Claims for funding exceeded nearly three times the HUF 20 billion (EUR 65.5 million) budget of the call supporting RDI activities of SMEs and large companies from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund, the submission deadline of which expired on 15 May. More than 90% of the proposers applying for non-refundable grants of HUF 100 to 600 million (EUR 0.3 to 1.9 million) for their projects, falls into the category of small or medium size companies.

The Commission revealed strategic directions for FP9, the 9th EU research and innovation framework programme known as Horizon Europe, to be launched in 2021. Hundreds of programmes and actions fostering innovation have been funded or will be announced until 2020 from the EUR 80 billion budget of the currently running Horizon 2020 framework programme. The interim evaluation of this and also position papers made by the individual Member States, such as the Hungarian one presented by the NRDI Office, served as basis of the draft that now communicates main headlines.   

In order to provide full range of information to businesses the NRDI Office calls attention to the fact that Hungarian businesses continue to have multiple sources of funding available for their innovative projects. Though several articles published today warn that the deadlines of two calls for proposals are the last opportunity to win funding, the number of calls for proposals open for projects of SMEs in the area of innovation is significantly higher, and new calls are expected to be published in the near future. 

Every two years Science on Stage Europe organises Europe’s biggest science teaching festival. Teachers from all over Europe exchange their ideas, projects and methods at stands, in workshops and on stage. The ultimate goal of Science on Stage is to improve science teaching thereby promoting a more scientifically literate population, and encouraging more schoolchildren to consider a career in science or engineering The festival, hosted every two years in a different country, is the culmination of national events in the participating countries.

An international collaboration of scientists achieved a breakthrough in the therapeutic options for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), one of the most common types of leukemia in adults. We interviewed Dr. György Miklós Keserű, principal investigator of the research launched in 2015 with Hungarian participation and financed by the NRDI Office, about the background, significance and findings of the research, as well as about the chances of curing one of the worst forms of leukemia.