Ars Poetica and Mission Statement

A new initiative was established in the last eight years in higher education in Hungary. The Faculty of Information Technology of the Pázmány Péter Catholic University (henceforth called the University), as a research university faculty, supported by research institutes of the Hungarian Academy and a few companies, has created a unique synergy among Information Technologies and Life Sciences.

When we are witnessing the graduation of the first class of the five year MS/BS curriculum, and the Ph.D. degrees, in the second year, as well as the completion of the construction of our new building, our first words are of thanks and gratitude. * In a few days it will have been eight years since upon the proposal of Cardinal Péter Erdo, the Rector of the University Archbishop István Seregély, the Grand Chancellor of the University, on the 1st of July, 1998, founded the Faculty of Information Technology as the center of a new multidisciplinary research university education. We would like to thank the courage, faith and support of the founding fathers. We would like to express our appreciation to the professors who joined us in the beginning - for their zeal, unselfish work, and daring vision. We would like to show our gratitude to the supporting institutions and their leaders for their foresight, and generous assistance. We also would like to express our thanks to our other fellow professors who joined us later, for their enthusiasm and hard work. In the same way we are thankful to our students for their confidence, talents and loyalty. We are grateful for the help of foreign universities and generous individuals. We are overwhelmed by the experience of Providence, as well.

The historical beginnings go back very far. Cardinal Péter Pázmány founded the first Hungarian university which is still functioning in 1635, in Nagyszombat. He was certain that the safeguard of our national identity and recovery is faith and erudition. How edifying to see that the same question is treated, 370 years later, in the encyclical Fides and Ratio. Now when Hungary is trying to make up for the forty years lost in terms of participating in the intellectual infrastructure of the European culture, somehow we can hope that this Faculty can contribute to the renewal of this nation in the field of science and technology forming talented, clever, hard working, young men and women with Christian values and morals. Contributing in this way also to the competitiveness of Europe in general.

Till 1950 Pázmány University was the citadel of Hungarian higher education, then the communist regime divided it into three parts (Semmelweis Medical University, Eötvös Lóránd University, and the Faculty of Theology that kept the name of Pázmány. After 40 years, in 1990 this one-faculty university expanded and as Pázmány Péter Catholic University - first with the Faculty of Letters and Humanities then with the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences. After the foundation of our Faculty in 1998, at least a dozen of colleagues worked on the five year curriculum and the preparation of the accreditation process. Amending the inter-university Neuromorphic Information Technology doctoral course, started in 1993, we launched our postgraduate program in 2000. The undergraduate program started in 2001. The accredited Multidisciplinary Doctoral School of the Faculty commenced at the same time.

The objective of the Faculty of Information Technology is to provide multidisciplinary education in human-centered information technology, taking the rapidly changing advanced technologies into consideration. Furthermore, we aim at forming our students into becoming creative experts capable of handling various problems in all areas of modern life and scientific research with the help of their deep and comprehensive academic knowledge, classic education and modern, ethical managerial skills.

The Faculty today forms electronic and computer engineers, engineers of modern information technology, and in a short time we will launch a new program in Hungary, called molecular bionics (together with Semmelweis Medical University), we have just accredited. Today, the complexity of electronics, the incredible development of chips, went far beyond those computer variations which were invented by engineers during the last 60 years. These new, very complex systems could allow us to communicate with computers in a manner which is much closer to the living organisms and in particular to the human way of thinking and communicating

In the human organism there are three systems we deal with in our curriculum. We teach the neurvous system in the first place, but give courses on the Immune system and Genetics as well. We teach these subjects as an introductory minor of the electronic and computer engineering major, and soon, an a more extended way via molecular biology in the molecular bionics major. We would like to research and understand the information technology of living organisms in the age of billion transistor chips, in order to get inspirations from the natural world and be able to create interactive symbioses with the living organism. Prostheses, implanted drug delivery devices, and several innovative products and services. They are already emerging in the market and in research laboratories, we hope that for the benefit of mankind.

The sensory revolution, the growth in chip complexity, info-bionics, the sensing computers, nanotechnology, the new possibilities of communication technology (internet and mobile phone platforms) are all important fields we are working on. We add to these the fields of human language technology and up-to-date software technology. These are the areas where we would like to make innovative efforts in the international arena. We would like to educate successful engineers, researchers, responsible managers and leaders. We want to participate in the process of innovation via establishing spin-off companies as well.

