“We will be able to compete, and we will be able to sustain ourselves, if we are at the forefront of discoveries,” Balázs Hanko, State Secretary responsible for Innovation and Higher Education at the Ministry of Culture and Innovation (KIM) stressed at the event. And research.
Therefore, we set a goal that by 2030 Hungary will be among the top ten innovators in Europe, and among the top 25 countries in the world. Therefore, it is necessary, and this event also serves this purpose, that we can attract as many young people as possible to research, and that as many as possible commit to the research profession.
– Balaz Hanko added.
Among the measures taken by the government, it was stated that a total of 920 billion Hungarian forints were spent last year in cooperation with companies to promote research, development and innovation in Hungary. The Minister of State pointed out that today there are six thousand job opportunities in our country in the field of research and development for every million people. As he said, they want to achieve this by 2030, when there will be nine thousand jobs per million people.
Balázs Gulyás, President of the Hungarian Research Network, spoke at the event about how to create a research ecosystem in Hungary, where state responsibility and support combine with academic life, research, institutes and universities and – from the first moment – industrial actors as well. He stressed: “We do not differentiate between basic and applied research, but rather we only talk about good, high-impact research in this ecosystem.” Together, these actors form the framework of the research ecosystem.
In addition to governmental, academic and economic actors, we must not forget the Hungarian taxpayers, who should feel that all this belongs to them, because they provide the background for the research, he added.
In this sense, the Researchers’ Night, in which several institutions of the Hungarian Research Network participate, is an ideal initiative, because it reveals to the Hungarian people “what Hungarian science can bring to the table, and how we can move forward” together,” emphasized Palasz Gulyás.
Levente Kovacs, Dean of the University of Úbuda, which hosted the press conference, said that they have been continuously participating in the Scholars’ Night programs since the beginning. This year, more than 200 programs are being prepared in the institution’s various colleges. These include presentations on sustainability and the dark world of the Internet, as well as presentations on robotics and health IT. In addition, a hydrogen-powered car will be offered to those interested.
With the support of the company, several programs promoting chemistry in primary and secondary schools have been launched, said Gabriela Tornoczky, Head of Communications at Egis Gyógyszergyár Zrt. They will join the Chemistry Competition Researchers Night again this year, in which 12 teams are expected to reach the finals.
Researchers’ Night was first organized in Hungary 17 years ago, and since then it has become a tradition that on the last weekend of September, research institutes, universities, libraries, archives, museums and official laboratories open their doors to the public offering an insight into the secrets of different scientific fields.
– recalled Bella Cardone, Scientific Director of the Regional Center for Information and Knowledge Development (RCISD), the main coordinator of the event.
He added: As before, participation in all programs is free, but there are events where organizers require advance registration due to limited space. This year, the central website for the event is kutatokejszakaja.hu, where you can search for programs based on scientific field, location, time zone and age.
The purpose of the series of events is to bring scientific research and researchers closer to the general public, arouse young people’s interest in the profession of scientific researchers, and demonstrate the impact of researchers’ work on everyday life.
