Rules

Rules and regulations of the Students’ Research Society for Medical and Health Sciences, University of Debrecen
(Proposal, 09.09.2022)

1. The Council of the Students’ Research Society (CSRS) does its job commissioned by the dean of the Faculty of Medicine (FOM) at the University of Debrecen. The CSRS carries out tasks related to the activities of the Students’ Research Society (SRS) at the Faculty of Medicine (FOM) and, based on special agreements, also in the Faculty of Dentistry (FOD), Faculty of Pharmacy (FOP), and Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS).
 
2. The Students’ Research Society (SRS) is a volunteer organization of students and it involves extracurricular activities beyond mandatory university training. Any registered student of the University of Debrecen (UD) and, also, students from other universities can apply for membership in the SRS for Medical and Health Sciences if tutors/researchers/clinicians and supervisors working in the different departments, institutes and units at the University of Debrecen can accept them.
 
3. The aims of the SRS are to introduce students to education, medical research and healthcare activities of the educational and organizational units of the University of Debrecen (UD) and other healthcare or research institutions collaborating with UD. Also, the SRS is to provide professional publicity to and evaluation of the results achieved.
 
4. Structure of the SRS
 
4.1. Teams
Any student who wishes to participate in an SRS activity should contact the tutor/supervisor whose research he is interested in. The student’s application to join the SRS is assessed by the tutor and, ultimately, the head of the department/clinic. Each department/clinic specifies their conditions of application. SRS supervisor can be any clinician or tutor/researcher with a PhD degree working in the different departments, institutes and units at the University of Debrecen or other health institutions, research centers that have connections with the University.

A PhD student of the University of Debrecen can be just a fellow-supervisor working together with a supervisor who meets the above mentioned criteria.

The SRS has both registered and full members. A registered member is a student whose application is accepted by the chosen department or clinic. A student becomes a full member if (s)he is engaged in some documented research activity (SRS research essay, scientific publication, a lecture or poster presented at an SRS conference or at another congress). The CSRS acknowledges full membership in a certificate given to the student.
 
4.2. Departmental (Clinical) SRS
The head of the department/clinic or the SRS advisor appointed by the chairperson exercise a supervisory power. One of the members of the SRS at each department is elected as student representative who can be recalled at any time. The SRS advisors and student representatives’  responsibility is to organize SRS activities and do the necessary administrative tasks (keeping a record of registered students and of those with full membership working at the department, registration and confirmation of presentations for SRS conferences) as well as keeping contact with the CSRS.
 
4.3 Faculty SRS
The main decision-making body is the Committee, consisting of the departments’ SRS advisors and students’ representatives for the FOM. Committee meetings (at least once a year) can be called upon by the presidium of CSRS or two-thirds of its members. The Committee shall take decisions by a simple majority of the members present. Its task is to elect the members of the SRS Council (CSRS) and those in the presidium of CSRS (outlined in the next paragraph) and make decisions in principle on the operation of the SRS and make those decisions public.

The SRS Council leads the SRS for Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Debrecen. Except for the tutor-chairperson and tutor-secretary/secretaries, the CSRS Committee elects the members – tutors and students – of the CSRS for the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Debrecen. The candidates are the SRS advisors of the different medical and health science departments and, tutors and students nominated by the chairperson of the CSRS at the university. Besides those from the presidium, the SRS Council (CSRS) has nine tutor/PhD student members (“tutors” hereinafter) from the FOM.

In addition, should any of the other faculties (FOD, FOP, FPH and FHS) request the SRS Council (CSRS) to fulfill the SRS tasks for them, the faculty concerned can delegate a single member to the CSRS with a right to vote.

If presentations handed in for the local SRS Conference from any of the medical and health sciences departments at the University of Debrecen in the preceding academic year exceed 15% of all presentations, the given department can delegate one more tutor-member to the CSRS in addition to the number outlined above. In the CSRS, the number of students equals the number of tutors. (Members of the presidium are not included.)

The FOD, FP, FPH and FHS delegate equal numbers of tutors and students. On top of the afore-mentioned contingent, the presidium of CSRS can propose the admission of maximum two tutors and two students as members to the SRS Council. Proposals must be submitted prior to the first meeting of the specific academic year. The CSRS decides about the proposal in the first meeting of the given academic year.

The executive body of the CSRS is the presidium (PCSRS). Its members are the chairperson and tutor- secretary / secretaries appointed by the dean of the FOM, UD; further members include the student- chairperson and student-secretary nominated by the chairperson and elected by the Committee. Student members of the presidium are expected to engage in outstanding SRS activity and achieve well in their academic studies. If two or more tutor-secretaries are appointed to the presidium of CSRS, the tasks of the secretaries should be divided – in accordance with the approval of the other members – at the beginning of each academic year. In cases when the general secretary of the CSRS is appointed in other rules and regulations, any of the tutor- secretaries of the CSRS can fulfill the task based on the decision about sharing tasks. The supervising and advocacy body of the CSRS is the National Council of Students' Research Societies (NCSRS).
 
