Cuban rectorial delegation at PTE

A delegation from Cuba arrived at the University of Pécs on 21 May, organised by the Hungarian Rectors' Conference, to get a first-hand look at Hungary's oldest university, its educational offerings and the culture of Pécs.

The delegation was received by Dr. Attila Miseta, Rector, Dr. József Betlehem, Vice Rector for General Affairs, Connections and Strategic Affairs, Dr. József Bódis, Rector Emeritus, Dr. Norbert Sipos, Deputy Director for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Antonio Lilón Domingo, Head of the Department of Spanish and Ibero-American Studies, Dr. István Gulyás, Senior Advisor of the UQA and Gábor Czéh, Coordinator for Foreign Affairs.

Dr. Attila Miseta and Dr. József Betlehem thanked the members of the delegation for honoring the University of Pécs with their visit, and invited the participants to briefly introduce the institution from which they came.
Dr. József Betlehem said that internationalisation is a central element of the institution's strategy. As you mentioned, these collaborations, these personal meetings, are an important and strong element in the life of higher education institutions.

The city and the University of Pécs were introduced in more detail by Dr. Norbert Sipos, Deputy Director of Foreign Affairs. In his presentation, he referred to the cultural diversity of Pécs, its historical roots and the mobility programmes offered to Hungarian and foreign students. He gave an overview of the infrastructure of the University of Pécs, its educational offer, research and innovation projects, and concluded with a taste of the international cultural programmes organised by the International Centre of Pécs University of Applied Sciences. The Deputy Director stressed that the University offers training in all disciplines, apart from agriculture and religious studies. Dr. József Betlehem added that although the university does not have a department of agriculture, there are colleagues working in a number of related fields, such as viticulture and spatial information technology.

Dr. António Lilón Domingo gave a detailed overview of the Department of Spanish and Ibero-American Studies of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the PTE, and in his presentation he also touched upon the Ibero-American relations of the institution. At the same time, he reported that the Red de Hispanistas de Europa Central network, in partnership with the Department, was awarded the CEEPUS Ministerial Prize on 15 May, which was the result of many years of collaborative and constructive work.

After the formal part of the visit, the delegation members visited the Faculty of Arts of PTE, where they visited the art workshops and met the artists working there. After a short tour of the Zsolnay Cultural Quarter, they were given a guided tour of the Gyugyi collection in Spanish.

After the cultural programme, the participants of the Rector's delegation visited the Faculty of Engineering and Informatics of the University of Technology of PTE, where they had the opportunity to get to know the 3D centre of PTE. As part of their tour of the institution, they also visited the MediSkill Laboratory of the PTE Faculty of Medicine. To conclude the day, the delegation was hosted to a wine tasting dinner at the Szentmiklós-hegy site of the PTE Research Institute of Viticulture and Enology, during which István Ipacs-Szabó, the Institute's chief oenologist and nominee for the title of Oenologist of the Year, gave a comprehensive overview of the research and work being carried out at the University Wine Estate.

They were members of the Cuban delegation:
H.E.Mr. Walter Baruja García, Minister of Higher Education of the Republic of Cuba  
María Victoria Villavicencio Plasencia, Director of International Relations (MES)   
Raydel Montesinos Perurena, Rector University of Informatics Sciences (UCI)   
Martha Dunia Delgado Dapena, Rector of the Technological University of Havana (CUJAE) 
Yorki Mayor Hernández, Rector of the University of Pinar del Río  
Anthius Hernández Gómez, Rector Agrarian University of Havana (UNAH)   
Edelvy Bravo Amarante, Rector of Sancti Spiritus University (UNISS)   
Narcy Bueno Figueras, Rector of the University of Granma (UDG)   
María Felicia Díaz Sánchez, Director General of the Institute of Animal Science (ICA)   
Mairim Lago Queija, Rector of the University of Medical Sciences of Havana  
Rolando Valentín Ortega Alvarez, Rector of the University of the Arts (ISA)   
Accompanied by the Embassy of Cuba in Hungary:  
H.E. Mr. Guillermo Vázquez Moreno, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba in Hungary  
Nóra Mikó, Assistant to the Ambassador