Events

The final meeting of this year's Flagship Research Groups and Research Excellence Programmes, which were launched for the first time this year, took place on 16 December at the Szent István Campus in Gödöllő. 

On 16 December, the members of the Research Excellence (REP) and Flagship Research Group (FRG) Programmes launched at the University in February and May 2024, participated for the fifth and last time in a professional meeting. The focus of the event was to learn about national science policy, to summarise the experience of the launching of the programmes, and to exchange experiences, raise and discuss issues.

At the opening of the event, Dr. Zoltán Kovács, Head of the Research Excellence and Flagship Research Groups Programmes and Rector for Science Strategy, thanked the members of the groups for their conscientious work throughout the year, which has marked the year 2024. The plenary speaker of the programme, Dr. István Szabó, Deputy CEO of the HUN-REN Centre for Strategy and Innovation and Associate Professor at MATE, joined the event online. In his presentation, he highlighted that between 2010 and 2022, the number of researchers in Hungary increased by 114%, which means that there are now nearly 6 500 researchers per million people. This makes Hungary the third fastest growing member of the European Union. In the same way, doctoral programmes are becoming increasingly popular, with more and more foreign students studying for Hungarian doctorates. 

Dr. István Szabó also spoke about the triple objective of science, research and innovation, underlining that it is not a hidden goal for Hungary to have new Nobel laureates who will be recognised and become role models from Hungary. The aim is also to find answers to the challenges of our time through research and innovation, and to provide professional support for the export-oriented and competitive Hungarian business sector. He also spoke about international and Hungarian science strategy, highlighting the main trends in science policy. 

The plenary presentation was followed by a wide-ranging executive summary presentation. Dr. Zoltán Kovács presented the key performance characteristics of REP (KKP) and FRGP (KKCs) members in 2024 in relation to the overall performance of MATE, emphasising their key role in the international visibility and recognition of our University. The last professional topic of the December meeting was a short summary of the interdisciplinary publication working groups formed at the workshop in Szarvas. This included a presentation by one of the members of the groups to give an insight into the progress of the collaborative work of the groups on the current "hot" topics. Our colleagues are working on review and/or meta-analysis articles along the following themes:   

1. The value and evaluation of products from regenerative agriculture from a consumer perspective, lead and presented by Dr. Lola Virág Kiss 
2. The impact of LED lighting environments on tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum), lead and presented by Dr. László Sipos   
3. Responses to biotic factors under the influence of climate change, lead and presented by Dr. Ákos Mendel 
4. Agricultural engineering research for the complex use of biomass, research supporting the development of a circular economy with innovative solutions, lead and presented by Dr. Tamás Kocsis 
5. Application of agro-waste in a targeted (F2P) approach for bioplastics research and production, lead by Dr. Nguyen Duc Quang, presented by Dr. László Zsidai   
6. Plastic and adaptive demographic responses to constraints on the physiological processes of a short-lived perennial plant, lead and presented by Dr. Anna Mária Csergő 
7. Optimal utilisation of the agricultural production potential of post-war Ukraine, lead by Dr. Zoltán Lakner, presented by Dr. András Székács 

Text and photos: Media Center