening Ceremony of the 2020/2021 Academic Year

True to its traditions, the University of Pécs held the Ceremonial Senate Meeting and Opening of the 2020/2021 Academic Year on 1 September at the Halasy-Nagy József Hall.

Due to the state of alert because of the coronavirus pandemic, the event took place in accordance with increased hygiene standards, in front of a reduced number of guests, it was mandatory to wear a mask throughout the ceremony, and the recipients of the awards and titles wore gloves to receive their awards.

1 September is a special day in more than one sense of the word: it the issuing date of the papal bull of the foundation of the medieval University of Pécs, as well as Day of the City of Pécs; furthermore from 2017 on, when UP celebrated the 650th anniversary of the foundation of the first university in Hungary, this day has been pronounced the Day of Hungarian Higher Education.

„2020 is the year of COVID.

But good things can happen in difficult times as well, one of which is the opening of the academic year.

This year, the opening ceremony of the academic year will be held twice, which is unusual, because in addition to this ceremony, the National Opening Ceremony of the Academic Year in Higher Education will take place here, in Pécs, which is an honour for us. In the number of applicants there was only a few percent decrease, and the additional admission period made our position even better. Enrolment is not yet complete, but the good news is that the number of international students has already exceeded 5,000" - said Rector Attila Miseta, adding: "Our investments in the Modern Cities Programme are progressing well, the new wing in the medical faculty is already 90% ready and will be one of the most modern research units in the country. The new dental teaching block is also progressing nicely." - emphasized Attila Miseta, rector.

Awards and acknowledgments were also presented during the ceremony.

The 2020/2021 academic year of the University of Pécs has officially started!