Several organisations deal with disseminating research and development results and informing society about innovation.
The National Office for Research and Technology (NKTH) works primarily for the exploitation of Hungarian research and development results, and the improvement of the innovation capacity of companies. In order to achieve these goals, the Office plays an active role in comprehensive communication of scientific achievements and motivation of such communication. With its events, publications and conferences, the Office strives to directly connect those interested in R&D and promotes forming of relations among them while, with its programmes, it contributes to the creation of scientific achievements and their communication.
This month, the traditional Hungarian Science Festival is on. As a part of the Festival, the Office and the Hungarian Club of Science Journalists (TÚK) are holding a conference on 28th November. The title of the conference is Science and Communication and its topics include the tools of promoting trustworthy and regular information campaigns and social and economic achievements of research and development and innovation.
Out of the programmes of the Office, it is worth mentioning Albert Apponnyi Programme that provides support for raising public awareness of technological innovation and research and development. The programme strives to promote organising conferences, exhibitions, preparing media and professional publications and professional awards directly related to innovation activities, including R&D.
With its distinguished past, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (HAS) is the largest scientific body in Hungary. Its primary aim is to carry out scientific activities, to disseminate scientific achievements, to support research and to represent Hungarian science. The Academy plays and important role in disseminating scientific achievements, organises prestigious events and honours awards.
Events:
World Science Forum: World Science Forum was set up with the support of UNESCO, ICSU and the EU. The first Forum was held in Budapest in 2003 on the relation of society and science. In 2005, the focus of the forum was knowledge, ethics and responsibility.
Hungarian Science Festival: 3rd November – the day when, in 1825, a Hungarian nobleman, István Széchenyi offered the total annual income of all his estates to establish a Hungarian Scientist Society, thus paving the way for establishing the Hungarian Academy of Sciences – was declared the day of the Hungarian Science Festival. Upon this occasion a great variety of events is held throughout Hungary in November.
MTA gives several scientific awards to prominent Hungarian scientists. Some of the most important awards include the Pro Scientia Hungarica Medal and the Science for Society Awards.
16th September 2002 marked the start of probably the most daring venture in the history of Hungarian popular science, under the title ENCOMPASS (Mindentudás Egyeteme). The Hungarian Academy of Sciences, with the support of Magyar Telekom and its subsidiary T-Online, organises lectures of renowned Hungarian scientists of diverse fields once a week. The scientists discuss the most topical issues of their fields with the audience. The lectures are broadcast on television, radio and the Internet. This is an exceptional programme since it helps making science available for all layers of society.
Hungarian Association for Innovation, as a professional and employer's advocacy organization, focuses its activities on the economy stimulating role of innovation. The association supports the dissemination of intellectual results with several services. It operates an Innovation Agency that helps registering and utilising new inventions, connecting potential partners, founding enterprises and involving venture capital and business angels and provides consultancy on business, marketing, financial, technological and legal issues. It also helps organising conferences, round-table discussions and exhibitions and supports participation in field trips. Besides, it provides information to member companies about news and events related to research and development and innovation in its biweekly newsletter.
An important support scheme of the association is the Hungarian Innovation Grand Prize. The annual Prize is given to a company registered in Hungary that implemented an important innovation the year before and realised significant profit on it.
Hungarian Scientific and Innovation Contest for Youth: in 1988 the European Union decided to take over the organisation of the contest for young scientists run by Philips since 1968. The aim of the European Union Contest for Young Scientists is to draw young people’s attention to science, technology and research and development.
The Hungarian Patent Office, as an independent national authority for intellectual property rights protection, offers a multitude of services for researchers and inventors to help them find their way. Its databases, national IPR-protection network, patent library and support schemes are all aimed at motivating the creation and preservation of intellectual property. Besides, they participate in organising important events such as the Hungarian Scientific and Innovation Contest for Youth, and honour awards such as the Hungarian Design Award.
Hungarian Design Award: In 2003, Hungarian Design Award replaced Industrial Design Award. The aim of the programme is to present and popularise the greatest achievements of Hungarian Design, to improve competitiveness of Hungarian products by means of design and to recognise prominent Hungarian designers.
The “House of the Future” Centre is a cultural centre that exhibits important cultural and technological assets of Hungary. The House of the Future is also the place to exhibit new technologies that influence and transform people’s life. A part of the House of the Future is the Palace of Miracles, an exhibition that makes the dream of the famous Hungarian physicist, József Öveges come true. His dream was to present scientific achievements to people in a clear and playful way. The centre hosts many science and popular science exhibitions as well as events like Researchers’ Night and the Hungarian Science Festival.
