“Thanks to the measures introduced in recent years, students attending higher education institutions are able to acquire knowledge that is internationally competitive”, Minister for Innovation and Technology László Palkovics said at his year-launching press conference in Budapest on Tuesday.

He stressed that the Hungarian government is a partner to all students. “We would like to young people to develop their talents to the full, to find their personal path to the world of work, and to be useful members of Hungarian society, the Hungarian economy or Hungarian science”, the Minister underlined.
“Hungary counts as a moderate innovator within the EU according to the European Commission’s evaluation, but in 2018 Hungary spent twice as much on innovation as it did in 2010”, the Minister emphasised. “This year, the government is spending an additional 32 billion forints (EUR 97 million), an increase of 25 percent, on innovation than it did in 2018”, he added.
Mr. Palkovics said the reorganisation of the institutional support system for innovation has begun, and awarding funding to possible applicants is the task of designated institutes, adding that decisions on the awarding of a total of 85 billion forints (EUR 257 million) in funding were made last year, which he called a significant sum.
He stressed that a new era of innovation has begun within the Hungarian economy, research and higher education alike.
The National Science Policy Council was established at the beginning of this year, and is a body that is directly responsible to the Prime Minister. The Council will be holding its first session in mid-February, at which the adoption of the National Innovation Strategy will also be discussed. A new structure has also been introduced for funding tenders, with all funding being handled by the National Fund for Research, Development and Innovation. The Eötvös Loránd Research Network has also been established, parallel to the Bay Zoltán National Applied Research Institute Network, the Minister explained.
The government has also established a molecular research institute and a molecular biology research institute, he highlighted.
Mr. Palkovics spoke about the fact that universities represent the foundations of the innovation ecosystem, and several universities have been awarded funding during the course of competence centre tenders. “In the interests of the efficient utilization of additional funding for research and development, the Ministry for Innovation and Technology is working on the development of a university-based innovation ecosystem. An important element of the ecosystem is the science park concept, and the establishment of six regional science parks is underway, with an addition two such institutions planned in Budapest. The maintenance model of universities has also been reorganised in the interests of increasing their competitiveness, the model for which is the Corvinus University of Budapest; the legal environment has been established and the positive results are beginning to appear. We are planning on introducing a similar model at several other universities, which is identical to the form of financing utilised in Austria”, he said.
The Minister also spoke about the fact that a research centre or higher education system does not exist on its own, and accordingly making them international is a major task. Five pilot programmes are currently underway at five Hungarian universities in the interests of this. Negotiations will also be conducted with highly regarded international universities on the establishment of institutions or faculties in Hungary, and such talks are currently ongoing with a Chinese university. Mr. Palkovics said the further development of the Andrassy University and the expansion of its education portfolio is also important.
“The European community is committed to reinforcing research and development”, he indicated.
According to the Minister’s evaluation, the Hungarian economy grew by 4.9 percent in 2019 based on preliminary figures, which is one of the highest rates of economic growth in the European Union. The ratio of high-tech within industry is some 70 percent, and Hungary’s economic performance is partly thanks to this, he said.
“The government is working to assure that Hungary is one of the winners of the 21st century, to which economic development is vital, and the engine of economic development is innovation”, the Minister said in summary.

(MTI)