Science, university

Debrecen is the second biggest town in Hungary and, at the same time, the centre for the second biggest region in Hungary. The Northern Great Plain region embraces three counties (Hajdú-Bihar, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg) and has a population of 1.5 million. Debrecen is the economic, cultural and educational centre of the region which has an over the average higher educational and R&D potential in the country. In terms of tourism this is one of the most attractive parts in the whole country. Hundreds of thousands would visit its medicinal baths and recreational pools a year, moreover Hortobágy National Park - a World Heritage site - offers fascinating natural resources as well. The great number of festivals and cultural programs, including the probably most outstanding, the one-week Debrecen Flower Carnival, also generate significant tourist attraction.

The city of Debrecen has the biggest university in the country, with a separate, internationally recognized centre dedicated to neutron research.

Debrecen provides excellent scientific, technological and academic backgrounds for an endeavour of the type of ESS. It has both great tradition and growing perspectives as an intellectual and economic pole of broad regional significance across national borders. Its Calvinist College was a leading hub of higher education for centuries, after Debrecen had become the centre of the Calvinist Reformation in Hungary.

Today Debrecen University - with its 30 000 students and teachers - is the largest in Hungary and, after Budapest, Debrecen is the second most important centre of research activities in Hungary. The pre-eminent Hungarian research institute in nuclear physics and accelerator based research, ATOMKI, has been operating for over 50 years in Debrecen. 24 % of the members of the physics section of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences are from Debrecen. The University of Debrecen and ATOMKI have been carrying out research and training work of world standard for decades in nano-material science and nano-technology related to the operation and use of the ESS.

More recently, the city has become a centre of corporate R&D, which is reflected by, among others, the installation of a production plant with 1100 employees of the Texas based leader in electronics and industrial data acquisition and control National Instruments (USA), the pharmacology giant Teva (Israel) with 2500 employees and, as a new project, the R&D unit of the largest pharmaceutical company in Eastern Europe G. Richter (Hungary).

The University of Debrecen creates a superb environment for cooperation between researchers, tutors, companies and investors. Owning a budget of about 275 million €, R&D income about 18 million €, 30 000 students, and 23 PhD schools, the oldest university of Hungary is among the top universities in Central Europe. Recently, 200 million € has been spent on new technical developments, constructions and renovations at the university, including the new Life Science Centre for molecular medicine, biology and agricultural sciences. The Research Centre of Molecular Medicine has been recognized as „Centre of Excellence” by the European Union in 2004.

The university infrastructure, research communities, as well as the students participating in the master and PhD courses together represent a substantial R&D potential and capacity, which could further be enhanced by the synergic cooperation with other groups active besides the ESS.