József Pálinkás, President of the NRDI Office also gave a presentation at the event and joined the discussion with Professor Lee.

József Pálinkás’ speech was followed by the presentation of two Hungarian startups: Robotrainer, developing a training application of the control system designed for industrial robots, and Solar, working on floating solar cells and collectors. In an inspiring talk, Burton Lee and József Pálinkás discussed the advantages and development opportunities of both innovative business projects, encouraging the two startups to rely on domestic expertise and capacity in the technological development and production stages but have a global view when planning market expansion and investor relations. It was also mentioned that universities are a starting point for many business initiatives in Hungary, similarly to the Silicon Valley. In relation to the domestic programmes for the promotion of the startup and innovation ecosystem, Professor Lee explained that the US also has a diverse world of startups where San Francisco and New York plays a globally central role and to which many regions and cities seek to join, supported by a system of incentives both at federal and state level.

Given the high level of technological development today, the success of business innovation not only requires excellence in research and development, but also needs an encouraging environment and intense cooperation with research centres and successful businesses – pointed out József Pálinkás in his presentation.

Download József Pálinkás’ presentation from here: Research excellence inspiring smart innovation PDF (590 KB)

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