The celebratory speech by Ildikó Orosz,

Today,the new academic year begins in the Transcarpathian Hungarian Institute named after Ferenc Rákóczi II. According to the traditions, we greet the new studentswho join our institute and we will reward the people who take the most responsibility for the work of our institution with the Rákóczi Ring.

Unfortunately, one of the founders of the institute, bishop Lajos Gulácsy is no longer with us, as well as the former mayor of our town, József Zsupán. Also, professor Mykhailo Siusko and his wife, Larisa, as well as our former teacher Marianna Brenzovich, are observing the eventfrom the celestial department today; they left this worldduring the previous academic year. Let’s commemorate them, as well as others who passed away, with a moment of silence.

Before starting the new students’ inauguration, I will briefly familiarize our guests with the achievements of the previous academicyear, as well as the tasks and challenges that are waiting for us in the future.

At the end of the academic year 2017-18, 102 graduates of our institute received a Master's or Bachelor's degree, and 92 graduates received a diploma of a junior specialist. For the first time, the diplomaswere awarded to graduates in the fields of Applied Mathematics and Tourist Services, after we successfully accredited these specializations. In addition, we once again accredited our specializations in History, Geography, Mathematics and Teacher of Junior Classes. Unfortunately, we did not receive accreditation for the specialization Kindergarten Teacher: a scientific group behind this specialization met all the necessary criteria, but there were no employees witha doctoral degree in this field. Unfortunately the specialization in English was not accredited as well;we did not have enough colleagueswitha doctoral degree in English. During the summer, guest professors from England and Hungaryarrived;with them we will try to launch this specialization again.

We are glad to announce the successes of our institution.

Our institute has been awarded by the American Hungarian Coalition.

One of our teachers, Robert Bacso received a doctoral degree, while Erzhebet Kohut and Anita Marku had their PhDs gained abroad accepted in Ukraine. Petechuk Julia, Gozdog Vilmosh, and Pavlovich Judith defended their PhD theses.

The Szechényi award was awarded to the Professor of the Department of Biology and Chemistry, Doctor of Biological Sciences and Eötvös Prize Laureate,Varga Zoltan.

Nagy Béla, an Associate Professor at the Department of Biology and Chemistry, was awarded the Apáczai Csere János award.

The teacher of the department of history, researcher of theTivadar Lehoczky research center, Molnar D. Erzhetet was awarded the Civic Award of the Hungarian Order of the Golden Cross.

The Trancarpathian Hungarian Academic Council awarded dr. Kolozsváry István, the head of the Fodor Istvánresearch center with the award "For achievements in research".

The University of St. István awarded Béla Pái for his educational work in the field of agricultural engineering.

 The 14th Conference of Young Hungarian Researchers of Transcarpathia and the 12th Transcarpathian Student Conference were held.

Our students have successfully participated in many other student conferences. The poem of our student, Tamás Nagy, was published in the journal Hungarian Diary published by the Hungarian Writers' Association. During the finals of the Contest of Oratory Art, held at the Eötvös Loránd University, Katalin Szabó, a student specializing in Social Pedagogy, took first place.

Within the Erasmus + mobility program, our students were able to study at 3 different educational institutions throughout the entire semester. There was no incoming student mobility during the last academic year. Thanks to the mobility program for teachers and administrative staff, 8 teachers of our institute and one administrative employee took part in the 5and 10-day programs, also 4 lecturers and administrators arrived to our institute within the same program.

In the Makovecz student program, 47 students participated in the exchange program for 1-3 months. Two foreign students arrived to the Institute for a full semester training. In the Makovecz Teachers’ program, 6 foreign college teachers arrived here as guest professors. Due to this program, 200 students of 7 departments participated in either a 1-day practice trip or a 4-5-day training trip at the partner institutions.

9,471 people registered for the language courses of the center of pre- and postgraduate education. Courses were held in 45 settlements of 12 districts of the regionby 87 teachers, 120 hours per group.

Researchon some significant phenomena and problems of local importance was conducted at our departments and in research centers. The results of these studies have been published by our colleagues in numerous scientific publications. As a result of their work over the past academic year, 202 publications were published, 12 of which were published in such internationally recognized scientific journals as Scopus, Web of Science, as well as in the form of a monograph, a section of a book, a methodological manual, in scientific journals in Ukraine and abroad.

Publications in the scientific journals of our institute:

• ACTA ACADEMIAE BEREGSASIENSIS: papers by 24 Transcarpathian and foreign researchers on 248 pages.
• LIMES: papers by 29 Transcarpathian and foreign researchers on 174 pages.

We also took part in the organization of numerous conferences. During the previous academic year, the staff of our institution participated in 129 scientific conferences at home and abroad, including international scientific conferences in Kyiv, Mykolayiv, Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky, Lviv, Dnipro, Drohobych, Uzhgorod, Mukachevo and other Ukrainian cities. In addition, our teachers presented the results of their work in Hungary, Romania, Finland, the Netherlands, and Belgium.

The work of our educational institution is helped and promoted by our library named after Apáczay Csere János ,which holds 114,556 documents. During the previous academic year, 4981 units were added to the library’s fund.

The research and publication of scientific knowledge is also greatly promoted by the fund of minerals and rocks, containing 2500 exhibits. The department's research will be even more effective thanks to the drone purchased in 2017. The institute also established a new agrochemical laboratory. We also built a dorm for 145 students.

Thanks to the support of the Bethlen Gábor foundation,the infrastructure of our institute continues to develop. In September, the construction of a sports and health center was completed, with a standard sports ground of 1130 square meters, a gym with an area of ​​338 square meters, two locker rooms, a dance and fitness room, four training rooms; in total there will be 23 rooms in the complex. There is also a 15 by 30meter sports ground. This will solve our problems with the physical education lessons. There is also a park and a parking lot in the yard. In order to expand the college, the building in the village of Nagydobrony was equipped with 14 additional rooms, a sports hall, an assembly hall and a dorm for 70 students.

