PECS UNIVERSITY

Pecs University has been selected by Roberto Amati in relation to the real history of european integration, then enlisted in the UNIVERSITAS category, accompanied by own fact SHEET useful to the comprehension, completed of historical MAPS AND IMAGES or with a direct linking to the related Blog contents dedicated to the aeternitas and the future of Europe.

	FOUNDATION
Year	1367 A.D.
City	Pécs
Founder	king Louis I 'said the Great'
Where	Regnum Hungary
Originary subjects	church law and the Latin language

---

	NOWADAYS
State	Hungary
Name	University of Pécs (Pécsi Tudományegyetem)
Seates	Pécs
Degree programs	every scientific and humaninties disciplines
Library	Library system of University of Pécs
Collegium	NO
Alumni	UP Alumni
Famous teachers	William of Koppenbach , SLászló Lénárd , László Sólyom
Famous scholars	Ante Starčević , Márta Mátrai , Csilla Hegedüs , Norbert Pap , György Buzsáki , Zoltan Pozsar , István Bárány
Awards

Pecs University is among the oldest of Europe: in 1367 A.D. Louis I 'said the Great' king of Hungary initiated the establishment of a universitas in the ancient episcopal city of Pécs, as a result of an integration process of several stages, which has become one of the most famous and prestigious institutions having a leading role in Central-Esatern European region following the university foundations of Prague, Krakow and Wien. The king's role in the foundation can be considered formal, as part of the Holy See procedure: in fact, the operation of the Pécs University was authorized with a bull by Pope Urban V and the true spiritual father of the first Hungarian university had been the contemporary bishop of Pécs, William of Koppenbach, who was also royal chaplain and secret chancellor, one of Louis the Great's important diplomats and confidants.

The University of Pécs was primarily intended for the proper teaching of church law and the Latin language, so that the Hungarian students of the time did not have to travel abroad if they wanted to attend university. The Pope did not allow the establishment of the Faculty of Theology in Pécs: very few written documents have survived about the medieval University of Pécs and we hardly know anything about its functioning, except for a total of 4 teachers and 7 students by name who can be proven to have taught or studied at the atheneum. The most famous medieval professor in Pécs was the Italian Galvano di Bologna (between 1372 and 1374 A.D.) while the second and last chancellor of the university had been the Bishop of Pécs, Bálint Alsáni (later Cardinal). The university was fundamentally linked to the person of the Bishop Vilmos and then began to decline after his death, finally ending sometime around 1390 A.D., it was almost certainly not functioning when the University of Óbuda was founded at late XIV century.

The modern Pécs University is not legally continuous with its medieval predecessor: we can only speak of an intellectual heritage, cause a university-level education did not exist in the city until the beginning of the 20th century, but the renowned and high-quality chapter school continued to exist. The supposed building of the medieval university in Pécs was excavated in the bishop's castle, east of the Golden Mary chapel, in the immediate vicinity of the Pécs Cathedral, on its north side: the definition of the building is disputed and many researchers do not agree that the medieval Studium Generale operated in the building. In 2015 A.D. a permanent university history exhibition opened in the restored building, with important medieval Gothic sculptural monuments.

In 1785 A.D. Emperor Joseph II moved the headquarters of the Royal Academy from Győr to Pécs for about 20 years, but it was not until 1833 A.D. that Bishop Ignác Szepesy, in cooperation with the city council, founded the Academy of Pécs with faculties of law and humanities while for the Lyceum he had an ornate palace built, which was completed in same period. He also arranged specialist libraries for teachers and placed Klimó's large library there, gifting it with 400 books, 400 minerals and numerous medals. Meantime the Royal Hungarian Elizabeth University in Pozsony (Bratislava) was founded in 1912 A.D., which can be considered the legal predecessor of the actual University of Pécs. At the end of the First World War, as a result of the Treaty of Trianon, Bratislava became part of Czechoslovakia so the Hungarian National Assembly adopted a law that temporarily moved the University of Bratislava to Pécs. Delayed due to the Serbian occupation of the city, in any case the university operated from 1923 A.D. with 4 faculties: law, medicine, humanities and evangelical theology.

