Well-thought-out plans, shared strategy and vision for the future, strong sense of community, and well-being – these were the principles that Professor Dr. Miklós Nyitrai, Dean of the University of Pécs Medical School, who stepped down on 30 June, followed in leading the faculty during his two consecutive four-year terms. He considers forward thinking approach one of his key achievements, which was also embedded into the organisational culture. He placed strong emphasis on precise planning, close cooperation, continuous dialogues, team spirit, and a working method based on community. He aimed to promote both physical and mental well-being with several investments and initiatives, he also made important steps to ensure that students and colleagues could study or work at the faculty with pride and joy. He made progress in many areas, he believes that only a few minor details are left unfinished. The comprehensive assessment of the past eight years requires more time, but he shared his main reflections.
Written by Rita Schweier
- How do you view the past eight years in the context of your professional career?
- It was a dreamlike and defining period of my life, and one of the most valuable chapters in both professionally and personally. I believe that the faculty successfully navigates crises, continues to prosper, and remains open to growth and development. We have traditions and foundations to rely on, as well as colleagues who know exactly where they are headed and how they want to grow, so all they need is support to pursue their ambitions. I am deeply grateful to all my former and current colleagues for making this possible.
- You certainly had a vision of the kind of Dean you wanted to be. Despite the many challenges and changes, were you able to live up to those expectations?
- When taking on a new position, one usually has some idea of what it will require regarding attitude, time, mindset, teamwork, skills, responsibilities and patience. At the very beginning, I decided to dedicate myself fully to this role and I intended to create a working method based on community, consideration and thoughtfulness. Everything starts with people and teamwork, so I believe that the success of any university or organization depends on whether its leader can work together effectively with the people they lead. In the movie Football of the Good Old Days, Ede Minarik is willing to sacrifice anything to help his team, Csabagyöngye, reach the top division, the famous saying also derives from him: you need a team. I have always believed in creating a shared community spirit, common goals and tools, and direction in order to have room for development. A leader who becomes disconnected from their community is unlikely to succeed. The real challenge is to what extent this can be achieved. The faculty already had a strong team when I took office, and it has become even stronger over the past two terms. Since this faculty has existed in Pécs for more than a hundred years, every Dean’s term should be seen as one link in a long chain, the strength of the chain depends on each link. A smart Dean preserves valuable traditions while moving forward. I believe that Professor András Komócsi, who takes over from me, will lead in this spirit. He will have different strengths than I do, as no leader is expert in every field. This is also why the eight-year dean’s term, established by our predecessors, has proved to be an effective system.
– Four years ago, at the end of your first term as Dean, we asked you in a podcast to evaluate the achievements. Looking back on your second term, what grade would you give yourself as Dean?
- It is still too early to assess this period, as time is needed for events to settle. During the period when I was an active athlete, I expected two things from myself and my teammates: preparedness and commitment. If these are met, then the expected requirements are fulfilled, so based on this, I consider these two terms successful. Time will decide how valuable my work will be in the long run. Building houses and parks is relatively simple, but forming attitudes, ways of thinking, and a sense of community is a much greater challenge. My goal was to encourage colleagues and students to think critically about their work, while also promoting dignity, integrity and humanity through valuable personal examples. I believe we have made progress in these areas. Over the past eight years, we have faced challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, its negative effect on education and community, changes in the legal status of the University of Pécs Clinical Centre, and also the introduction of the new salary scheme for healthcare professionals becoming a constant topic. I take the responsibility for both our successes and the areas where we did not fully meet expectations. It feels encouraging that fewer complaints concerning different areas are raised today by colleagues and students than in the previous decade. We initiated the „Dean’s Coffee Break,” where students had the opportunity to ask questions and discuss issues directly with me, which helped them to understand how the faculty operates. Sitting down together and discussing shared issues, like in a family, we made these concerns more approachable. I wanted to achieve that colleagues and students feel proud and joyful when they enter the building to work or study. This is an ambitious goal requiring a long journey, even though our predecessors started to achieve it. We must take into account that in the 21st century we have more opportunities, while information travels faster than ever before. What has remained unchanged is that the key to everything is whether we can work together. If willingness exists, we are able to find solutions to technological, financial, and other challenges, and we can begin to improve. Without it, everything else loses its meaning.
