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On Monday, Balázs Hankó, Minister of Culture and Innovation, began a multi-day visit to some of the leading American universities and innovation centers. On his first day, he visited Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Speaking to MTI about the overall aim of his talks, Balázs Hankó said it was about building cooperation and mapping good practice in the United States, as the visit will touch upon the world’s leading institutions such as MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Harvard, and Yale universities.
On the first day of talks, the Hungarian delegation visited Boston’s leading universities and innovation centers. The minister announced that
an agreement had been reached at MIT that the American institution and the HUN-REN Hungarian Research Network would participate in an international cooperation, where Hungarian and American partners would work together on a joint research team.
Hankó pointed out that among the negotiating partners was Irene Abrams, Vice President of Technology Development and New Ventures at Boston Children’s Hospital, with whom the discussion focused on the priority directions in the development of medical and health scientific research and innovation, building on the fact that the four major Hungarian medical universities have patient care capacities that can also support practical innovation.
The Hungarian government delegation also visited Harvard University’s Innovation Lab, which offers students, faculty, and researchers a space for collaboration, providing a pathway for the practical implementation of research-generated innovations in the form of start-up businesses. The minister revealed that
they had a discussion with well-known Hungarian researcher Albert László Barabási, who works in Boston, on the development of artificial intelligence and on the directions of research that can be localized in Hungary.
Boston is the cradle of American innovation because of the institutions that operate there, Hankó emphasized, adding that the visit was an opportunity to explore how universities can make the kind of innovation and educational progress that will put them among the world’s leading institutions, in light of the transformation of Hungarian universities.
Hankó also said that the aim of the multi-day visit was to showcase to U.S. partners the results of Hungary’s transformation in higher education and innovation in recent years, and to provide an opportunity to present Hungarian family policy.
On Tuesday, the minister will continue his visit to Yale University in Connecticut.
Via MTI, Featured photo via Wikipedia