The Diplomat was welcomed on Tuesday by Elek Bartha, Vice-Rector for Education, Róbert Keményfi, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, and Balázs Venkovits, Director of the Institute of English and American Studies.
Elek Bartha, Vice-Rector for Education, presented the university’s diverse choice of courses and, in his report, he highlighted the importance of international relations in both education and scientific cooperation.
Ragnar Almqvist highly appreciated the interest in Irish culture in Hungary, and praised the education and research done in this field at the University of Debrecen. During the discussions, the importance of student mobility and its promotion was also highlighted.
‘As in previous years, the relationship between the university, including the Faculty of Humanities, and the Embassy of Ireland remains strong, and it may be further strengthened by this visit and the work at the Institute of English and American Studies,’ emphasized Dean Róbert Keményfi.
The Center for Irish Studies, which has been the member of the EFACIS Irish Studies Network since 2013, opened in the 1990s.
‘In the portfolio of the IEAS, Irish Studies plays an important role, with increasing student interest, and a number of our faculty members are also involved in Irish Studies in the framework of international cooperation,’ highlighted Director Balázs Venkovits.
The Ambassador was also given an insight into the Institute’s Irish-related work and was introduced to the previous conferences, the library, the lectures and exhibitions on various topics by Marianna Gula, lecturer of the Department of British Culture.
Ragnar Almqvist delivered a lecture titled Global Islands: Ireland, Hungary and the European Union. In his lecture to students, partly inspired by Hungary’s forthcoming presidency of the European Union, he reviewed Ireland’s relationship with the EU, comparing it at several points with Hungary’s relationship with the EU, while also looking at the landmark changes in Irish society over the past 20 years through the prism of literature.
Following the lecture, the Ambassador’s visit concluded with a joint music-literature evening of the Institute of English and American Studies and the Faculty of Music titled Listen Now Again in the Liszt Hall.