– This joint thinking truly took shape through the PotePillars strategy, which was developed and launched in 2020. To what extent do you think that vision has become a reality?
- The PotePillars strategy aims to define our goals and highlight the areas we consider most important. I liked how it was created because each pillar was developed by teams with expertise in that area. We also started a discussion within the faculty, as we considered them a good starting point. However, they are not set in stone and can be revised and adapted over time. The first pillar focuses on education, with the principle that we should teach in the way students want to learn. It provides a framework that helps motivated lecturers improve their skills, receive support, and better engage students, whose commitment is essential for successful education. I consider the creation of the concept a step forward. We are not there yet, but we have started moving forward together. The second pillar focuses on the built environment. It is important to emphasize that the new buildings and development projects are not about prestige or appearance, but to meet the expectations and requirements of a modern faculty. To be competitive in the international market, infrastructure development is also essential. People also enjoy spending time in attractive surroundings, beautiful spaces are inspiring, and we also take better care of them. This has evolved into a costly and complex task that requires thorough planning. With the help of external experts, the Campus Cooperationis and Locus Cooperationis concepts became guides for future development, in terms of future tendencies, functions of the infrastructure. I consider it a major achievement that we had clear plans even before we knew when funding would become available, so we were always ready to start new projects. Metaphorically speaking, bread sometimes baked more slowly, but there was always bread on the table because the ovens never stopped functioning. Achieving this required continuous planning, regular discussions, and patience, and I am pleased that this way of thinking has become part of our organizational culture.
One of our recent achievements is the energy modernization of the Department of Biophysics. We are currently renovating the administrative areas in the main building and continuing the replacement of elevators. We are also awaiting the decision on the contractor for the renovation of the building at Honvéd utca 1., where we plan to create a campus club with a restaurant and café. The complete renovation of the Department of Primary Health Care is also expected to be finished by the end of the summer. We plan to establish a research centre at Honvéd utca 5. that will house the 3D Printing and Visualisation Centre and a new space research facility. Our future plans also include the renovation of the Department of Biochemistry and Medical Chemistry and the comprehensive renovation of the main building, which is a 25,000 m2 facility that has undergone partial renovations over the years.
The third strategic pillar is science and innovation. We are pleased that the number of publications has tripled in recent years, and we reward our outstanding authors and lecturers to show our appreciation for their work. There is still room for improvement regarding grants and funding, but it is important to highlight that the available opportunities have decreased significantly. These two terms were not enough to fully turn innovations into economic value, but we have promising opportunities in this area. Alongside support from the government and income from international students, this area must also become stronger to ensure development.
Well-being, the fourth pillar, has developed significantly in recent years, which was demonstrated by its fifth anniversary and the events related to it. This part of the PotePillars strategy is significant for the success of the faculty, because when students and colleagues feel well, everything works more smoothly and efficiently. Small initiatives may not seem significant on their own, such as the monthly Fruit Day, but they become much more meaningful when viewed as part of a comprehensive well-being system addressing many aspects of physical and mental health. We are fortunate to have a committed team working in this area.
We set the goal to open doors and provide opportunities for those who wished to take them. As the saying goes, if you want someone to sail, you should not simply give them a boat, you should show them how beautiful the ocean is. The same way of thinking was applied when we reached out to the other faculties of our university. A well-functioning university is built on strong faculties that work together rather than exist in isolation. There are many international examples of this approach. This idea inspired the PoteCross initiative at our university, which gives our students opportunities to explore other subjects beyond medicine, such as art history, law, or management. The PoteCross was considered to be innovative and unusual when it was launched, but the positive feedback we receive confirms its value. We are still at the beginning of this process, but I am confident that in the future we will benefit even more from each other’s strengths and expertise.
- To what extent do you think the reputation of the faculty changed in the last couple of years?
- I believe we have maintained our excellent position, which I really value, because it also requires a great amount of work. If the university and the faculty spent most of their energy on improving quality and development, we would have tremendous opportunities ahead of us. We still have to improve in this area, and the question is whether we can make that change. I consider international rankings not so important, as I believe that happy, well-educated students who are able to think critically and treat patients with dignity, matters the most. The same applies to our researchers, because they should be working in larger research groups and achieving even better results. We have already excelled in many areas, but we need to reach that level of excellence in more areas and across the whole university, only then would we see progress in the rankings. As Dean, I believe that the best ranking is created by colleagues and students. The greatest satisfaction is seeing colleagues and students come here each year with greater enthusiasm and pride.