5. Operation of the SRS
5.1. Both registered and full member SRS students work in the chosen institute (clinical department) under the guidance of his/her supervisor. With a special permission, they can use the research tools, instruments, chemical substances of the institute (clinical department) and help with providing inpatient care. With the permission from their supervisors, they can present their results in the form of a SRS presentation, SRS research essay (see Appendix 1) and other non-SRS-related forms. In SRS presentations or SRS research essays, the number of authors and supervisors may not exceed two each. SRS students have the right to participate in SRS events and get their SRS research paper accepted as their thesis (see Appendix 2). They can take the position of undergraduate teaching assistants (UTAs), and apply for UTA positions and, also, grants offered by the CSRS.

5.2. CSRS takes its decisions at the meetings. A meeting can be called upon by the CSRS chairperson or, on behalf of him/her, a PCSRS member. The time, venue and agenda of the meeting have to be announced at least five calendar days prior to the meeting. CSRS takes its decisions with simple majority of the members present and makes the decisions public on its website. Voting is valid only if more than 50% of the eligible CSRS members are present.

5.2.1. Apart from questions concerning personal matters, the chairperson of CSRS can initiate electronic voting. In that case, the members of the CSRS can send an email from their registered email address or can vote on the SRS website before the deadline. Voting cannot be closed sooner than the midnight of the seventh day after it has been announced. Electronic voting is only valid if more than 50% of the CSRS have voted. If at least three CSRS members find the given question unsuitable for electronic voting, and report the problem to the CSRS chairperson before closing the voting, then the electronic voting in the given question is invalid. In these cases the CSRS chairperson has to call upon a CSRS meeting within 30 days in accordance with 5.2., where the council has to vote on the given problem as part of the agenda.

5.3. SRS operation costs are covered by tenders won by the CSRS and financial subsidy provided by the FOM of UD.

5.4. CSRS makes the decision about the SRS work plan and about the financial support for the SRS from tender and faculty money. The CSRS organizes local conferences and appoints evaluation committees. Registers students (declares them full right members) who have presented their research as a SRS presentation or research essay. By special request, the CSRS registers students (declares them full right members) who have presented their research at conferences organized by scientific associations, or published their results in a scientific paper. The CSRS can offer grants and organize study trips. Based on the applications the CSRS decides on the amount and recipient of the grant. The CSRS sends student and tutor representatives to SNSA committees.

5.5. The CSRS proposes candidates to be given the Weszprémi-award, József Török-award, UTA-award and Pongrác Endes scholarship (see Appendix 3.), and the grant for Outstanding Research Work. Authorized, the CSRS can announce grants to support the scientific research by students depending on its financial resources. When deciding about grants, the CSRS considers the following: a student’s academic achievement, previous research work in the SRS and activity as a UTA (presentations, research essays, publications); the criteria shall be officially defined by the CSRS. 

5.6. The CSRS manages and harmonizes the institute’s (clinical department’s) SRS activities. The dean of the FOM has direct control over the functioning of CSRS.

5.7. The homepages oetdk.unideb.hu  and its old version tdk.med.unideb.hu are two official websites of communication to access the CSRS. The CSRS publishes and updates the applicable rules and regulations concerning SA functioning on its website. Students and tutors involved in SRS activities should follow the information published on the website.

5.8. The chairperson acts as the official representative of the CSRS. The chairperson can confer the right of representation on other members of the PCSRS in specific issues.

Appendix 1
Submission and evaluation of the Students’ Research Society research essays
1. The SRS research essays shall be submitted in accordance with the technical description published on the website of the SRS.

2. In the appendix of the research essay, students are obliged to specify their personal contribution to work processes. The preconditions of evaluating a research essay include submission / arrival of all documents to the CSRS as formally and quantitatively specified. The CSRS will reject any research essay that does not meet the criteria specified for preparing a SRS research essay. The publication entitled “Criteria for preparing a Students’ Research Society research essay” can be downloaded from the CSRS website. 

3. The submission and evaluation of the research essays are continuous in both the semesters and exam periods, except July and August. For graduate students who want to get their SRS research essays accepted as their thesis, the CSRS publishes the deadlines for submitting SRS research essays before the fifth week of the first semester. The earliest deadline for submission is supposed to be January 15. In case research essays are submitted after the deadline, the CSRS cannot guarantee closing the evaluation process in time and, consequently, acceptance of the thesis is not guaranteed either. 

