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The opening ceremony of the academic year at the UP Medical School and Faculty of Pharmacy was held on 30 August in the Dr. György Romhányi Aula of the Medical School, during which, following the welcome addresses, the motivational speech, and the oath-taking, awards were also presented to the highest-achieving students in the upper years.

“At the opening ceremony of the academic year, no one can yet know about the things that lie ahead of them, but you do not even need to see exactly where the path you have embarked on now will lead. All you need is to be curious and open-minded,” said Professor Zsuzsanna Helyes, Vice-Rector of the University of Pécs, in her welcome address, who also noted that one of the gifts of the university years is that they will leave as different people. Despite the difficulties and setbacks they may encounter, they will learn to ask questions, to doubt, to recognise connections, to make decisions, to work together, and to take responsibility for their actions.

“Knowledge alone is not enough; sound judgement, curiosity, integrity, perseverance, and humanity are equally important. Do not simply learn what medicine and pharmaceutical science are capable of today; try to see what they are not yet capable of achieving,” Professor Zsuzsanna Helyes emphasised.

Professor Ferenc Gallyas, Head of the English Programme, offered the first-year students several noteworthy pieces of advice. These included the importance of developing an effective learning strategy, which can make it considerably easier to succeed in their exams.

“When you were preparing for the entrance exam, you had English classes every day, however, you are now at the university. You may become part of a community in which many people speak their native languages, and as a result, you may find yourselves hardly using English at all. I would therefore encourage you not to let the language slip away: make friends and speak English as much as you can,” he said.

Professor Péter Than, Vice-Dean and Head of the German Programme, announced that this year a total of 150 German students had been admitted to the general medicine and dentistry programmes, many of them arriving as KV Sachsen scholarship recipients.

“Tomorrow, a long and at times challenging period will begin. You will have plenty of tasks to complete, obstacles to overcome, and moments when you may have doubts, but remember that many have already taken this difficult road before you. You will not be alone: your teachers and professors will accompany you, and you can also rely on the School’s administrative staff. Enjoy these years, take part in the various activities, and get to know the city and the country. Make plenty of friends, because these relationships can become an important source of support,” he added.

Since 2023, newly admitted students at the Medical School’s opening ceremony of the academic year have also had the opportunity to hear a motivational speech from a former student of the institution. This year, Dr. Szimonetta Lohner, Associate Professor at the Department of Public Health Medicine and the Head of Cochrane Hungary, addressed the students. She also leads a research group in the frame of the Momentum Programme.

“When you enter a lecture hall or laboratory, do not think only about how much you have to learn here, but allow yourselves to experience the joy of being here, of having this opportunity,” Dr. Szimonetta Lohner advised. She also asked the first-year students to write down why they had chosen this career and then put those thoughts away and keep them safe. As she explained, this could give them something to hold on to if they ever became uncertain or lost sight of their goal.

Dr. András Fittler, Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy, described the opening ceremony as a celebration, as from this point onward the students would gain a wealth of knowledge and experiences that they would look back on fondly even three, five or six years after graduation. Alongside their studies, he said, they would also need to develop a range of skills that would later prove at least as important in the world of work as the knowledge acquired from textbooks.

“Your programme and your time here will be the shortest, but you will become the most experienced students. In less than two years, on a day in early July, you will be sitting here again, waiting to be inaugurated as biotechnologists. I hope you will be successful and dedicate all your efforts to this profession,” Professor Péter Balogh, Head of the Biotechnology MSc Programme, welcomed the first-year students.

Following the first-year students’ oath-taking, Balázs Takáts, fifth-year medical student and President of the Medical School’s Student Council, welcomed his fellow students. He emphasised that they were becoming part of a community that would stand by them throughout their university years, share in their successes, and support them in difficult times. He encouraged them to take an active role in student life because it could provide them with unforgettable experiences.

“You are beginning your university years in a new city, and many of you, in a new country, at an institution that will become an important part of your lives in the coming years. Look around you. Many of the people sitting beside you are still complete strangers today, but you will soon become classmates and then friends. If I could tell you just one thing today, it would be this: you are not alone on this journey. If you have a question, a problem, or an idea, or if you simply want someone to talk to, please do not hesitate to turn to us. Our door is always open to you,” said second-year English Programme student Sahil Alam Ansari.  

Emily-Sophie Marth, a fifth-year German Programme student, spoke about how everything may still feel new and unfamiliar to first-year students, but that years from now, this place would become their home. She encouraged them not to be afraid to ask questions or make mistakes, as even shortcomings could be turned into successes.

“When you look back on these years one day, beyond the lectures and examinations, you will remember many small but precious moments: studying together, wearing a white coat for the first time, meeting your first patients, and you will realise just how far you have come,” she said.

At the ceremony, the “Outstanding Student of the Year” certificates were presented to students who had completed all compulsory subjects in their class during the previous two semesters and achieved a corrected credit index above 4.5.

Certificates were awarded to:

2^nd year, General Medicine Programme (Hungarian):

Péter Bucsincsák

Tamás Csigó

Laura Duchon

Borbála Grósz

Hashemi Nasab Seyed Parsa

Zsófia Kandár

Flóra Lábas

Emese Paluska

Bendegúz Varga

General Medicine Programme (English):

Seulgi Shin

Lisa Tanabe

Keunjae Yang

General Medicine Programme (German):

Moritz Jaron Muhl

Dentistry Programme (Hungarian):

Dénes Mihály Berényi

Tamás Erdős

Ákos Juhász

Odett Keller

Dominik Kertész

Máté Melles

Noémi Vollár

Dentistry Programme (English):

Afzalkhuja Pulatkhodjaev

3^rd year, General Medicine Programme (Hungarian):

Illés Csonka

Virág Halász 

Kitti Krebsz

Lara Kata Nagy

Réka Nemes

Máté Németh

Levente Pintér

Eszter Závodi

General Medicine Programme (English):

Hamza Bin Ahmad

Britt De Haas

Aseman Naghshineh Hyunjun Pyo

Stella Kristin Stene-Johansen

General Medicine Programme (German):

Elias Valentin Keßeler

Dentistry Programme (Hungarian):

Anna Ráduly

Dentistry Program (English):

Amirreza Sadeghian

4^th year, General Medicine Programme (Hungarian):

Zsófia Doma

General Medicine Programme (English):

Jakob Heiberg Johansen

Eirik Engen Heier

General Medicine Programme (German):

Moritz Krauß

Dentistry Programme (Hungarian):

László Bendegúz Jámbor

Kitti Nikol Ruzsics

5^th year, General Medicine Programme (Hungarian):

Laura Mundrucz

Ivett Erika Puskás

General Medicine Programme (English):

Aleksander Flingtorp

General Medicine Programme (German):

Johanna Hutzler

Dentistry Programme (Hungarian):

Marcell Pákay-Szabó 

Dentistry Programme (German):

Amelie Plath

6^th year, General Medicine Programme (Hungarian):

Lilla Csete

General Medicine Programme (German):

Laurenz Schulte Eistrup

Since 2023, the Zoltán Gregus Award has also been presented to a medical student participating in the Hungarian programme with the most outstanding performance in the written test in both semesters of Pharmacology I and II subjects in the given academic year. The certificate and prize are awarded to one student per year. Based on the decision of the teachers of the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, the Zoltán Gregus Award has been awarded to Kristóf Káposztás this year.

Gallery:

Photos:

Dávid Verébi