University of Pannonia: in community with the city

The biggest infrastructure development project of the University of Pannonia's existence so far was inaugurated: the underground car park with two hundred parking spaces, landscaped green areas, outdoor multifunctional sports fields and a community space building. The HUF 7.3 billion investment was funded by the Veszprém-Balaton 2023 European Capital of Culture programme with HUF 6.4 billion. As a result of the development, the university has opened the campus to the city.

"Thanks to the joint development with the city, we have created a campus worthy of an excellent European university and its European Capital of Culture, which is also suitable for recreation, relaxation and sports. A campus that not only houses university buildings, but also serves as a community meeting area for the city, reflecting the ancient origins of the word." - emphasised Dr János Abonyi in his welcome address. The Vice-Rector for General and Academic Affairs added that he hoped that for those who had witnessed the project's realisation, the campus, now integrated into the urban fabric, would also symbolise the potential of thinking and working together. "Our new campus will be a testimony to the potential of working together for the success of Veszprém and the University of Pannonia, for the enjoyment of all of us in the future," he said.

In his welcome speech, Tibor Navracsics, Minister of Regional Development, said: this multi-billion investment will break up an island. Now the campus of the university is one with the city, the Erzsébet Liget and symbolically, in fact, the University of Pannonia and the city of Veszprém form a community. Tibor Navracsics stressed that by becoming European Capital of Culture, Veszprém has been given a historic opportunity, which not only gave it the chance to join the European top league, but also brought with it the obligation to maintain its freshly occupied place in this league for the years to come. The Minister added that the University can contribute a lot to scientific excellence, but also to the excellence of making the city of Veszprém not only a community of people living together, but also a community of those who are striving to make it a great place to be.

Mayor Gyula Porga, while symbolically opening the campus towards the Elizabeth Grove, said that a quality space has been created in the centre of the city, which has always been a dream. It is surrounded by cultural institutions, while on the other side, in the former children's hospital, the city's civic and artistic groups have been given space. "With this gesture, we have taken a major step forward in our ambition to be one of the most liveable cities in Europe by the end of the decade. I can't be grateful enough to the university's leadership for having the courage and openness to work together to create great things," he said.

"I think that 2023 will not only be a memorable year for the city of Veszprém and the region because of the European Capital of Culture programme, but also for the University of Pannonia," Zsolt Csillag began his speech. The Chancellor said: the largest infrastructure development project in the institution's history has begun and has now reached its first major milestone. The value of the investment, which was supported by the ERC 2023 programme, is further enhanced by the fact that it is not only for the comfort of university citizens: the underground car park, the sports fields and the campus park have been opened up to create capacities that are freely accessible to all citizens of the city.

The inauguration of the Pannon Campus was concluded with a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the participation of the speakers and Alíz Markovits, CEO of Veszprém-Balaton 2023 Ltd.

One of the most important core values of the Veszprém-Balaton 2023 European Capital of Culture programme is community building, which is said to contribute to connecting fragmented social strata that do not communicate or communicate less with each other. The renovation of the Pannon Campus also contributes to this goal, by partially removing the fence, both physically and in principle, between the city and the University of Pannonia.

The VEB2023 EKF team wanted students to feel a real sense of ownership of the new space, so in September 2020 they launched a course in collaboration with the University of Pannonia, where students could develop their ideas in an elective classroom setting. These included, for example, environmental awareness, the use of renewable energy sources, the greening of the university environment to include as many plants and flowers as possible, the incorporation of practical and modern smart devices, and the final list of activities planned for the sports field.

The University of Pannonia campus redevelopment is the second largest of the VEB2023 ECF programme's infrastructure developments, with a total funding of HUF 6.4 billion. By partially demolishing the fence around the campus, the aim was to create a new urban public space with a multifunctional sports field on the surface and a 200-space underground car park below.

As part of the project, 16,000 square metres of pavement was renewed, 15,000 square metres of green space was renovated and almost 2,000 square metres of new sports pitches were built.

The existing level differences and ground structure on the university campus have allowed the design of an underground car park, a rare feature in the city, which will replace the former public car park in front of the Antal Csermák Music School and also provide a solution to the problem of the former sports field on the university campus. The underground car park is expected to open to the public on 16 October.

The new public space on the campus will include outdoor seating, a recreation area, an outdoor sports and fitness park, streetball and volleyball courts, providing opportunities for active recreation for young people. The reconstruction of the green space inside the campus will provide a peaceful and quiet environment for those who want to spend time in peace and quiet.

The second element of the renewal of the Veszprém campus is the energy upgrade, which will include façade insulation, replacement of windows and doors and a heat pump heating system. The investment of around HUF 7.6 billion is expected to be completed in the first half of next year.