The National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NRDI Office) has announced a new HUF 8 billion call to support the launch of international research projects led by excellent Hungarian research teams and involving the world’s top universities and research institutes focusing on solving social and economic challenges of importance to Hungary and worldwide.
Digitalisation, the green transition and the preservation of a healthy life are pressing challenges that we face in almost all areas of the economy and society. Under the new call, the NRDI Office invites innovative research proposals from Hungarian-led international research teams in the three priority focus areas identified in the John von Neumann Programme (NJP). Applications may be submitted until 5 July 2024. The goal-oriented, impact-driven approach of the HU-rizon Programme and the requirement to achieve results that can be applied in practice contributes to strengthening the market-oriented approach of research and international embeddedness of Hungarian universities.
“Our new international research excellence call shows that if they try to close us down, we will open up to the world. That is why we have initiated our international student exchange scheme, the Pannonia Programme that is still open, and launch now the HU-rizon Programme to support international cooperation with Hungarian researchers. Facing the European Commission’s unfair and discriminatory decision, which seriously harms the competitiveness of Hungary and Europe, we believe in the importance of international research cooperation. Through the launch of the HU-rizon Programme we will fund research in the areas of interest of Hungarian society and economy, and cover the costs of the best foreign universities participating” underlined Balázs Hankó, State Secretary for Innovation, Higher Education, Vocational Training and Adult Education at the Ministry of Culture and Innovation.
The programme is open to research centres and researchers not only from Europe, but from any country in the world on the basis of excellence, while the international consortia implementing the research project will be led by Hungarian higher education institutions. Funding from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund covers the total budget of the research and development projects, the costs of both Hungarian institutions and their foreign partners. Projects can be awarded a budget up to HUF 400 million.
Hungarian academic research groups have nine exciting topics to choose from within the three focus areas of the NJP, and have two months to develop their innovative concepts in cooperation with fellow researchers from Europe or beyond.
The 24-36-month collaborative projects funded under the HU-rizon Programme aim to support the development of strategically important international partnerships and assist Hungarian researchers in getting ready to lead large-scale international projects in the future.
This article was first published on 14 May by NRDIO.
Receive the Funding Newswire each Tuesday, our Policy Bulletin each Thursday, and news about bridging Europe’s east-west innovation gap twice a month in The Widening. 
A unique international forum for public research organisations and companies to connect their external engagement with strategic interests around their R&D system.