Budapest, 23 December 2024 – The strategic goal of the development of the Hungarian research and innovation ecosystem is to ensure that the results of as many research activities carried out in Hungarian universities and research institutes as possible yield new products, technologies and services which address relevant societal challenges and provide significant economic benefits.
The Proof of Concept (PoC) call launched by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office aims to achieve hundreds of market and technology validations of university research in the next 2 years in collaboration with university technology transfer companies (TTCs). The objective is to turn as many developments as possible into patents and products for use by new innovative businesses and the Hungarian SME sector.
The Proof of Concept call seeks to bridge the risky period between research in universities and research institutes and the commercialisation of the research results. The call offers an opportunity for universities and research institutes to validate the results produced by their research teams technologically and on the market, bringing them closer to the level of readiness needed for commercial utilisation.
The PoC builds on the understanding that universities and research institutes carry out a wide range of scientific research that has the potential for innovation, leading to market uptake of the research results in the form of products, technologies or services. However, marketable results must be identified, developed and exploited, both within and outside the institution. This can be done by selling the resulting patent, by selling the right to exploit the patent (under licensing agreements) to a Hungarian company, or by setting up a spin-off company to market the patent. This is important because it means that the knowledge generated at universities is directly used in the economy through the establishment of new innovative Hungarian businesses, and thus new R&D jobs with the potential to generate high added value – therefore capable of paying higher wages.
TTCs play a crucial role in the successful commercialisation of research results, by identifying promising projects within the university/research institute showing innovation potential and supporting such projects in successfully entering the market. As managers of PoC funds, they are responsible for supporting the market and technological validation of research results, typically through investments of HUF 8-15 million. The maximum amount of funding available per application is HUF 350 million per TTC, of which the TTC is required to make 20-40 PoC investments.
“The primary innovation policy objective of the Ministry of Culture and Innovation is to promote the economic exploitation of research and development results produced by universities and research institutes. The overarching objective set in the John von Neumann Programme adopted last year is to ensure that the Hungarian results of research and development are used not only for having a scientific impact, but also for economic and social purposes, i.e. to create innovative products, services and solutions that can be applied in practice and that provide answers to the greatest challenges facing the Hungarian economy and society. These innovative start-ups bringing cutting edge technology solutions to market could play a pivotal role in the long-term competitiveness of the Hungarian economy,” László Bódis, Deputy State Secretary for Innovation at the Ministry of the Interior, stressed.
Proof of Concept applications will be implemented by the winning TTCs in collaboration with the Hungarian Innovation Agency. Deadline for submission: 10 March 2025 For further details on the call please visit the website of the NRDI Office at
https://nkfih.gov.hu/english/nrdi-fund/proof-of-concept-2024-213-poc/call-for-proposals
This article was first published on 5 January by NRDIO.
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