If a student wants to attach his/her research essay to an application or (s)he wants to get it accepted as  his/her thesis (s)he should remember the evaluation process takes 90 days before the grade for the thesis is entered in the documentation of the specific semester. In such cases the submission date of the research essay should precede that of the specific application, or the deadline of submissions should be the 91st day before the end of the semester.

4. The referees are invited by the CSRS on behalf of the dean for the FOM. Their opinions are based on aspects adopted by referees for scientific journals whereas formal requirements are outlined in the guidelines published by the SRS in "Evaluation criteria of research essays". Referees' reports that do not meet the evaluation criteria in the aforementioned publication cannot be taken into consideration. Referees have a limited time interval defined by the PCSRS, which is maximum 30 days, to deliver their reports. Once they get the referees' reports, the authors’ written response has to be prepared within 15 days. After the authors’ response, the referees have further 15 days to finalize their report on the research essay. Based on the authors' response (if needed, the revised research essay) and the two referees' final reports the PCSRS makes a substantive decision about things to do with respect to the research essay. Furthermore, it informs the supervisors and students via mail. If the two referees hold fundamentally different opinions (the research essay is accepted - not accepted), the research essay needs to be sent to a third independent referee, who has 15 days to make his/her report on the research essay. Decision about the acceptance of the research essay shall be sent to the student within 90 days of submission. The educational secretary of the CSRS has to make sure that the final decision on the research essay is made within 90 days in case the student has fulfilled the conditions of form and time defined above. If the appointed referees do not deliver their report within the period specified and, consequently, the final decision on the research essay cannot be made, the tutor-secretary of the CSRS is entitled to appoint a substitute judge from the tutors / PhD Students of the CSRS. The appointed substitute referee shall make his/her report as told by the educational secretary of the CSRS considering the deadline specified above. The educational secretary of the CSRS shall make an official report on the referees’ activities at the request by the chairperson of the CSRS or the deans of the Medical and Health Science Faculties. 

5. The SRS-advisor of the institute/clinical department adds a copy of the accepted SRS research essay to the electronic archives and, on demand, puts  a printed and bound version in the institute’s/clinical department’s  library. The presidium of the CSRS archives the research essay in electronic format, its title also being provided in English. The certificate of the CSRS’s acceptance of the research essay will be issued once the research essay is electronically archived in its final format.

6. The CSRS adds the accepted research essay to the electronic archives of the University of Debrecen, which can be postponed by a maximum of two years, for some legitimate reasons requested by the author or authors of the research essay before its acceptance. This delay is to be supported by the supervisor(s) in writing. The request for the delay is considered by the PCSRS.
 
Appendix 2
Acceptance of an SRS research essay accepted as thesis
Activity in the SRS and its results can serve as the basis of the thesis. An accepted research essay written by one student can be submitted for acceptance as thesis in two ways:

1. In a revised version: in accordance with the current formal specifications of the thesis. The appointed reviewers evaluate the revised research essay handed in as thesis in the same way as any other thesis. In this case, refereeing is guided by the Educational Office of the faculty attended by the student. 

2. 2.    In an original form, without any revision: In this case, a form provided by the CSRS has to be completed and submitted to the Educational Office at the Dean’s Office, FOM.  Only the first author can use an unchanged multi-authored research essay as his/her thesis. In this case, a written waiver statement from the other author has to be attached on submitting the thesis. The second author of a multi-authored research essay can submit only a revised version of the paper as thesis; the written permission and waiver statement by the first author must be attached. In this case, too, the appointed reviewers evaluate the revised research essay handed in as thesis in the same way as any other thesis. One research essay, either changed or unchanged, can be submitted as thesis only once. In case the research essay is submitted in its original form, (single-authored, or multi-authored work submitted by the first author), the official review of the research essay can automatically be accepted as an opponent’s opinion of the thesis. A research essay can be accepted as thesis if the author applying for submission has given a first-author lecture on the topic, at the local SRS conference with the same title as that of the research essay. Another precondition is that, at the end of the lecture at the local SRS conference, students must present a diagram itemizing the participants’ individual/own contribution to the material presented. 
The lecture can be accepted as thesis defense if this is supported by two-thirds of the jury’s valid votes. The lecture is then evaluated as “excellent” as defense of the thesis. 
Acceptance as defense is valid if the research essay submitted by the student and the thesis have the same title. An in extenso first-author article published in a lectured journal can be accepted either as a SRS research essay or thesis. In this instance, a copy of the article has to be submitted to the CSRS, and a two-member committee appointed by the PCSRS will decide whether or not the article can be accepted as thesis. A publication accepted as a SRS research essay can be used as thesis on the student’s/author’s initiation at the Educational Office at the Dean’s Office of the FOM. To do this, the student has to attach:

  • (1)    a copy of the publication,
  • (2)    a declaration issued by the PCSRS stating the publication can be accepted as a SRS research essay.