For a young person, to understand what it really means to be human, it is necessary to develop some kind of cultural and moral integrity. This is the only way one can develop a genuine personality with profound knowledge who is responsible for his or her family, country and fellow human beings. Reflecting on the challenges of our modern age we are relying on the results of the international scientific community, on values of the European culture that formed modern science and on the Christian message and on the anthropology of the Bible. We would like to foster a lifestyle which is able to synthesize intensive study, scientific research, innovation and community life. We anticipated that this Faculty is not only exploring new ways in the Hungarian and international higher education but will also be able to predict and solve future demands. We offer also the spirit of Fides et Ratio.

We believe that in the beginning of the 21st century to be able to give a full scientific reflection on being human, besides philosophy, theology, humanities, social and legal studies, it is vital to deal with the foundations of life sciences and information technologies.

We invite our future students, PhD students, and partners in innovation to join us on this path of new intellectual endeavours

Dr. Tamás Roska Pro-Dean

Ars Poetica

In the beginning of the 21st century information technologies are seeking new directions. The most important ones are the following:

The complexity of components has reached a level, where their utilization overpasses the architectural capabilities of artificial systems developed so far and requires solutions applied also by nature.
The development of neurosciences and genetics have reached a level where the exactness of models allows us creating Neuromorphic or nature inspired systems and the application of the knowledge about our cognitive properties as a communicator and consumer of information becomes possible.

As a consequence of the “sensory revolution” cheap artificial sensing arrays and activating devices provide for acquiring an incredibly rich information base of the spatial-temporal reality that surround us, and at the same time require the immediate processing of millions of analogue signals.
The biomedical industry needs and uses the latest achievements of information technologies, including noninvasive imaging devices and systems, it also calls for the reliable interaction between electronics and living cells.
The limits of classical microelectronic components have been reached; the nanotechnologies have appeared in information processing both for artificial as well as for living systems,
The emergence of cheap, broadly used and global mobile telecommunication services enable the application of tele-presence in broad scale.
The expansion of the European Union and the globalization of division of labor increased the importance of human language technologies in the variety of languages. In order to face the above challenges our students need:
- a new structure of multidisciplinary studies
- a good theoretical formation via the effective application of information technologies
- specializations that are based on well founded theoretical knowledge
- a skill based training, included from the start of the program

It is necessary to get integrated into the network of European research universities where communication is maintained mainly in English Therefore, the fifth semester is entirely taught in English, as well as several later courses. Apart from this, we also try to emphasize the cultivation of intelligent writing skills in Hungarian and appropriate Hungarian terminology.

During university years one needs to reach, in some fields, the frontiers of human knowledge. The ever changing scientific and technological advancement does not allow teaching new knowledge with a delay of 10-15 years. Our Jedlik Laboratories, a center for research and development rests upon the best traditions of Hungarian scientific life and technical development and the assistance of several National Research Institutes of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, a few international companies, and innovation centers that foster a ‘research and development’ methodology and lifestyle.

The image of the human being is greatly influenced by the one hand the development of neurosciences and genetics, and information technology on the other. For a young person to understand what it really means to be human, it is necessary to develop some kind of cultural and moral integrity. This is the only way one can develop a genuine personality with profound knowledge, responsible for his or her family, country and fellow human beings.

Relying on the challenges of our modern age and the results of the international scientific community, we want to integrate the timeless values of the European culture and Christian message which are the foundations of modern science.

We are convinced that this Faculty is not only exploring new ways in the Hungarian and international higher education but also anticipates plenty of future demands, which will be vital within the next decade.

Mission Statement

Our objective is to provide multidisciplinary education in human-centered information technology, taking the rapidly changing advanced technologies into consideration. Furthermore, we aim at forming our students into becoming creative experts capable of handling various problems in all areas of modern life and scientific research with the help of their deep and comprehensive academic knowledge, classic education and modern, ethical management skills.

