The János Neumann program aims to involve as many young talents as possible in research and development.Continue reading
Within the framework of the Neumann János Program, we will renew and strengthen doctoral programs at Hungarian universities, announced the Secretary of State for Higher Education and Innovation of the Ministry of Culture and Innovation at a press conference held at Óbuda University.
Our goal is that by 2030, Hungary should be among the top ten innovators in Europe and among the top twenty-five innovators in the world, which is why we have created the Neumann János Program, setting out nine measures, including the strengthening of doctoral training and the linking of universities and the economy, Balázs Hankó stressed.
Now there are six thousand researchers and developers per one million inhabitants, and the aim is to increase this to nine thousand by 2030. He added that the number of patents should be doubled, such as the innovation capacity of Hungarian companies.
The need for research and development, patents, and innovators is clearly pointing in the direction of doctoral students and doctoral training,
the State Secretary emphasized.
He said that scholarships would be extended with the New National Excellence Program, which has a budget of HUF 3.5 billion (EUR 94 million), providing HUF 100,000 to 200,000 (EUR 269-538) a month for excellent doctoral students. In addition,
the scholarships can be supplemented by the expanding resources of universities in the changed model, church and state-run institutions,”
he added.
“We are linking universities and companies,” continued Hankó. “In addition to scientific publications, a patent is also worth a doctorate.” For this purpose, HUF 5.1 billion (EUR 140 million) is available under the Cooperative Doctoral Program;
if a student working in a company also completes a doctorate, this could mean a HUF 400,000 (EUR 1076) scholarship,
he added.
If a young person working for a company is also studying for a doctorate, the student is entitled to a social contribution tax refund of HUF 60,000 (EUR 161) per month, the State Secretary said. He added that if a student working for business participates in a self-financed doctoral program, the state will cover half the cost, and noted that “we encourage companies to cover the other half.”
Hankó also reported that doctoral programs are being expanded, mainly in the fields of technology, natural sciences, engineering, informatics, agriculture, medicine, and health.
Zoltán Benyó, President of the Doctoral Council, said that
the economic and intellectual development of the country depends primarily on the development of science and scientific performance, and the growth of doctoral trainings will help to achieve this.
“A very large part of scientific achievements come from our doctoral students, who should therefore be supported in every way to improve working conditions and to ensure a better living,” the President of the Doctoral Council stressed.
Dániel Molnár, President of the National Association of Doctoral Students, explained that in addition to their advocacy activities, they also consider it their task to bring together doctoral students, to organize a community, and to integrate foreign students.
We are in close contact with the doctoral council and are jointly submitting our proposals to the ministry,” he said. He stressed that
their aim is to make doctoral training attractive. At present, more than 10,000 students are studying at the highest level of training, i.e. doctoral studies.
He also said that a scholarship monitoring system would be launched to provide students with up-to-date information on which institutions offer additional scholarships.
Via MTI, Featured photo via Facebook/Óbudai Egyetem
