5th and 10th anniversary
Béla Mader, Zoltán Majó and Béla Rácz at the opening of the five-year anniversary
On December 9, 2004, TIK (the Study and Information Center) celebrated its first birthday under the slogan “We became five years old…”. Uniquely in Hungarian higher education at that time, TIK functioned simultaneously as a space for education, learning, services, and conferences. It’s no wonder that even during this short period, the center has already proved its relevance through impressive statistics: it welcomed nearly 4.5 million registered visitors, but hundreds of thousands more have been inside the building when attending lectures as students, participating in conferences as researchers, or attending various cultural events as audiences. During this period, the university library’s collection of 1.5 million volumes was accessed by 25 thousand students registeredat the library. Last but not least, the center has grown into Hungary’s most popular rural conference venue. Five years have been enough for TIK to host 1200 events, ranging from small-scale book launches to international conferences with hundreds of participants. In the building that offers a stunning view at night, almost every faculty had already organized its own ball, and the charity event jointly held by the Szeged Első Lions Club and the university has become a tradition.
The university library
has been around for 10 years now
Another five years have passed – now marking the beginning of the 10th year – providing yet another occasion for reflection. On December 9, 2014, the University of Szeged commemorated the glass palace that opened a new era in the history of the universitas with a grand celebration. And if the results of the first five years were positive, the figures for the last ten years were even more fascinating.
TIK has become the recurring venue for prestigious award ceremonies and conferences, such as the Hungarian Ophthalmological Society, the Hungarian Society of Urology, the Hungarian Diabetes Association, and the Hungarian Prosthodontic Association. Its success in the economic and business life of Szeged was recognized at the award ceremonies held by the daily newspaper Délmagyarország and the University of Szeged, with the handover of „Gazdasági Presztízs” Award. The University Day celebration (11th November) became a truly prestigious event with the opening of the new building: the awards and honors of the University of Szeged, and the titles Doctor Honoris Causa and Senator Honoris Causa were now given to the recipients in the congress hall of the Centre. After the inauguration of the building, every September, the University of Szeged held its ceremonial senate opening sessions of the academic year in TIK: the ceremony, starting with the procession of the professors of the universitas, ended with the swearing-in of first-year students in the congress hall of the center. The SZTE Career Office organized the Job Fair every spring and autumn in the hall of the Center, attracting thousands of visitors. Numerous local and national companies offered internship and job opportunities for recent graduates at the event. Thousands of people visited TIK during the annually organised university open days, too. At the traditional open day in the fall, future students had the opportunity to ask questions directly from representatives of the faculties and learn about the range of courses on offer through information sessions. In 2008, the University of Szeged initiated the lectures of the Open university – Szeged series, an educational program, in the Congress Hall of the József Attila Study and Information Center. During these lectures, students and television viewers can meet the scientists of the University of Szeged on multiple occasions.
In March 2012, nine Nobel Prize-winning scientists gave lectures at the József Attila Study and Information Centre. The international conference was prompted by the 75th anniversary of the Nobel Prize awarded to Albert Szent-Györgyi, the former rector of the University of Szeged. In addition to the nine Nobel laureates, hundreds of internationally renowned researchers and more than a thousand professionals gathered at TIK for the event. Besides plenary sessions, the latest scientific findings were presented in six fields: cardiology, gastroenterology, immunology and inflammation, molecular biology and genetics, neuroscience, and tuberculosis. Nobel laureate researcher Andrew V. Shally received his honorary doctorate from the University of Szeged at the event. Afterwards, in October 2012, the Szent-Györgyi Albert Academic Competition for high school students was first held in the Congress Hall.
As a devoted advocate of environmental awareness and social responsibility, the University of Szeged proudly earned the title of “the greenest Hungarian university” and secured the 35th position on the Green Universities global ranking in 2014. The environmentally conscious initiatives and eco-friendly events of TIK at the University of Szeged contributed significantly to this achievment. For Instance, on April 22, 2007, the Center first joined the Earth Day movement, and in 2009, with the aim of creating a tradition, it became part of the international Earth Hour initiative. In 2011, the Centre actively participated in the environmentally conscious education of university students: in January, it hosted the Zöld Iroda (Green Office) travelling exhibition and training, and in May, it launched a campaign to endglobal warming. Since its opening, the Centre has placed a strong emphasis on charitable activities, supporting those in need, as well as disadvantaged and disabled children. It has announced the Christmas campaign titled “Join the fundraising” on several occasions, supporting organizations such as the Ágota Foundation (regularly since 2008) or the Child Protection Centre in Nagyszalonta (since 2011).