The program of Information Technology follows a human-centered and nature-inspired approach in the curriculums. It is human centered because it focuses on the new interactions of technology and humans, and in its objectives it wants to serve humanity and the recovery of Hungarian society. From both aspects it is an internationally ground breaking work and at some points it can be considered as a unique approach. It counts with the existing important research centers in Hungary especially in the field of information technology and life-sciences, in particular five research institutes and some nationwide programs of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. The collaboration with key departments and Hospitals of the Semmelweis Medical University is vital, as well as with some outstanding European and American research universities and companies. Our Jedlik Laboratories is the center of research and innovation.

The Faculty prepares our students to serve the needs of the information society in the 21st century and to become innovators of new technologies. The vital role of live and artificial perception-recognition is apparent throughout our program, both in core courses and special studies. Areas of Microelectronics and Nano-technology also have a significant part in the curriculum. Life Sciences, mostly Neuroscience, Genetics, Immunology courses and introductory courses to Molecular Biology, and Physiology are of key importance. We teach also the synergies of the communication technologies and computer technology. Through the integrated communication networks, software and internet technologies and mobile devices we want to contribute to the spread of accessible “human friendly” application of information technology which will make a way to new approaches to work, learning, communication, health care and culture. In this process, innovators of information technologies need a more complex preparation. With the Hungarian accession to the European Union human language technologies received a new impetus in these procedures. A new direction in higher education, the forming of a multidisciplinary research university is being developed at the same time, which is made possible by the contributors’ international relations and experience as well as the participating research institutes and programs.

Our basic program is being accredited in Hungary under the name of Information Engineering. Indeed, it is an Electronic and Computer Engineering program in American standards. Some unique features and its structure make it exclusive even according to international standards. Our second main program, just accredited is the Molecular Bionics undergraduate program, in collaboration with the Semmelweis Medical School. This is a pioneering multidisciplinary direction at the crossroads of Information technology and Life Sciences. Its four pillars are: molecular biology and genetics, nano and micro scale electromagnetics and optics, computer engineering, and neuroscience.

We have just switched to the BS, MS, Ph.D. system. We offer the two BS programs in Information/Computer Engineering and soon the Molecular Bionics, and three MS programs: Computer Engineering, Info-Bionics and Medical Biotechnology (with the Medical School). The Multidisciplinary Doctoral School is guiding the students towards the Ph.D. degrees.

Characteristics of our teaching and research programs

We have a few special characteristics:

in addition to the standard undergraduate courses (mathematics and physics), the teaching of introductory biophysics, molecular biology, neuroscience, and energy resources;
nature-inspired information processing and sensory-computing methods, underlying principles of natural and artificial perception; related measurement techniques and prosthetic devices;
primary role of the basics of nanotechnology and microelectronic design,
mandatory interdisciplinary courses in human language technology;
economy, law, communication and management courses;
high-tech computing systems in medical research and diagnosis, including telecommunications, and remote presence,
a mastery of knowledge related to the new services of telecommunication technology, familiarity with value added mobile and satellite services and digital library with internet background, etc.;
English as a second language; an intermediate level of English required for acceptance; some textbooks in English for each course; running a whole academic semester in English; at the same time cultivation of the Hungarian language of Information Technology in printed materials as well as in the education,
solid background in humanities, preparing students for an innovative and intelligent way to design and generate media material for the content industry and to use and spread new services of information technology;
active usage of networks of information technology and multimedia equipment in education, including some experimental courses taught via videoconferencing from Hungarian or international research laboratories, universities, institutes and companies,
supervised self-study and special small-group projects, teaching and research assistantships for the best students as part of their education in later years.

Based on the international relations of our University and researchers lecturing at our Faculty from National Research Institutes, we are building an active contact with several internationally reputed university research centers (Berkely, Notre Dame, Leuven, Munich, Torino, Catania, Nijmegen, Imperial College, Krakow, etc.)

Via the special teaching and research activity, especially the multidisciplinary nature of research, we are fostering a new mindset, cultivating the interaction between information technology, biotechnology, and some medical technologies.

The planned lower number of students admitted (together with the Molecular Bionics program it is about 180) provides the opportunity for a higher level education which includes personal attention and the possibility of special arrangements for exceptionally talented students.

Beyond the objective and tasks of our Programs, within the University, the Faculty:

provides for the central IT services for our entire University, and
contributes in teaching professional information technology (computer and communication technology) as well as neuroscience, applied mathematics, biology, and physics to students of other Faculties.