During the Second World War, the Faculty of Humanities was temporarily moved partly to Szeged and partly to Kolozsvár, which became part of Hungary in 1940 A.D.. After war the Faculty of Evangelical Theology in Sopron was separated and upgraded to an academy and in 1951 A.D. the medical faculty continued to operate as separate and independent school under the name Pécs University of Medicine, so the city atheneum continued to operate with the single Faculty of Law. In the meantime, improvements were made at the medical university so that in 1966 A.D. the so-called '400-bed clinic' was opened, in which 5 different units operated (internal medicine, orthopedics, radiology, surgery, ophthalmology), while dental training began later. From 1975 A.D., a new faculty of economics was established followed some years later by the Pécs Teacher Training College merged with the Faculty of Economics and the Faculty of Law: the new institution was named Janus Pannonius University. In 1990 A.D. a Faculty of Health Sciences was established within the Medical Pécs University.

The Faculty of Teacher Education was divided into the Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Natural Sciences: Pollack Mihály Technical College was merged with Janus Pannonius University in 1995 A.D. and the year after the Faculty of Arts was established as the VI organizational unit of the university. In the end, the Pécs University was established in 2000 A.D. by the merger of Janus Pannonius University, the Medical University of Pécs and the Gyula Illyés Teacher Training College in Szekszárd. Four years later the Pollack Mihály Technical College was transformed into a full-fledged university faculty under the name of Pollack Mihály Faculty of Engineering but its name became Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, while the College of Health Sciences became a full-fledged university faculty under the name of Faculty of Health Sciences in 2006 A.D..

Today Pécs University has 10 faculties that cover the full spectrum of high-quality higher education. It has been among the first at launch doctoral programmes in various sciences and arts in 1993 A.D. when the new Higher Education Act reinstated the universities' rights to award doctoral titles. It started with 7 programmes in 4 Faculties, meanwhile today there are 21 PhD/DLA schools in 8 Faculties. The Szentágothai Research Centre is the scientific excellence centre of this atheneum, which is the base of medical-biological studies (neuroscience, endocrinology-immunology, cardiovascular and infectious diseases, clinical trials), natural sciences (physics, chemistry) and engineering-informatics (building energetics) research. It focuses on the infrastructure and research potential of the Southern Transdanubian Region, and has complex and close cooperation with academic and industrial partners.

As part of the European higher education system, Pécs University follows the Bologna Process and offers a three-tier system that includes doctoral level programs (PhD, DLA), master level programs (MA, MSc) and bachelor level programs (BA, BSc). It also provides one-tier, undivided, five-to-six-year master's degree programs in engineering, medicine, law and the arts. Additionally, interested students can participate in short programs as summer universities, preparation courses and partial trainings. The Technology Transfer Office is at the disposal of researchers, students and business partners: in order to effectively operate and develop the research infrastructure, research support laboratories have been established, which carry significant scientific and innovation potential and collaboration opportunities. More than 200 researchers from 19 research groups work in the institution, and several associated members and centers are also part of the professional community. Since September 2020 A.D., two National Laboratories have also been housed in the Pécs research center.

The South Transdanubian Regional Library and Knowledge Center also belongs to the Pécs University. The former city and county library and the University Library and Knowledge Center, as well as the university's Law and Economics Library, moved into the 13,000 sqmt., four-story building: this has two 200-seat lecture halls and a conference room, as well as research rooms and Internet workstations. The library is open every day for 12 hours, even on Saturdays and Sundays. Free Wi-Fi is available everywhere in the building, and almost 300 computers are available to readers. The institution is also suitable for organizing community, cultural and leisure programs. The designer of the library is Balázs Mihály Kossuth, award-winning and Prima Primissima award-winning architect.

Sporting life at the University is coordinated by the Sports Office and TTK Sport Centre of Pécs University, which offer a wide range of sporting opportunities to the students and staff. Both units organise various programmes that are attractive and accessible to everybody, irrespective of age, faculty or past training, which is a wonderful opportunity for recreation and regeneration. Students can apply (online) for weekly sports events at website of the UP Sports Office, but if want to register for the courses at the beginning of each semester is available the NEPTUN (except: Dancing University). Since these courses are compulsory for Hungarian students, tutors take attendance seriously, so they are also kindly advised to attend courses regularly. The Dancing University of Pécs is a initiative unique in Hungarian higher education: it was founded at the University of Pécs in 2000 A.D. and its main aim was to create an extraordinary leisure-time activity of high quality. It is exercise and entertainment at the same time, the courses can be taken as sports classes or for credit and it also serves as a contact point for students and employees of different faculties. In 2005 A.D. the Dancing University set the Guinness record of 'The most people belly dancing simultaneously' and years after reclaimed the title with 826 participants dancing together at the event!

Homepage

---