– At the beginning of this year, you expressed your satisfaction by describing the Faculty as an oasis in Hungary.
- Indeed. The reason why I chose that expression is that the community of this faculty is manageable, it has clearly defined and transparent responsibilities, an educational and research portfolio. If it were significantly larger, it would be much harder to feel at home in all of its areas. At this moment, we have the opportunity to work with an outstanding team in every area. We managed to think through our objectives, and to move forward according to them. Leading the University of Pécs Medical School was an exciting honor.
- Do you feel that one four-year term would not have been enough to achieve your goals?
- Yes, at the end of the fourth year I felt that there was still a lot of work to do. Eight years seemed like the right amount of time to complete my plans and still have the motivation to keep going. However, I feel that a few minor things are unfinished. There are many reasons for that, but the relationship with the University of Pécs Clinical Centre remained complicated, but it would be worth improving given our shared opportunities and responsibilities. We could also have built a community more quickly with the graduates and alumni, but it is not that easy, either. I expected our digital educational platform, PotePedia, launched to store and share materials related to subjects, to be completed within a year, but it is still under development today. We also invested in developing the next generation of academics and professionals, but we were not able to increase the number of medically qualified colleagues in the theoretical institutes. Everything could have happened faster if the system had worked more efficiently; then we could have implemented more ideas during these eight years. Overall, I believe the next leader is taking over a faculty that is in good condition and ready for further development, with whom we have been preparing the transition for a long time. It requires many conversations, as we cannot simply hand over a guide about the operation of the Medical School, since, given its size and complexity, many aspects need to be discussed in person.
- Has your personality changed, evolved over the past eight years?
- I do not think that my personality has changed a lot, but that might be something that others could judge better. On the other hand, I can say for certain that the past eight years have strengthened my patience. I had to get used to the fact that progress at a university is slow, and that was not always easy for me.
- Managing developments and investments and the managerial role seemed to suit you well. Would you agree?
- Yes. There is nothing particularly special about it, as planning and managing processes also happen in everyday family life, especially when a family decides to build a house, so introducing this way of thinking at the faculty and making it part of our organisational culture was important. Excellent colleagues helped me along the way who were not afraid to tell me when they thought I was wrong, so attention and continuous feedback are more important than constantly trying to invent new things. I believe this is an area where we should renew ourselves and improve. That takes energy, because anyone might get tired if they work on the same thing year after year.
- Did it take conscious effort to approach people with such directness and warmth?
- Being approachable is part of my personality, but it was also a conscious effort on my part. I believe a leader should show guidance even when times are difficult. A captain cannot stand on the bridge looking discouraged. His job is also to realise when people need to be encouraged and when they should be allowed to celebrate. I am not an exhibitionist, and I am comfortable when I am not surrounded by people, so the managerial role took me out of my comfort zone, but I learned a lot from the experience.
– When you were appointed in 2018, you said that you intended to become a hard-working Dean, but you did not believe that working 16 hours every day for years would be sustainable or effective. Were you able to make enough time for rest and recreation?
- Yes, I paid attention to that, and I also advised others to do the same. In developed societies with a higher standard of living, free time is highly valued and money matters less. Unfortunately, we do not live accordingly yet, even though devoting time to ourselves improves our effectiveness at work. Sport is an essential part of my life, and I do not feel well when I am not regularly active. Badminton has been my passion for the last couple of years, and I play four times a week. I do not play football anymore, because the risk of injury is quite high, and water polo is much more complicated to organize since it requires both a pool and a team. I have also become interested in spin fishing. I search for predatory fish by walking around and throwing artificial lures. I do not have to sit and wait for hours; this is what I like the most about it. After work, if I have the chance, I spend one and a half to two hours fishing. It helps me to relax completely, and the scenery is beautiful as well.
- Do you already know how your career path will continue?
- There are several opportunities, but I cannot say anything with certainty at this point. I would like to give myself enough time to consider them carefully and make a decision in the long-term.
Photos:
Dávid Verébi