The Smart Hungary exhibition was originally created by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office for the World Science Forum, an internationally acclaimed biannual conference, held in November 2015 in Budapest. Attended by around 500 conference participants (representatives of the world’s leading scientific centres, Nobel Prize laureates and decision-makers responsible for science policy and funding), the exhibition was on view in the Castle Garden Bazaar and illustrated the success stories of Hungarian innovation from the glorious past to today’s exciting new trends, including internationally renowned Hungarian scientists and their present day followers. In front of the exhibition panels, the recent innovations were presented personally by their inventors, researchers and developers.

“It is the responsibility of scientists not only to investigate the global challenges facing the world but also to offer possible responses to them” – József Pálinkás, President of the NRDI Office said at the opening ceremony.

For long centuries, Hungarian scientists have pioneered the efforts to understand the world surrounding us, continuously coming up with new inventions. Their ideas and solutions are widely used all over the world; they have become part of everyday life. Ignác Semmelweis’ solution for the problem of hand hygiene was washing hands with chlorinated lime solutions; today’s developers propose “hand in scan”. László Bíró came up with the idea of the ballpoint pen; Leonar3do developers propose an “integrated virtual reality”.

There are ample examples of past and more recent Hungarian solutions for similar problems which are highlighted in pairs within the exhibition. Inventors of these paraleled ideas are often decades or even centuries away from each other but they are closely connected by the innovative spirit, the eagerness to come up with newer and newer solutions.

The success of the Smart Hungary exhibition at the World Science Forum back in 2015 encouraged the NRDI Office to present the collection at other important scientific events and meetings in the form of a travelling exhibition. The installations of the exhibition were created by innovative Hungarian businesses. The exhibition panels were produced from recycled cardboard by Terbe Design, a small Hungarian enterprise.

This way, the exhibition remains open to the public on the venues and dates announced by the NRDI Office in its website updates.

Information brochure of Smart Hungary exhibition: Smart Hungary - Scientists, inventors, innovators PDF (4 625 KB)

Further information: Communications Unit, NRDI Office