The university library, which is an integral part of the József Attila Study and Information Centre at the University of Szeged, held its naming ceremony in 2012. At the event, Gábor Szabó, then rector of the University of Szeged, stated: “The question is not why they named the university library after Kuno Klebelsberg, but rather why no institution has ever been named after the former cultural politician until now.” The ceremony also included lectures in memory of the Minister of Culture, and as a fitting end to the event, the Klebelsberg relief crafted by Mihály Fritz was unveiled. In 2014 the SZTE Klebelsberg Library was proud to be ranked 13th on the list of the world’s 50 most outstanding university libraries, awarded by an international portal dedicated to university studies. The compilation, which documented famous libraries such as the Philological Library of the Free University in Berlin, the Magdalen College Old Library at Oxford University, the Old Library at St. John’s College of Cambridge University, or the Catholic University of Leuven Library in Belgium, provided a detailed overview of the library in Szeged and presented the rooms and relaxation areas used for events. No other Hungarian library got a place on the list. The quality assurance of the library began in 2013 with the appointment of the new director, Katalin Keveházi. The quality assurance team, along with the library Quality Management group (MEGOLD), has regularly been conducting satisfaction surveys ever since. The closed and open-ended questions of an online survey covered topics related to services, quality, and environmentally friendly solutions. Numerous valuable suggestions were incorporated into the library quality codex this way. Moreover, the surveys confirmed each year that the users appreciate and are satisfied with the József Attila Study and Information Centre of the University of Szeged and the SZTE Klebelsberg Library operating in it.
Then rector Gábor Szabó, Zoltán Majó former building manager, Béla Mader retired director general
The opening ceremony of the 10-year anniversary celebration
The audience of the opening
Pensioners’ meeting organized by the library for the 10-year anniversary
Message of then rector Gábor Szabó on the 10th anniversary of TIK
Dear colleagues working at TIK! Dear Visitors!
Birthdays are always joyful celebrations. In the series of significant occasions, the tenth birthday of the József Attila Study and Information Center of the University of Szeged in 2014 is particularly special to me because I have been following the development history of the building and institution from its “conception”.
I participated in negotiations at the end of the 1990s with experts from the World Bank and representatives of separate higher education institutions. The result of these discussions was the decision that the emerging universitas in Szeged needed a multifunctional building providing a suitable place for the university library, and for education, research, and academic work. By that time, during my study trips abroad, I had already experienced that the vibrant heart of major European and American universities is a high-quality library capable of meeting the demands of the time.
I followed it all along, and at times with a certain concern, as from 2002, a 21st century palace emerged from the ground on the former Ady Square sports fields, next to the neo-Romanesque building of the Faculty of Humanities. This special attention is a matter of course for me, as I pass by TIK every day on my way from my home near Ady Square to my university job or on my way home.
As a former student and lecturer at the József Attila University, I shared the view of those who believed that the name of the poet who was a French major in Szeged and penned “With a pure heart”, is most appropriate for the Study and Information Center that welcomes and serves students. TIK became truly emblematic with the naming ceremony on December 9, 2005. We also commemorate this at this year’s jubilee celebration of the past decade.
Today TIK is a legendary institution! Our university library, which is housed in the glass palace, is ranked among the 50 most beautiful libraries in the world. This library is the only local institution that bears the name of Kuno Klebelsberg, who created the university infrastructure in Szeged and encouraged the development of the spirit of universitas. Another unique feature of TIK is that the profound silence of the repository of knowledge coexists with the bustling atmosphere of the congress halls. Only here are the conditions given for students from different faculties to meet, whether it is by the bookshelves, at Open University lectures, or in the computer-assisted learning areas that can be used for taking computer-based exams. And we have not even mentioned the services available to university students yet, such as the bookstore, SZTE gift shop, coffee shop, and bicycle parking available here.
We owe a lot to TIK. I acknowledge with satisfaction the diversity represented by its events. As rector, standing before the audience of TIK, I welcomed Nobel laureates and those present at the university’s annual celebration. I delivered opening speeches at the Job Fair and a caricature exhibition, greeted fundraisers and participants of balls. The universitas of Szeged, born out of the integration of higher education institutions in Szeged and Hódmezővásárhely, is grateful for the environmentally conscious approach stemming from TIK and its spreading. We appreciate the green university title.
What more could I wish for the 10 year-old “teenager” TIK than for the entire University of Szeged? I wish for many talented young individuals to study here, contributing to the growth of the University of Szeged’s reputation through the efforts of students, professors, and researchers, both domestically and internationally!
Szeged, November 14, 2014
Gábor Szabó
Rector
University of Szeged