Hungarian University of Agricultural and Life Sciences updates its masters programme in fi sheries

which will increase the concentration of nutrients and toxic products in surface waters (due to land erosion and agricultural run-off waters). This will be exacerbated by more intense evaporation of water bodies, which will further increase the concentration of all substances. Water shortage is as well a common concern driven by climate. In Hungary, there is evidence of the adverse impact of climate change on discharges at watercourses, which may create a supply shortage, especially for barrage ponds. For round dam ponds, increased evaporation and hydrologic defi cit of ponds during summer can be aggravated by decreased summer runoff from the Danube and its tributaries owing to earlier snowmelt in upper watersheds as forecast by hydrologic climate models. Increasing use of supplementary water will increase production costs if the cost of water increases. Based on model simulations it is also forecast that altering thermal conditions will favour the proliferation of Cyprinid herpesvirus and carp edema virus.

Recommended adaptation strategies consist of developing information systems for monitoring and mapping disease incidents and their patterns of distribution; using real time/in situ diagnostics to monitor water quality and fi sh health; applying stocking rate and biomass management resilient to hot summer weather; and the use of aerators and other oxygen manipulation techniques.

Research Institute for Fisheries and Aquaculture (HAKI) Anna-liget utca 35 5540 Szarvas Hungary

+36 66 515 300 info.haki@haki.naik.hu www.haki.naik.hu

Education and talent management of the next generation

The number of applicants for higher education has been gradually declining over the past few years in Hungary. This is also true in the fi eld of agricultural education; therefore, youth education and talent management are becoming more important in educational institutions, which could seriously infl uence the decision of high school students when choosing higher education institutions.

The Hungarian University of Agricultural and Life Sciences (MATE) was established on 1 February 2021 establishing the largest agriculture-oriented higher education institution in the country. In parallel, the Institute of Aquaculture and Environmental Safety was established with 5 sites.

Demand for well-qualifi ed students increases

The economic growth of the fi sheries and the aquaculture sector, the generational change required in the sector, as well as the ever-increasing number of hobby anglers and the associated increase in professional and administrative tasks, has created demand for young people with a BSc or MSc degree. Since 1990, 366 students have written their BSc or MSc theses at the institute and its predecessor institutions. These students (Hungarian and foreign as well) were given a lab- or field-oriented research topic to work on independently with the help of their supervisors. Students can take part in the fi nal exam only if they prepared a BSc or MSc thesis that meets the requirements in terms of form and content. More than 93.4% of our graduates can fi nd a job. This ratio has been 100% for the last 5 years—all of our students found a job in the agricultural sector and there were still unfilled vacancies for professionals.

Specialisation offers both professional and personal development

For students who want to specialise in aquaculture, fi shery

Students visiting a fi sh processing factory

or angling at the university, the advanced studies in aquaculture coordinated by the institute is a good option. It is attended by students who require i) additional knowledge compared to the university curriculum to widen their horizons and to organize their knowledge in a complex way; ii) professional information and practical experience in addition to (or gap-filling) curriculum education; iii) the building of a close community, which helps the student’ s professional development, public-social activity, and leadership. These students take part in study trips and can expand their expertise through various lectures.

In the field of fi sheries and aquaculture, motivated students can carry out their research work during their training period. This is usually an independent experimental activity, where the student is involved in specific research and developmental activity in the host unit, performs a subtask under the supervision of a mentor-researcher, prepares an experimental plan, evaluates the outcome and draws conclusions. As a result, the dissertation is the yield of the research work, which is presented at a conference of the University Students Scientific Association. The winners can present their dissertations in the national fi nal. To date, our Institute has had 259 students who participated in research in the field of fi shery, aquaculture, and angling. The Students Scientific Association has a 70-year history in Hungary, and a significant proportion of students who took part in this competition continued with a PhD.

Stringent requirements for entering the doctorate programme

In Hungary, universities have been entitled to doctoral (PhD) training since 1993. The best students, whose academic progress is outstanding, whose professional vocation is exemplary and who have proved their worth at a scientific student conference, are admitted to the doctoral programme. Initially, it is necessary to collect the required credits for 3 years (currently 4 years) and to prepare several scientific publications required for obtaining the degree. To date, 35 colleagues have obtained PhD degrees at our institute and the predecessor institutions. They have been employed in the national administration, higher education, and the private sector.

Aquaculture and fi sheries are taught in various BSc and MSc courses in the form of 4-5 compulsory and 4-5 optional subjects. However, the quantity and quality of this current training form are no longer sufficient to meet the needs of the sector. The institute is therefore developing the founding and start-up documents for the master’s degree in fi sheries, which contains all current knowledge. This activity is in line with the development of an MSc course in the framework of the iFishIENCi (Intelligent Fish feeding through Integration of Enabling Technologies and Circular Principle) H2020 R&I project, where the institute participates as a consortium partner. The training in Hungarian and English will be announced in the spring of 2024.

New programmes will ensure the continued relevance of the education

The growth of the fi shing community has sharpened demand for professionals in the fi shing sector who have the complex knowledge required to manage a given body of water, which includes management, fi nancial, and administrative skills in addition to biological knowledge. The institute, in cooperation with the University of Debrecen, intends to launch a training programme in Hungarian for fi shing guides in the winter of 2023, which will be part of the adult education system.

For the time being, the above two training programmes will solve the shortage of specialists in the sector, but we realize that additional special training (intensive/ precision

Number of students that prepared BSc and MSc theses between 1990-2021

Number of students in Students Scientifi c Association competitions between 1990-2021

The number of PhD graduates in the fi eld of fi sheries and aquaculture between 1996 and 2022

aquaculture, fi sh processing and marketing, etc.) should also be organized and launched in time. Urbányi, B.; Z. Bokor; and J. Kobolák Hungarian University of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Institute of Aquaculture and Environmental Safety; Páter K. u. 1., Gödöll , H-2100, Hungary