Building on the 2022 memorandum of agreement between the University of Debrecen and Sunway University in Malaysia (one of the country's top private universities) (https://hirek.unideb.hu/en/partnership-education-and-research-malaysian-university) numerous educational and scholarly projects have been started by the Malaysian university and the Faculty of Humanities at UD. Coordinated by Nicholas Lee and Tamás Kiss in Kuala Lumpur (CELS) and Balázs Venkovits and Fruzsina Szabó at the Faculty of Humanities (Institute of English and American Studies), a joint learning and research project was started to improve intercultural communication skills, official visits took place on both campuses (https://hirek.unideb.hu/bovulo-malajziai-kapcsolatok-btk-n), and scholarly publications have also been written – said Péter Csatár, Deputy Dean for Strategy and Finance to unideb.hu, also emphasizing that the relationship established with Sunway University and Malaysia also strengthens the international reputation of the university.
As the most recent step of the cooperation, under the leadership of Tamás Kiss and Balázs Venkovits the two universities launched a new project to study the 1870 journey of János Xántus, a famous Hungarian traveler, naturalist and ethnographic collector in Borneo.
The Hungarian public could learn about the journey and Xántus’ work, which is unique from both a Hungarian and Malaysian perspective, from a detailed account written in 1880. This report will be published by researchers from the two universities in an English-Hungarian bilingual volume by Sunway University Press. The book will include an English translation of the hitherto little-known account, along with other letters Xántus sent from Borneo, with thorough explanations, introductory scholarly studies, and special illustrations.
In addition, extending the existing cooperation, the two universities will be joined by experts from the Museum of Ethnography in Budapest and the Borneo Cultures Museum, and based on the plans an exhibition may open in Sarawak in 2025, celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of János Xántus, made possible by this international collaboration between universities and museums. This new venture was recently mentioned by the Sarawak Minister for Tourism, Creative Industries and Performing Arts as well, who highlighted the importance of the jointly organized exhibition (https://www.newsarawaktribune.com.my/sarawak-to-take-part-in-international-museum-day-celebration-in-penang/.
