The festive Senate meeting and graduation ceremony started with a welcome speech by Dr. Balázs Hankó, Deputy State Secretary for Higher Education. He emphasized that quality education is one of the most important guarantees of our survival in the competition of nations, and this is also served by the renewal of Hungarian higher education based on the Klebelsberg foundations.
“Extended institutional autonomy, more competitive operation, the public service delivery model all create the framework for this. Today, we can proudly say that this year, the funding of Hungarian higher education has reached 2 percent of GDP, more than 1 000 billion forints, putting it among the leaders in Europe. Our 2030 targets for university and related innovation developments aren’t less ambitious: an amount of more than 2 700 billion forints,” he said, pointing out that in addition to the increase in resources, a new approach is also important.
Dr. Balázs Hankó stressed that the first results are encouraging, as Semmelweis University has moved up in the international rankings again, and by 2030 the goal is to have at least one Hungarian university in the world’s top 100 and three Hungarian institutions among the top 100 universities in Europe. “We will have a new Hungarian Nobel laureate again, and the proportion of Hungarian graduates and the wage advantage of Hungarian graduates will exceed the average of the Visegrad Group,” he added.
As pharmacists, we really need to know what it means to live with the demand for quality! A quality that includes not only the quality of the medicine, which we guard at every step of the way through our diplomas, but also the quality with which the given medicine brings healing and pain relief to the patient who trusts us. Because that’s how quality becomes complete,”
the Deputy State Secretary underlined. He pointed out that the students who have just graduated played a role during the pandemic and had also helped and were helping the victims of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
“The vocation you have chosen promises not only recognition, success and social esteem, but also a wealth of opportunities,” that was how Dr. Béla Merkely his keynote speech began. “You, who have found your vocation in pharmacy, know well that the cure for most ills can be found in two ways. On the one hand, by revealing and using with due care what nature has created and putting it to the service of healing. On the other hand, by using the tools of modern science and the scientist: by creating new compounds, new formulas, new technologies ourselves, with sufficient knowledge, ingenuity and perseverance,” the Rector emphasized.
“Many of the new graduates will be working in the background, researching, experimenting, developing. And many will serve patients directly, working in a pharmacy or as part of a team in a hospital or clinic. But all along, you will all be driven by a single goal: the protection of human health, the cause of healing,” he said.
“It is a recurring theme in the history of mankind that a problem or disease seem insurmountable at first, but in the end someone always comes along to find a cure, be it a new drug, technology or procedure. And it doesn’t matter whether someone discovers a compound in nature, uses a previously known substance or technology for a new purpose, or even creates a completely new formula, introduces a new process,” the rector said, citing Ignác Semmelweis, Albert Szent-Györgyi and Katalin Karikó as examples.
“They are all creators. They have all worked, and alongside them, so many researchers, biochemists, chemists and pharmacists work, every day, with the interest of patients in mind, to have a cure for the ills of today and tomorrow. Due to this, what was a deadly disease yesterday, has become more and more a preventable, controllable, survivable, curable disease.
We hope that this will also be the case with the coronavirus – the disease that has caused one of the largest and most devastating epidemics in decades,” he said. He added that the graduate students had done their part to fight against the Covid, having put in some 10,000 hours of work to help defeat the disease and protect people’s health.
The mission of Semmelweis University is to impart world-class professional knowledge, providing first-class professionals to Hungary and, through our international students, to the world. But it is equally important to impart to our students moral principles and human values that will equip them not only to become the best in their profession, but also to become excellent, dedicated human beings over the years,”
Dr. Béla Merkely said. “You have become practitioners of the most beautiful profession in the world: it is the medical-health science. And you have graduated from one of the best universities in the world, having acquired knowledge and a lifetime experience in the midst of a global pandemic,” he added.
After the rector’s words, Ferenc Ágh, candidate pharmacist, presented the application for the inauguration. After the trilingual swearing-in ceremony, the students were greeted with a handshake by Dr. Béla Merkely and Dr. István Antal.
The newly inaugurated pharmacists were welcomed by Dr. Cintia Kíra Lukács, followed by a speech by Dr. Noel Nyariki on behalf of the graduating class. He recalled the journey and studies leading up to graduation. “After 5 years, we are now facing a serious struggle. We have to cope with life, with change, with the separation from our families, with building an independent existence,” he said, expressing his gratitude to the lecturers, the staff of the university, family members and friends.
On behalf of the German-speaking students, Dr. Fatmeh Idelbi gave a speech, recalling the highlights of the past five years, including the time when Covid was still an unknown word. He wished the graduating students to have great ambitions in life. “Even studying pharmacy seemed impossible at the beginning, yet step by step, month by month, year by year, it always seemed more and more achievable, until finally the finishing tape came into sight,” he added.
On behalf of the English-speaking students Dr. Dorsa Hajmali and Dr. Saba Jalali gave a speech, recalling the most difficult and joyful moments of the past years. “Not only did we gain knowledge, but we also overcame our fears and doubts”, they said, emphasizing that they had earned their degrees at Semmelweis University and that there was nothing they could not achieve.
The newly inaugurated graduates were greeted by Dr. István Antal, Dean of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
He emphasized that the freshly graduated students received their degrees in the 252nd academic year of the institution, in the 67th year of the first Hungarian Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences becoming independent.
“Becoming a pharmacist also means that, in addition to knowledge and skills, you have acquired the right professional attitude and beliefs. You should take all these with you as a passport – integrated knowledge, analytical thinking, patient-centredness and humanism, empathy, helpfulness, reliability, punctuality, patience, a sense of responsibility – in other words, a pharmacist’s approach and attitude should characterise their work”, the Dean said.
Dr. István Antal pointed out that by receiving their degrees, the young doctors of pharmacy have become members of a community that includes Hippocrates, Galen, Lavoisier, Watson-Crick, Karl Fischer and Zaffaroni, among others, and they are also connected by the university community. In particular, he highlighted the curricular reform, the experience gained during the pandemic and the ongoing development of the Hőgyes-Schöpf-Mérei campus, as well as the institution’s and faculty’s high ranking in international level.
“A pharmacy degree is prestigious and jobs can be found quickly. As you have chosen a vocation and not a profession, let me remind you on this occasion of what has often been said: the medicine you make must not be harmful. Prepare it with the prescribed composition, in the correct quantity, with the correct procedure, quality, packaging, labelling, storage and help to ensure that it is used only in accordance with professional standards” – he underlined.
Gallery
Ádám Szabó
Translation: Rita Kónya
Photo: Attila Kovács, Bálint Barta – Semmelweis University
