The Agricultural Science Section of the OTDK is being held abroad for the first time

István Nagy, Minister of Agriculture (Photo: drnagyistvan.hu)

More than five hundred people from all over the Carpathian Basin will participate in the event, which will be organized by the Csíkszereda Faculty of the Sapientia Transylvanian Hungarian University of Science (EMTE) between April 24 and 26. It can be said that these days “Csíkszereda is the capital of Hungarian agriculture” – underlined Minister of Agriculture István Nagy, who believes that by holding the section abroad for the first time, it offers unique experiences to the participants. “We belong together, science and the Hungarian nation are also borderless,” he stressed. He said that the answers to the challenges must be sought in science, and these can also be found in the research of the young people coming to the conference. According to the minister, these answers are greatly needed because the agricultural and food industry is changing the most dynamically and also attracts numerous allied sciences, the results of which are important for promoting sustainability and environmentally conscious farming. He reminded that there are small farms in Székelyföld, and the question arises as to how these can ensure the livelihood of a family. He stressed that science and innovation provide the answer so that quality food and raw materials can be produced in smaller areas to ensure livelihood.

Márton Tonk, the rector of Sapientia EMTE, recalled that the private university in Transylvania “took on a mission” 25 years ago

On the one hand, it provides Hungarian-language training in areas of training that are not accessible to young Hungarians in Transylvania. On the other hand, it is to ensure that these are areas that provide them with a livelihood. In Transylvania, such a field of study, discipline, and area of ​​activity is agriculture, to which 7 undergraduate and 2 master’s degree programs can be linked at the university, and one-fifth of Sapientia’s 2,300 students study in the field of agricultural sciences – he said. The number of graduates with degrees in this field is approaching a thousand, and they live and work in their homeland – he added. He pointed out that the fact that “the best and brightest of the profession” can be hosted in Csíkszerda is an important recognition of the university’s work, and is also due to the fact that they previously successfully organized the OTDK’s IT section.

Tamás Weiszburg, president of the National Scientific Student Council, said: the OTDK, which is 70 years old this year, is a “true Hungarian language”, which he understood in Transylvania

It turned out for him that in Romania the scientific preparation of students by their mentors is not an established practice, only the Hungarian educational institutions in Romania have adopted this as an “added value” for students studying Hungarian. He said about the 37th OTDK: the number of papers submitted in the 16 sections increased by nearly 20 percent this year, and this did not come at the expense of quality. He said: despite the remote location, there was more interest in the agricultural science section this year. According to Veronika Halas, vice-president of the Agricultural Science Professional Committee of the OTDT, the number of applications was record high, with more than 300 students from the past two years wanting to present their work. Ede Lázár, the executive chairman of the agricultural sciences section, said: the agricultural and food industry is the most innovative industry in Székelyföld, and the faculty in Csíkszereda has very good relations with local food industry companies. He thanked them for supporting the event financially and with their products, and the participants’ breakfast came from in-kind donations.

MTI