The new 2,700-square-meter vehicle laboratory, built in the Science, Technology, and Innovation Park of the University of Debrecen (eastern Hungary), will primarily serve as a location for training and research in the automotive industry. As part of an investment of nearly five billion forints (13 million euros), the facility has been set up with state-of-the-art equipment.
According to the University of Debrecen, the main task of the vehicle laboratory is to provide students of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Debrecen with a well-equipped, modern, and comfortable place for their theoretical and practical training.
The building, with a usable area of 2,700 square meters, houses laboratories for vehicles, mechatronics, and robotics training, automotive workshops, and classrooms for courses with smaller numbers of participants.
In addition, a 1,340-square-meter asphalt test track has been constructed. Intensive research into the mobility of the future will also be conducted within the walls of the building.
The new facility will train engineers who are able to design, develop, test, and manufacture new, safe, and sustainable vehicles. The automotive engineers trained here will be able to work in the automotive industry, at development companies, vehicle manufacturers, or even in workshops.
Balázs Hankó, Minister of Innovation and Culture, reminded those present at the handover ceremony that the University of Debrecen, one of whose main areas of focus is the automotive industry, is among the top two percent in the world and ranks 563rd among 30,000 higher education institutions worldwide.
“We are at a university that has increased the number of its scientific publications in the best international journals by 55 percent in the last four years, its innovation revenues by 49 percent to 3.1 billion forints (8 million euros) in three years and the number of first-year students grew from 7,079 to 9,202 in four years,” the minister enumerated.
In his speech, Zoltán Szilvássy, rector of the University of Debrecen, congratulated the Hungarian government on its success in attracting BMW to Debrecen despite strong international competition for large industrial investments.
This was not easy, as Hungary may be small in terms of global politics, but it plays a very different role in Europe in terms of science and innovation, the rector pointed out. When the work began, it was clear that the local leadership, the national government, the university, and industrial companies had joined forces to create the Debrecen automotive cluster. All major suppliers are involved in this structured system of industrial innovation cooperation. The University of Debrecen is represented as an associate member, while the city and BMW are supporting members, explained Zoltán Szilvássy.
The head of the facility added that workshops between BMW companies and university officials take place almost weekly, where great new ideas are constantly emerging.
László Papp, Mayor of Debrecen, said that the handover of the vehicle laboratory marked the beginning of a new era, a development phase that builds on the stable foundations laid in the past.
This now opens one of the most important centers for Hungarian innovation and vehicle research.
With the opening of the BMW plant, the goal of establishing more and more high value-added research and development activities in Debrecen alongside production, in which students and researchers from the University of Debrecen can also actively participate, has become a reality. “We see this as the best possible economic ecosystem that we can rely on in the long term. BMW’s presence has led to numerous significant developments, with the vehicle laboratory representing an important milestone,“ explained László Papp.
The President and CEO of BMW Group Debrecen, Hans-Peter Kemser, emphasized that the company is committed to implementing innovations and has found the right partners here to do so.
”We believe in the power of partnership, and we share a common belief in education and innovation.
The goal is to shape the mobility of the future. This facility opens new doors for young talent,”
said Hans-Peter Kemser.
The German managing director believes that it is extremely important for BMW to have well-trained specialists and engineers working for them. He added that the company and the University of Debrecen can learn from each other, which is why cooperation is necessary, and the vehicle laboratory will be a good place for this.
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Via unideb.hu; Featured photo: MTI/Czeglédi Zsolt
