HISTORY OF THE GAMF FACULTY

The predecessor of the faculty, the Higher School of Mechanical Engineering, was founded in 1964, and in 1969 it was renamed the College of Mechanical Engineering and Automation (GAMF).From 1 January 2000 until 30 June 2016, the institution operated as the faculty of Kecskemét College.From 1 July 2016, the institution continued its work as the faculty of the University of Pallas Athenaeus, and from 1 August 2017, as the faculty of the János Neumann University, under the name of GAMF Faculty of Engineering and Informatics.

Over the last five decades, the institution has undergone a huge evolution. From the initial training of production engineers in mechanical engineering, the faculty now offers undergraduate courses in materials engineering, mechanical engineering, vehicle engineering, computer engineering, technical management and technical vocational training. In 2016, the technical and information technology field was joined by the economics field with the launch of the bachelor’s degree in economics and management, and in 2017, the faculty also started offering a degree in logistics engineering.

In 2012, the faculty – as a pioneer in the country – introduced a dual training model in close cooperation with partner companies, following the German model, which meets the expectations of the economy better than ever before.  The “Kecskemét model” has since become a national model. 

In higher education, the faculty currently offers two IT courses. For graduates, specialised further education courses provide opportunities for professional development.  Adult education courses build on the excellent infrastructure of the faculty, with CNC and welding courses being the most popular.  The expansion of the training system has been accompanied by an increase in the number of students, with the Faculty now having nearly 2 500 full-time and part-time students.

The faculty has five research and teaching departments in different disciplines. These are the Department of Materials Technology, the Department of Vehicle Technology, the Department of Organisation and Logistics, the Department of Informatics and the Department of Science and Engineering.

As a regional centre for research and development, the Faculty has been involved in the development of numerous developments in the fields of equipment and tool design, automation, industrial informatics, applied informatics, processing technology, measurement technology, vehicle testing and organisational development in close cooperation with other research institutes and higher education institutions and companies.  The automotive and environmental technologies themes are managed by independent knowledge centres.  The faculty has a state-of-the-art, accredited Materials Testing and Measurement Laboratory at the disposal of its partners.  

The faculty campus, located close to the city centre, has teaching buildings, workshops, laboratories, a library, a sports hall and sports fields, as well as a well-kept shady courtyard, the main teaching building lobby and the library information room, which provide a pleasant social space for students and staff alike.

In recent years, the faculty has received billions of forints in EU funding. Workshops and laboratories have been renovated, new tools and equipment have been added. The most significant investment – the new building of the Department of Vehicle Technology, which was launched in 2012 as the infrastructural background for the vehicle engineering course – cost around HUF 1.5 billion, including equipment and tools.