SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals - 2.3. Education for SDGs in the wider community - Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences
SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals
SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals - 2.3. Education for SDGs in the wider community
Last modified: 09. November 2024
2.3. Education for SDGs in the wider community
MATE has a dedicated outreach educational activities for the wider community. It includes alumni, local residents and displaced people as well.
MATE Alumni
MATE Alumni’s goal is to provide an opportunity for the former students to connect with each other and stay in touch with their alma mater as well as with the small community of students who used to study together and belong to a professional community. They provide information to the membership through newsletters, and from January 2022 they provide information, news and discounts also by their Alumni Card program. MATE Alumni helps to highlight students who achieved professional success after graduation, and with their presence in the country represent an added value: MATE Career Trails-videos and Success stories can be inspirational for the young students: https://alumni.uni-mate.hu/en/success-stories. MATE Alumni is planning to prepare special events, alumni meetings and a publications for alumni called Alumni Magazine. They would like to work with their former students who can professionally strengthen the University, to help the current students as mentors, thereby supporting future generations of MATE.
Researchers' Night, a Europe-wide event, traditionally takes place on the last Friday of September each year. It is for everyone: from the very young to the very old, there is something for everyone. From 2018, the event has run over two days, from Friday afternoon to Saturday evening, showcasing the importance of science and the colourful careers of researchers through spectacular, interactive and diverse activities. All disciplines are represented with interesting programmes at the event. Whether you are interested in the natural sciences, engineering, medicine, agriculture, social sciences, humanities or even the arts, you are sure to find an interesting and attractive programme. As for the types of programmes, there are lectures, workshops, talks, exhibitions, guided tours, experiments, laboratory visits, demonstrations, competitions, films, creative activities and much more. It offers online and offline programmes, some of them are both offline and online (hybrid).
The coronavirus outbreak will also demonstrate the importance of science in shaping the future of our world. R&D and innovation; the production of new knowledge-intensive products is the key to Europe's future competitiveness. This is particularly true for the economic renewal in the post-epidemic period. It is therefore of the utmost importance to present the researcher to society and to raise young people's awareness of the potential of a career in research and development. While the first Researchers' Night saw only a few institutions open their doors and organise interesting programmes, in 2023 tens of thousands of visitors were welcomed by more than 200 partner institutions in nearly 50 towns and cities in Hungary, with more than 2 500 programmes. More than a million people in nearly 5,000 cities across Europe took part in the Science Day. All programmes are free of charge.
Researchers' Night takes place annually on several campuses of the University. In September 2023 Researcher’s Night was realised on the following campuses of MATE: e.g. Buda Campus, Szent István Campus, Gödöllő, Károly Róbert Campus Gyöngyös, Szarvasi Arborétum.
Science workshop "Science with a thousand faces" (“Ezerarcú tudomány”) at Károly Róbert Campus, Gyöngyös
The Science Workshop "Science with a Thousand Faces" (“Ezerarcú tudomány”) is a recurring annual event where scientific results are presented and scientific careers are promoted. Through scientific presentations, experiments and programmes, visitors can discover a range of new research results. The Károly Róbert Campus has been part of the event for more than a decade, with dozens of lectures in Hungarian and English for a growing number of visitors. Short extracts from the lectures associated with the event can be found here: https://karolyrobertcampus.uni-mate.hu/documents/56094/0/Ezerartcú+tudomány_Absztraktkötet_2022.pdf
"The World of Science" („A tudomány világa”) scientific event at MATE Károly Róbert Campus in Gyöngyös
"The World of Science" („A tudomány világa”) is an annual scientific event, where young people can learn about national and international scientific achievements, but also aims to guide young people towards scientific careers. Through scientific and educational programmes, it brings young people closer to research and introduces them to the latest research results. The Károly Róbert Campus has been involved in the event for more than a decade, with numerous presentations in Hungarian and English.
Sharing knowledge and skills related to water management
The Department of Water Management and Climate Adaptation encourages to engage with their local communities and share their knowledge and skills related to water management. Besides providing regular classes and carrying out research, the department also aims to provide off-campus water conservation support. Students of their general courses (Agrometeorology and Water management [KORTU017N], Water Treatment and Utilization [KORTU193N], Water Management, Water Quality [KORTU187N], Water Resources Engineering [KORTU191N]) are encouraged to engage with their local communities and share their knowledge and skills related to water management. We are particularly focused on engaging with communities within the watershed of the Rákos-stream (our local stream close to Szent István Campus). They have recently demonstrated their related expertise at a conference organized by local NGO’s (link). Data from their meteorological station in Gödöllő is publicly available (link), and they are also currently developing a local soil moisture estimation system, to provide timely information for irrigation to locals, based on the results of their research project (FK12480).
Open educational programmes of the Szarvas Arborétum
Young and elderly alike will find activities that interest them in the Szarvas Arborétum, which offers a variety of specialties and services. On 82 hectares, there are over 1,600 unique woody species, including a 150-year-old giant sequoia. It is also possible to find here a lovely pair of emus, Indian peafowl, squirrels, bunnies, deer, birds, and other animals. The Arboretum also offers a wide range of educational events for the different age groups.
Children can play freely on an exciting wooden playground, and a short walk from there is the lookout. Along the paved roadways, we can find the following outdoor games: bar skittles, playhouse, chess, mill track, torpedo, and match puzzle. Students on holiday have the opportunity to learn in a fun and playful way through exciting and interesting summer and autumn day camps with different themes in a beautiful natural setting. Green activities and nature education programmes for kindergarten and schoolchildren are also regularly organised in the garden. A thematic route, the alley of Bolza Mariette shows specific habitats and plants while also giving information about the artist’s life, Mariette. The 2500 meter long promenade surrounds a large portion of the garden. Along the alley, there are ten information boards and seven covered stations. The „Little Tour” trail goes around the garden’s central area. By using the Greening Footprints application, it is possible to complete 10 Hungarian-language player missions along the trail. A hidden geocache can be detected using GPS or a smartphone. The outdoor exhibition „Shining Stones” is located near the paved road leading to the port, under the trees of the Kitchen Garden collection. The works in the exhibition were created by artist Árpád Zsombori. Traditional and seasonal events include a chamber orchestra concert, a painting exhibition, running competitions, handicrafts, and ECO classes. The range of programs is varied by night tours, bird-friendly activities, gardening lectures, and nature camps. There are also botanical guides in the arboretum for groups, lasting 1-2 hours, available in Hungarian, English or German. Other guides, such as those with bicycles, with a worksheet, agricultural, or in the forest park, are available in Hungarian. The most recent attraction is the guided tour in the forest park, where the meditation space, the ecological play park and the garden with biblical medicinal plants are presented in an interactive way. The Magic Farm of Count Pepi, an interactive botanical museum with a lot of interesting things and activities, is located in the center of the garden and is also ideal for foreign language groups. The Agricultural Exhibition is located in the Meteorological Station building, where visitors can learn about the history of beekeeping and agricultural training. A modern field table, a fishing exhibition, a cereal display unit, and a tour of the meteorological measurement station round out the exhibition.
őszkert 2022 Autumn Gardening Days at the Buda Campus
On 15-16 October 2022, the parking lot of the MATE Buda Campus was in bloom. After a break of several years, the Autumn Gardening Days 2022 offered a selection of gardeners from all over the country to choose from and plant for autumn. The outdoor event included gardening advice, children's activities, an Arboretum Walk and a visit to the Buda Arbor Bio Garden.