 During the summer we worked hard to ensure that the new academic year beginseasily. Thank you all for your help and cooperation. I express my gratitude to the economic deputy rector Attila Kohut for watching over construction and reconstruction throughout the summer and providing all the necessary conditions for the work.

The summer admission campaign also required a lot of work. Our colleagues are aware of the difficulties we had with the Hungarian entrance exam. Unfortunately, there is no external independent evaluation in this subject in Ukraine, so we cannot introduce this subject to the rules of admission, the potential students do not have an option to select it, but thanks to the numerous efforts we managed to organize an internal entrance examination in Hungarian language for the applicants in Pedagogy. We almost lost this opportunity, because it was not introduced into the e-program for applicants. When we noticed this, we were told that we misinterpreted the general rules of admission and we were almost refused and given the explanation that this opportunity was needed only by us; it was not needed by other institutions. The problem was solved in the last minute, thanks to long-lasting correspondence. I would like to thank Rácz Béla, the Deputy Rector for Educational Affairs, Bárány Béla, the Head of the Admission Committee, Buda Zsuzsanna, the Head of the Educational Office, as well as Buda Zsuzsanna, an employee of the Educational Officefor the successful admission campaign this summer.

During the summer, we negotiated with the University of Kaposvár about introducingan acting course on the basis of our institute. On September 2, at the opening of the academic year of the University of Kaposvár, we signed an agreement, which is, in fact, the legal basis for the abovementioned course. This agreement was signedby three parties. The third party is the Hungarian National Theater, where students will have the opportunity to practice under the guidance of the director Attila Vidnyánszky.

The summer has come to end, the admission campaign has brought its results, the new academic year begins for 1420 students of different specializations. I congratulate them for successfully fulfilling all the previous requirements. I especially congratulate the freshmen who have successfully passed the final and entrance exams. Your greatest achievements are the results you achieved in the external independent evaluation in the Ukrainian language, because here you had to meet the same conditions as the future Ukrainian philologists. For Hungarian applicants it is especially difficult, since applying for the admission to a higher educational establishment, regardless of the specialization, including the Hungarian language and literature, is only eligible to the applicant who has obtained the required number of points in this subject.

127 full-time teachers, 17 part-time instructors and 24 freelance lecturers will work with the students during this academic year. 18 of them have doctoral degrees, 63 are candidates of sciences, 14 professors and 15 associate professors.

What can we expect in the academic year ahead of us? In Ukraine, everything will be determined by the upcoming elections. According to the experience of nearly three decades of the state’s independence, one can expect political pressure from all sides, indirectly or directly, including in the form of scheduled and unscheduled inspections, and possibly via "independent" media. This is what is called political technology, whose purpose is to convince the electorate in order to gather votes. The roots of this are laid in the past, in communism. Over the course of two decades of its existence, our institution has gone through 3 full, detailed inspections. Therefore, what I am saying now is not guessing, but personal experience. We expect to have many obstacles that we can overcome only by cooperation, teamwork, students and teachers together.

We already know about some important tasks we are going to have:

- Accreditation of the Master’s training inHistory, Biology, Ukrainian and Hungarian Philology

- Accreditation of Bachelor's training in Biologyfor the third time

- For the first time we are planning to accredit the specializations in Tourism and Chemistry.

Accreditation entails considerable responsibility both for lecturers and students. We require high knowledge and achievements, since we are always required to do more than others, we must strictly adhere to all the requirements and laws.

We are planning to hold numerous conferences and events. Students will have the opportunity to participate in Erasmus and Makovecz student mobility programs. I hope that students will find time for sports and entertainment, because you just need to correctly distribute your free time. This way, you will be able to have time for everything you want. For this purpose, we suggest the numerous events and cultural facilities of our institution. Fortunately, because of the growing number of students and the increase in groups, there is a lack of classrooms, so lectures last from morning till night - just as they do at large universities. But this should not cause problems, because we have enough room in the dorms. For those who did not manage to get accommodation in the dorm of our institute, there are 3 church dorms in our town; there is also the possibility to rent a place. In this case, the institute helps students with scholarships depending on their academic success. If someone has not found a homeyet, look for it quickly, because the student years fly away fast. Take advantage of all the opportunities that we offer you, learn and watch.

Recently, a professor told me that people who have a diploma live 5 years longer. Therefore, I advise you not to drop out of college, because after receiving a basic diploma, you will have the opportunity to get specialized education, depending on market requirements.

Studying and student years make us younger, but the secret of eternal youth is not in stayingwithin the educational system foras long as possible and repeating the student years, failing exams. I especially encourage freshmen to be careful, because according to the Law of Ukraine on Education, students who fail to meet the requirements of the first two semesters should be excluded from the institution and they must restart the admission campaign and start all over if they wish to continue their studies.

Overcome the obstacles with smile and energy, even if you think that our institute is like a camp for prisoners, where everyone is forced to study. If you have a spark of indignation over the consistent verification of knowledge, I suggest to you take the advice of Father Placid, who formulated the rules of survival based on his own experience gained during many years spent in a Soviet camp. Although our institute is not such a camp, as life is not so difficult, even if sometimes it seems so, yet the rules of survival can help us overcome problems, study easily and live a positive life.

So, in the spirit of Father Placid, I advise you not to dramatize, to look for pleasant impressions in lifeevery day, to take defeats withdignity, to try to be different from others, not to lose your faith, because we can always trust God, he is our support, without him we are nothing and we cannot achieve anything.

On this thought, I declare the academic year 2018/2019 open.

Orosz Ildiko, rector