On the morning of July 12th 2017, Central South University (CSU) and the University of Debrecen signed the CSU-UOD Strategic Cooperation Agreement at the Hungarian Parliament Building, as part of an effort to accommodate the China-proposed strategies of “Belt and Road” and “Going Global” and Hunan province’s strategic framework of opening up. Professor Chen Chunyang, the Vice President of CSU, and Professor Bartha Elek, the Vice Rector of UOD, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective universities. The signing ceremony was attended by Mr. Xu Dazhe, the governor of Hunan province, and Dr. Istvan Ujhelyi, the Deputy Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly.
Prior to the ceremony, Dr. Ujhelyi Istvan and Mr. Xu Dazhe made opening remarks respectively. They noted that both countries have a close relationship and share similarities in the political system and development history, and thus enjoy a brighter future of cooperation. In particular, the strategic cooperation between the two renowned universities is expected to enrich the cultural exchange between both countries and also deepen the cultural, social and economic exchange and cooperation between Hunan province and Hungary.
The Hungarian parliament and the government of Hunan province both agreed on and supported the joint efforts of CSU and UOD to build the fifth Confucius Institute in Hungary, and promised to provide both colleges with necessary policy and financial support for the student exchange, mutual recognition of credits, mutual awarding of degrees, scientific research cooperation and teaching exchange.
Under the agreement, both universities will provide appropriate scholarship quota for student exchange, jointly apply for the Belt and Road Scholarship program, and carry out the cooperation on the development of dual-degree undergraduates, master students and doctoral students; both sides will encourage and support their scientific research personnel to jointly apply for research projects in China or EU and to jointly undertake research tasks, so as to build a platform for international scientific research cooperation; both sides will encourage and support mutual visits among the management and teaching staff of both universities; both sides agree to jointly apply to relevant parties for the establishment of a Confucius Institute at UOD.
The signing ceremony was attended by Mr. Duan Jielong, the Chinese Ambassador to Hungary, the heads of departments such as the Development and Reform Commission of Hunan Province and the Foreign Affairs (Overseas Chinese Affairs) Office of Hunan Provincial People’s Government, as well as the directors of CSU's Undergraduate School, Graduate School and International Exchange and Cooperation Department.
