Hungary

The donation, to fund a new global network of universities, is in addition to $750M Soros announced in November to assist Budapest-based Central European University in its enforced move to Vienna

The new campus in Budapest is yet another sign of China’s intent on strengthening its science and technology foothold in central and eastern Europe.

Start-ups in central and eastern Europe get a helping hand to sell their products and services to larger companies in the region

New law will hand oversight of research institutes to a new agency headed by minister of innovation and technology. Researchers say that limits academic freedom; the government says it will modernise the system

The government plans to establish a new body - under its control - to manage the research institutes of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, after negotiations over future status come to a halt

Momentum candidate for the European Parliament says structural funds shouldn’t be used to finance national research projects and calls for a unified vision for R&D policy that acknowledges member states on their own cannot be global innovation players

The academy says it ‘went into great lengths’ to satisfy government demands on how the research institutes are organised

CEU hopes Germany’s political and economic power will convince Hungarian prime minister to allow the university to continue offering US accredited degrees in Budapest

The academy’s network of research institutes will be placed under a new governing body made up of scientists proposed by both the academy and the government

Weber applies Bavarian political and financial power in bid to help anchor the university in Europe and safeguard it against political interference in the future