This year marks the 32nd time that the best domestic innovation achievements will be recognised, but the 2023 Innovation Awards will also take new criteria into account. In addition to the 2023 Hungarian Innovation Grand Prix, separate Energy and Environment prizes will also be awarded in cooperation with the Ministry of Energy. Highest economic and social benefit will continue to be the most important criterion in the evaluation of applications, but the evaluators will also consider the aspects of environment and sustainability to a significant extent! Deadline for the applications: 5 February 2024
At the request of the Hungarian Association for Innovation, a jury of 30 scientists and business leaders has awarded the Innovation Grand Prix awards every year since 1993. This is the 32nd time the Association has launched the competition. Of the 1416 applications received in the last thirty-one calls, 1239 were successful innovations and 240 of the best received various innovation awards, making up the Hungarian Innovation Club, the “elite” of Hungarian innovation.
Dr János Pakucs, Honorary President of MISZ, explained that innovation is a way of thinking, a leadership attitude, which gives the opportunity for creativity to flourish. Innovation is the meeting of creativity and capital. Creativity is the meeting of thought and action. The mission of the Hungarian Association for Innovation is that innovation is the most important prerequisite for economic growth. The Hungarian Innovation Grand Prix, launched thirty-one years ago, seeks the greatest or most significant innovation achievement based on a complex evaluation. The competition is open to companies and organisations registered in Hungary that have achieved outstanding innovation performance and significant business success with a new product, process or service.
János Csák, Minister of Culture and Innovation, gave a presentation on the support of the Ministry of Culture and Innovation. On the announcement of the call, he stressed that there can be no innovation without nurturing the next generation, because in a good company there is a master-disciple relationship, and when the disciple grows up, this relationship turns into a partnership and eventually the disciple becomes a master. The Minister of Culture and Innovation considers it important to create a climate for innovation and to increase domestic added value. He stressed the need to be robust and thus to support the development of economic scale, merger and consolidation of companies. If a world-class Hungarian product is born, the state should support it and ensure its market access. In his speech, the Minister praised the dedicated work of the Hungarian Association for Innovation that has been working for the Hungarian innovation ecosystem and Hungarian companies for more than 30 years.
The panel discussion at the mini-conference “Corporate innovation activity in 2023” was moderated by Professor Dr Gábor Szabó, President of MISZ. The discussion was attended by László Bódis, Deputy Secretary of State for Innovation, who is, as of today, also the CEO of the National Innovation Agency, and the co-chair of the Grand Prix jury, Gergő Bagaméry, Director of Mediso Kft., winner of the 2006, 2010 and 2022 Grand Prix, Gábor Szilágyi, CEO of AGM Beton Zrt., winner of the 2022 Industry and HIPO (Hungarian Intellectual Property Office) Innovation Award and Dr Zsolt Lőrincz, Managing Director of TargetEx Kft., winner of the 2022 Innovation Award “From Basic Research to Market” of the National Research and Innovation Office.
Dr Anikó Raisz, Secretary of State for Environment and Circular Economy, spoke about the two prizes offered by the Ministry of Energy, followed by Szabolcs Farkas, President of the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office, who shared his thoughts on innovation and the HIPO’s role in the Hungarian Innovation Grand Prix call. On behalf of the Ministry of Economic Development, Szabolcs Szolnoki, Deputy Secretary of State for Technology, and on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture, Dr Gabriella Kapitány, Head of Department welcomed the participants.
Dr László Lengyel, Vice President of the NRDI Office, emphasized in his closing speech that the Hungarian Innovation Grand Prix call recognizes and introduces the most significant innovation achievements to the public.
The winner of the 2023 Hungarian Innovation Grand Prix will receive a bronze statuette and a substantial cash prize. Other innovation award winners will also be rewarded. In addition to the Hungarian Innovation Grand Prix, the Industrial Innovation and IT Innovation Awards of the Ministry of Economic Development, the “From Basic Research to Market” Innovation Award of the National Research, Development and Innovation Office, the Agricultural Innovation Award of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Environment and Energy Innovation Award of the Ministry of Energy, the Innovation Award of the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office and the Startup Innovation Award of the MISZ will also be awarded.
In keeping with tradition, the awards will be presented at a public ceremony in the Upper House of the Parliament at the end of March 2024.
For the details of the 2023 call, please visit the website of the Hungarian Association for Innovation at https://www.innovacio.hu/nagydij_felhivas.php
Source: Hungarian Association for Innovation (MISZ)
