30 projects will be implemented from HUF 12 billion under the Hu-rizon Programme, told the minster responsible for culture and innovation to journalists on Saturday in Debrecen.
Balázs Hankó pointed out that since Brussels excluded Hungarian researchers and universities from the Horizon and Erasmus Programmes, HU-rizon was launched to counter Horizon. Due to the large number of project proposals, funding for this new Hungarian programme was increased from HUF 8 billion to HUF 12 billion, and of the 112 project proposals received, 30 winners were announced. As he explained, all international research collaborations involve the best 100 universities in the world together with Hungarian universities.
He also emphasised that for a year Brussels has not responded to Hungarian legislation and the proposals of the Hungarian Government for a compromise and that is the reason why, alongside Erasmus, the Pannonia Scholarship was launched, which will enable 3000 instead of 2000 students to go to the best universities in the world.
Balázs Hankó asserted: “we have proof” that, unlike Brussels, the world and the scientific community of the European Union counts on Hungarian researchers, with top universities in the world lining up to participate in research led by Hungarian universities.
Among the winning Hu-rizon proposals, he mentioned Óbuda University, conducting research on medical robotics and artificial intelligence in collaboration with Standford and the University of Singapore, ensuring cooperation between the West and East; the University of Szeged will work with Cambridge University and the University of Ulm on the impact of micro- and nanoparticles in plastics on healthy life; and the University of Debrecen will build a research community with the University of Seoul and the University of Florida on driverless vehicle development.
We are focusing on themes that are genuinely aimed at tackling digitalisation, healthy living and the green transition, so the winning projects could be launched with the support of the Hungarian Government, the Minister said.
Ádám Kiss, President of the National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NRDI Office), stressed that the Hungarian Government is spending more than HUF 150 billion from the national budget on science policy, research and innovation this year. He pointed out that there is a huge over-demand for all calls for proposals, as evidenced by the HU-rizon Programme, for which 112 applicants submitted proposals for over HUF 40 billion, and from which 30 winning proposals were selected.
In these research projects, the Hungarian party sets the direction of the research, and the Hungarian Government provides funding not only for Hungarian universities, but also for the entire budget of the associated top 100 research institutions, he said. He explained that the call for proposals required Hungarian universities to involve foreign institutions of similar type at least in 50 percent and such collaboration must last at least 2 and at most 3 years.
This will also allow Hungarian higher education institutions to conduct larger research projects independently in the future, with up to 5-10 consortium members, he added. He noted that it is important for universities to cooperate with economic actors, and that they should not only carry out self-serving research, but that their research should have a social, economic and financial impact. He stressed that competitiveness is key, and that all the funding schemes offered by the NRDIH contribute to this and will continue next year, together with the HU-rizon Programme.
This article was first published on 20 November by NRDIO.
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