Events

Enhancing interdisciplinary research, high-impact publications and increasing the visibility of the University was the theme of the two-day autumn workshop of the Research Excellence Programme 2024 on 5-6 September at the MATE Training Centre in Szarvas. The event was attended by participants from the Research Excellence Programme (REP) and the Flagship Research Group Programme (FRGP).

The event was opened by Dr. Katalin Virág Sipos, Deputy Director-General of the campus. In her speech, she invited the audience to a virtual tour, giving a taste of the rich and inspiring life of the training site. Dr. Zoltán Kovács, Programme Manager, then welcomed the participants. In his presentation, he detailed how the academic achievements of REP- and FRGP-members since the beginning of the programme have contributed to the enhancement and quality improvement of our University's publication output, with a positive impact on the University's ranking and international visibility. Prof. Dr. Zoltán Lakner presented the publication activities of the REP and FRGP participants and the resulting network of contacts at national and international level, visualised on knowledge maps.

As a continuation of the professional programme, the leaders and representatives of the 13 Flagship Research Groups presented their research groups and the research of the Flagship Research Group in two parallel sessions (Agriculture and Life Sciences). During the two-hour program, Dr. Péter Kaló (research group of Prof. Dr. Katalin Andrea Posta), Prof. Dr. András Székács, Prof. Dr. Júlia Halász (research group of Prof. Dr. Attila Hegedűs), Prof. Dr. Károly Dublecz (research group of Prof. Dr. Beatrix Melinda Kovács), Prof. Dr. László Péter Abrankó, Dr. Ákos Mendel and Dr. Sándor Takács (research group of Prof. Dr. Dr. Lajos Helyes' research group) and Prof. Dr. Nguyen Duc Quang, Dr. Zoltán Tóth, Dr. Éva Várallyay, Dr. Lola Virág Kiss (Dr. Miklós Sárospataki's research group), Prof. Dr. Béla Urbányi, Prof. Dr. Lóránt Dénes Dávid and Prof. Dr. Tamás Csörgő gave colourful presentations on the main research activities of their research groups.

After the coffee break, the participants collected ideas for interdisciplinary and high-impact publication collaborations on flipcharts, which are well suited to the priority research topics of our University and which could be used for the publication of potentially high-cited joint review papers and for further increasing the international scientific visibility of our University.

At the end of the day, the group, led by Mihály Jancsó and Ágnes Kun, visited the main attractions of Szarvas, and then continued to build professional contacts over a convivial dinner and informal discussion.

We started the second day with a presentation by Professor Zoltán Lakner entitled "Tips and tricks for summary statement". The workshop continued in groups based on the research topics identified on the first day. The working groups formed around the jointly defined interdisciplinary themes developed a plan for the detailed elaboration of the chosen theme and the preparation of a corresponding publication. In the final session, preceding the closing keynote address, the newly formed working groups presented and discussed with the other participants their plans for collaborative interdisciplinary research. Comprehensive studies highlighting the leading role of our University in the field of agriculture and its high scientific excellence are expected to be published next year. The working groups will next have the opportunity to discuss their progress in person at the December REP-workshop, in addition to the possibility of ongoing consultations.  

The autumn workshop ended with a visit to the fish pond and irrigation experiment under the auspices of the Research Center for Fisheries and Aquaculture (HAKI) in Annaliget and the Arboretum of Szarvas. The occasion was an excellent opportunity to learn about the research infrastructure of our University in Szarvas and to socialise in a more informal way.