Researchers’ Night is a successful European level initiative that contributes to popularising research and making researchers’ job more attractive with an all-day-long scientific-entertainment programme on 28 September each year.
Other important science awards and contests:
Bolyai Award: Named after János Bolyai, the internationally acclaimed Hungarian mathematician, the Bolyai Award was established in 1998. The Award, which was honoured in 2000 for the first time, is not linked to any particular field of science. The Award may be given in every second year to a Hungarian citizen or a person of Hungarian origin who has made an internationally recognised achievement in research and development or the education of young generations or in the social or economical exploitation of such achievements. The president of the independent committee that decides about the winners of the Bolyai Award is the President of the Hungarian Republic. Its members are prominent representatives of Hungarian science.
Founders of the Award, important figures of Hungary’s economy, believe that “on the eve of the 21st century, there is no socially and economically competitive Hungary without science and scientists. The founders are convinced that knowledge, science and scientists must be elevated to the place they deserve in terms of values and social recognition.”
Dennis Gabor Award: The Award was named after the Hungarian inventor of holography, the founder of the Rome Club, one of the greatest humanist philosophers of the 20th century, and the winner of the 1971 Nobel Prize. As an engineer, Mr Gabor never lost touch with practice but reached levels of theoretic science that are exemplary for those working in the technical field. The aim of the Award is to give due recognition to professionals who create outstanding intellectual value and translate it into practice.
Professor Rátz Life Achievement Award: The Award was named after László Rátz, one of the outstanding teachers of the 20th century both in the pedagogical and the scientific sense. He considered his job the most important thing in life. He gave extra lessons to talented students. His students included the mathematical genius, John von Neumann and the Nobel-laureate physicist, Eugene Wigner. The Award is given annually by the board of trustees of the Foundation for Hungarian Scientific Education established by Graphisoft R&D Rt., Ericsson Magyarország Kft. and Richter Gedeon. Rt. The Award is given to secondary school teachers who play a significant role in the education of mathematics, physics and chemistry, subjects related to the activities of the founders. On 31 October this year, the Awards were honoured for the sixth time.
For successful innovation it is crucial that R&D performer institutions and other stakeholders such as researchers and investors cooperate and form an adequately operating system. The media, in turn, have an important role in disseminating innovation results.
Thus, talking about successful innovation, the question arises how entrepreneurs can utilise opportunities that come along with the attention of the media and how this attention can influence developing technologies, markets and industries. Today, news providers do not face the difficulties they have had in the early days, as there is no extra cost to reaching broad target audiences and providing an increasing amount of news.
With the spread of the Internet, a comprehensive knowledge about various fields of Hungarian and international science are available for the public. This process has a positive impact on scientific journalism. Scientific journalist can reach a greater audience and can exert bigger influence than ever before.
Though internet news portals and economic dailies and weeklies inform people about research and development in their science columns, still there are too few places where one can read about science and innovation related news. There are scientific journals and more and more international magazines are available in Hungary such as National Geographic or Geo but still, scientific news service is undervalued.
Only a handful of television and radio channels have scientific programmes such as Delta on MTV or Heuréka on Duna Tv, Hungarian national and satellite public service channels, respectively.
Delta, Science magazine: A popular science programme of the Hungarian public service television channel, which combines the good traditions of popular science with dynamism. The programme strives to popularise events of science and technology using Hungarian and international short documentaries.
Heuréka!: A programme of Duna Televízió, Heuréka-megtaláltam (Eureka – I’ve found it) is a quality popular science magazine that presents the diverse fields of science, technology, innovation, research and development and education while gives an opportunity to prominent scientists, teachers and education institutions to introduce themselves.
Disseminating achievements of research and development and innovation and making them available for the public is essential in order to maintain the competitiveness of the economy. R&D&I communication is still at an early stage in Hungary but it is steadily developing. The most important step in this process is an increasingly closer cooperation between researchers and the representatives of the economy and the media, which ensures dissemination and utilisation of information.
“Innovation is more than an effective R&D activity. Only those results of research and development may be considered successful innovations which are actually realized and are beneficial for those who create, use and apply it.” / Dennis Gabor: Találjuk fel a jövőt (Inventing the Future), 1963/
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