The article accepted as a SRS research essay can only be accepted as thesis if the author presented a lecture on the topic of the essay at a SRS conference. A precondition of accepting the essay as thesis is that the student should give the presentation himself/herself.
 
Appendix 3
Rules and regulations pertaining to undergraduate teaching assistance and the Pongrác Endes scholarship

1. The most outstanding students at the UD can be involved in education as unpaid undergraduate teaching assistants (UTAs). On a proposal by the Council of Students' Research Society, the contract of employment is granted by the dean of the specific faculty of the UD in which the student works as a UTA. The UTA system aims to acknowledge hard-working and successful students participating in SRS work and teaching. In case of successful scientific work, active UTA work and outstanding academic achievement, the deans of the Faculties of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, and Health Sciences may decide to grant the Pongrác Endes scholarship on the recommendation of the CSRS.

2. Calls for application for the Pongrác Endes scholarship is announced by the dean of the Medical Faculty and in this effort (s)he may be joined by deans of other faculties involved in medical and health care education. Applications may be submitted by students who work as undergraduate teaching assistants in an educational unit of the faculties of Medical and Health Sciences at the UD. If a student cannot fulfill his / her teaching duties due to staying abroad or any other engagements, (s)he is obliged to resign from the scholarship in writing. 

3. The Pongrác Endes scholarship and the position of unpaid UTA are granted at the beginning of each semester and valid exclusively in that single semester. The deadline for submitting applications cannot be before the end of the first week of education in the program starting the semester the latest (except final year medical training at the Faculty of Medicine, UD). Based on the ranking list, the CSRS offers unpaid UTA positions or refuses to grant a post.
 
Conditions to take the post of unpaid UTA:

  1. at least 14 classes per semester
  2. at least 4.0 average credit index (mean of the last two semesters). For sixth-year medical students the average of the two semesters in the fifth year has to be considered. In the case of first-year students in the master’s program, the averages of the last two semesters (including the bachelor course) have to be considered.

Requirements of Pongrác Endes Scholarship

  1. Employment as UTA in the given semester
  2. Teaching a minimum of 1 semester previously as an unpaid UTA

Requirements of Pongrác Endes advanced scholarship

  1. Employment as UTA  in the given semester
  2. At least 4.5, as the average grant index for employment as UTA  
  3. Receiving Pongrác Endes scholarship for at least one semester previously
  4. A first-author presentation at a local SRS conference at the University of Debrecen, or a first author research essay submitted to and accepted by the Council of Students’ Research Society at the University of Debrecen.

Pongrác Endes scholarship is disbursed at faculty level in the form of a grant. A student without an UTA status may also pursue a teaching activity by the decision of the head of a Teaching Organizational Unit (TOU); however, this may not be considered equivalent to a UTA status. The possible remuneration of this activity depends on the decision of the TOU where the student pursues a teaching activity.

4. Applications for an UTA status as well as the Pongrác Endes scholarship must include the exam grades of professional subjects, the grant index of the previous two semesters (in case of a 6th year student, the grant index of the two semesters of the 5th year), the time period of SRS activity, a brief summary of SRS results and previous UTA commissions. 

5. Students must submit their applications to the CSRS electronically using the form available on the CSRS website. Having been submitted electronically, the filled-in form must be submitted in a printed version as well to the TOU where the student intends to pursue his/her UTA activity. The head of TOU ranks the applications and indicates the suggested commission on them, i.e. the number of hours of UTA activity in the given semester. The SRS advisor of the TOU forwards the applications to the CSRS administrator. Only the applications submitted both electronically (by the student and forwarded to the CSRS administrator by the TOU) in a printed format can be considered valid. Failure to submit either of these versions or any difference between the sections in the form filled in by the student will mean the application is invalid.

6. The CSRS may have the contents of the applications checked by the Educational Office at the Dean’s Office of the FOM and then it will rank the applications in accordance with the requirements based on SRS and teaching activities.

7. The amount of the Pongrác Endes scholarship (in both categories) is determined by the current budgets of the Faculties of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy and Health Sciences, University of Debrecen. Its disbursement takes place at faculty level, in the current month, together with other student grants. The final decisions on both the number and amount of scholarships offered are made by the deans of respective faculties.

ABBREVIATIONS

  • CSRS = Council of the Students’ Research Society
  • FHS = Faculty of Health Sciences
  • FOD = Faculty of Dentistry
  • FOM = Faculty of Medicine 
  • FOP = Faculty of Pharmacy
  • PCSRS = Presidium of the CSRS
  • NCSRS = National Council of Students' Research Societies
  • SRS = Students’ Research Society    
  • TOU = Teaching Organizational Unit    
  • UD = University of Debrecen
  • UTA = undergraduate teaching assistant 
Last update: 2025. 01. 22. 10:23