Natural Sciences Developments at Kecskemét College 4 June 2010
The new education and methodology centre handed over on 3 June at Kecskemét College envisages functioning as a modern, proactive workshop focusing on natural sciences. This nearly 650-square-metre centre constructed over the past year by investing 285 million HUF is a part of a larger EU project implemented from nearly a total of 2.5 billion HUF and aimed at developing infrastructures underpinning the technology and natural sciences knowledge base at Kecskemét College.
In the current 7-year cycle, Hungary has the opportunity to invest nearly a total of 650 billion HUF - most of which is funding granted by the EU - in developing education within the framework of the New Hungary Development Plan. Some of this funding will be used to launch extremely important developments to renew higher education infrastructures. Every one of the 13 institutions awarded EU funding as the outcome of the call for applications aimed at developing infrastructures in higher education institutions has already begun to implement their respective project. As an outcome of these developments to be implemented by investing a total of 55 billion HUF, 600,000 students enrolled in these institutions, as well as lecturers will soon be able to use the education and research spaces to be renewed and expanded by a total of 80,000 square metres.
The project aimed at developing infrastructures underpinning the technology and natural sciences knowledge base of Kecskemét College implemented from EU funding amounting to 2.411 billion HUF is one of these major investments. As a part of this project, the former gymnasium of the Faculty of Technology will be converted into a multi-level info-space, hence creating a modern library in the institution equipped with information technologies. The House of Sciences to be constructed within the framework of this project, will, as its name suggests, function as a hub for disseminating information in connection with research, innovation, technology and natural sciences. Moreover, several laboratories and workshops will be renewed; state-of-the-art technologies will be procured and, last, but not least, the institution’s IT and info-communication network will also be modernised, hence establishing the necessary preconditions required for e-learning at Kecskemét College.
The building housing the new education and methodology centre focusing on natural sciences has just been handed over. A product design workshop, natural sciences seminar room, multi-functional presentation room, engineering workshop and digital curriculum editing workshop have been accommodated in this 650-square-metre building constructed in somewhat less than one year. According to the intentions of the planners, this education and methodology centre will simultaneously function as a methodology and exhibition centre and a “laboratory” for conducting research and experiments, where students about to become teachers will be able to use modern educational technologies and IT equipment to design and compile curricula or lesson plans or learn how to conduct experiments simultaneously encompassing several scientific fields and required to educate and teach children.