The University of Debrecen has increased the popularity of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) majors, as well as the number of applicants for the courses, with about 100 STEM popularization events. Nearly 10,000 young people were reached with the series of events implemented with the support of the Széchenyi2020 development program.
The University of Debrecen pays special attention to the development of training and research areas of Engineering and IT, adapting to the needs of businesses operating in and around the city. The key to this is ensuring adequate supply of students in STEM courses.
The continuous strengthening of courses related to science, engineering, mathematics and IT is essential, as this is how the university can provide professionals to the local market. And by using its knowledge base, it can became and serve as the source of research, development and innovation in the region’s ecosystem.
In accordance with the previously mentioned objectives, the project was launched with further aims such as strengthen interest in STEM fields, increase the number of applicants and the level of higher education in the Northern Great Plain region between 2017 and 2022.
During the implementation, it was an important aspect to improve the education level of young people having disadvantaged geographical, social and economic background. The target group was mainly high school students, but within the framework of the events, university teachers could also get to know the way of thinking of the new generations.
Three faculties of the University of Debrecen – the Faculty of Information Technology, the Faculty of Engineering, and the Faculty of Science and Technology – participated in the project. They were supported in the implementation by three consortium partners: The János Bolyai Mathematical Society, The János Neumann Computer Science Society and the Together for The Future’s engineers Association.
In order to achieve those goals, the university has launched a number of programs that facilitate the admission into higher education institutions. At their events, they also talked about outstanding life journeys that were inspirational for students.
School visits are essential tools for popularizing science and making it more attractive as a career option. As part of the project, teachers of the Faculty of Sciences and Technology held science popularization lectures in more than 100 secondary schools. They made films about their institutions and courses which were available on the faculty’s website and YouTube channel.
Open days were organized several times, and a preparatory course for advanced graduation was also launched. During the coronavirus epidemic, e-learning teaching materials were compiled and shared with the students. In addition, scientific summer camps were organized annually during the implementation period, in the framework of which a total of about 100 high school students could carry out scientific research work.
The number of professional popularization and introduction events – workshops, open days, professional days, laboratory visits, summer camps and special courses for trainers – was close to one hundred, and the number of young people reached and addressed by these was 10,000.
The program was implemented in the EFOP-3.4.4-16-2017-00023 project under the Human Resource Development Operational Programme, with EU funding.
Find out more about the project in the Project Finder:Details
