Debrecen4U
August 13, 2026
Developing International Relations Is Key to University of Debrecen’s Competitiveness
The University of Debrecen is entering a decisive period in terms of its international competitiveness, institutional reputation and sustainable development. According to Attila Jenei, Director of the Coordinating Center for International Education since 1 July, global trends and the transformation of the international higher education environment have created new challenges and opportunities, while competition between universities for students, research funding and international visibility is becoming increasingly intense.
“The transformation of the international higher education system and growing expectations regarding research performance require a change of mindset in both education and research. This global restructuring fundamentally calls into question the sustainability of traditional university operations. Universities must meet scientific, educational, economic and social expectations simultaneously, while also facing financial and labour-market pressures. That is why developing international relations is a fundamental prerequisite for the university’s competitiveness, the quality of education and research, and strengthening the institution’s prestige,” Attila Jenei told hirek.unideb.hu.
Drawing on the international network and professional experience he has built up over 30 years of organising and coordinating education, the Vice-Rector for International Affairs believes that the institution’s international visibility is key to the university’s success in the global higher education market, helping it attract talented students and researchers and progress in international rankings.
“In terms of the institution’s international relations, we need not simply to shift the emphasis, but to expand and transform our partnerships qualitatively, developing collaborations underpinned by professional programmes. Among our existing partnerships, including those in Asia, China will remain an important partner, not least through our branch-campus educational programmes. Another key objective is to involve international multinationals operating in Debrecen in research and development collaborations. At the same time, as a regional higher education centre, the university intends to place greater emphasis on giving Hungarian students international experience in every field of study. That is why, alongside mobility programmes such as the Pannónia Scholarship Programme, ERASMUS+ and CEEPUS, we would also like to provide short- and long-term mobility opportunities in Western Europe. Compared with the size of the university and the opportunities already available, the proportion of students willing to spend one or two semesters studying abroad is still too low,” Attila Jenei explained.
The Vice-Rector stressed that supporting international experience for teaching staff, as well as increasing the number of foreign researchers and visiting professors, is intended to strengthen the university’s academic base.
“Over the past two or three decades, there has been a significant decline in the number of young researchers who have gone abroad after obtaining their academic qualifications in order to gain professional experience and build their university careers. We would therefore like to revive the once-successful postdoctoral programme, the essence of which would be to make international experience abroad virtually compulsory for a period of between six months and two years after obtaining a degree. This is a long-term programme whose foundations and conditions, as well as its incentive system, can now be established and developed,” Attila Jenei explained.
The Vice-Rector stressed that progress in higher education rankings, together with effective science communication presenting the university’s academic portfolio as comprehensively as possible, would also support the institution’s international visibility and success. This is particularly important because international students often assess and choose educational institutions on the basis of international rankings.
“We need to improve the University of Debrecen’s performance in key ranking indicators such as publications, citations and citation impact. The existing Scientific Publication Support Programme also serves this purpose. We also need to map international research experience and join research networks. In addition, we need to involve and encourage major companies in the region, SMEs, institutions and employers to strengthen the reputation of the University of Debrecen at international level through their feedback, as well as the labour-market perception of our graduates,” Attila Jenei added.
The University of Debrecen currently has the largest international student community in Central and Eastern Europe, with almost 7,800 international students from 139 countries studying at the institution. The university’s growing international popularity is also reflected in the fact that increasing numbers of young people from abroad have chosen the University of Debrecen in recent years.
The Director of the Coordinating Center for International Education believes that on the global higher education market, the university could further strengthen its international visibility, prestige and recruitment opportunities by developing an international alumni system and tracking graduates’ careers, as well as by creating a unified PR strategy that goes beyond academic performance and the institution’s educational portfolio.
“The institution needs to have a clear identity and communicate consistently on the international stage. We need to be able to show precisely what values we represent, how we position ourselves in the educational and research landscape, and what vision we offer our students, staff and partners. We must provide a clear answer to the question, ‘Why UD?’ We also need to be able to convey experience, identity and a sense of community,” he explained, drawing on his role as co-founder of the UD International Food Day, an annual event that has been held with great success for two decades.
Attila Jenei believes that a comprehensive and multifaceted international development plan will deliver tangible results in the University of Debrecen’s educational quality, research performance and international visibility. He stressed, however, that achieving these objectives requires coordinated cooperation between the university’s organisational units and, in many respects, a radical change of mindset. The Vice-Rector for International Affairs is supported in his work by the Coordinating Center for International Education, the Centre for International Higher Education Rankings, the Centre for International PR and Marketing, the Centre for International Relations, and the International R&D Centre, which also supports the work of the Vice-President for Science and the Vice-President for Education.
Attila Jenei graduated from the Faculty of Science at Kossuth Lajos University in 1991 and obtained his PhD from the University of Debrecen Medical School in 1997, completing his habilitation in 2012. He began his professional career in 1991 as a research assistant at the Institute of Biophysics and Cell Biology of the University of Debrecen Medical School. Since 1996, he has been involved in organising English-language programmes and recruiting international students, during which time he has participated in launching almost all of the university’s foreign-language programmes apart from medicine. Between 1995 and 1998, he was an assistant lecturer, and from 1999 to 2005 he was an associate professor at the Institute of Biophysics and Cell Biology of the University of Debrecen’s Centre for Medical and Health Sciences. In 2005, he was appointed associate professor at the Faculty of Dentistry. In 2016, he joined the Faculty of Dentistry’s Institute of General Medical Knowledge as acting head of department and subsequently as a full professor, and has served as its director since 2017. He stepped down from this position when he was appointed Vice-Rector. In 2005, Attila Jenei was appointed Deputy Director of the Centre for International Education, and from 2008 to 2014 he served as its director. Since the institution was renamed in 2014, he has been Director of the Coordinating Center for International Education, a role he intends to continue alongside his new responsibilities.
Source: dehir.hu | Photo credit: Debrecen városa (Facebook)
