Debrecen4U May 7, 2025

Miskolc and Debrecen discuss cooperation opportunities

“The key to development is regional cooperation and joint thinking, which is increasingly timely in the Eastern Hungary region,” Mayor László Papp said at Tuesday’s international business conference, organised for the third time by the University of Miskolc. This time, the Miskolc Campus Forum Green and Smart event brought together representatives from business, public life and academia to discuss how universities can become the driving force behind business service centres.

A 50-year-old dream of the people of Debrecen is coming true with the Civaqua project, which aims to eventually bring the waters of River Tisza to the Great Forest and the welfare lakes on the east side of the city. The project is one of the key elements of the Debrecen 2030 programme, which was launched five years ago with the aim of fundamentally changing the daily lives of people living in Debrecen and the eastern region.

Mayor László Papp also spoke about this at an international conference at the University of Miskolc. The mayor stressed that Debrecen has made significant progress in recent decades, but the region cannot be a unipolar one.

“IIt would be a mistake in our strategy if we think that it is good if a city stands out from its region like an island and separates itself from the immediate agglomeration or from the ring of cities that surround it and play a role as a dominant city in the life of Eastern Hungary,” – László Papp highlighted.

The Mayor of Debrecen also emphasised  that a knowledge-based economy is being built in the city, with the University of Debrecen as the most important engine. In this context, Rector Zoltán Szilvássy said that there is regular consultation with industrial players to ensure that the university can respond immediately to changes in global politics and the economy.

“There was Covid, there was a financial crisis, and now the Ukrainian-Russian war is taking place, so the geopolitical world order is quite different, not to mention China and the United States but the money needed for universities and companies to develop is not where we are used to,” Rector of the University of Debrecen  Zoltán Szilvássy said.

An important pillar of regional cooperation could be the BMW factory, the construction of which and the  production start-up is at the finishing line. This major investment in the automotive industry in Debrecen, and the construction of the Volvo plant in Kassel, could also represent major opportunities for the people of Miskolc.

“We have to find a way to position ourselves in a way that we can attract the significant capital potential and economic potential of these two cities and make them our own, and how we can turn this into some kind of advantage for the city,” Mayor of Miskolc József Tóth-Szántai said.

Continuous monitoring of the narrower and broader market is also essential for the University of Miskolc. The higher education institution with eight faculties covers a significant part of the scientific fields with its training, thus guaranteeing marketable knowledge.

“We have a wide portfolio, this portfolio must be able to serve the widest possible labour market sectors of this region. I think this is important, “ Rector of the University of Miskolc,  Zita Horváth said. According to the rector, the distance between the two cities must be brought closer together, both physically and spiritually.

Source and photo credit:dehir.hu