In the 2020/2021 competition of the Hungarian Association for Innovation, 4 first, 4 second and 3 third place winners were awarded, 11 entries received high commendation, 44 other entries received commendation, and the talent management activities of teachers and secondary schools were also recognised.

Katalin Novák, Minister without Portfolio for Family Affairs, stressed in her welcome speech that the National Talent Programme also supports young talented people in Hungary, with HUF 3.6 billion from the central budget and from personal income tax donations this year, and HUF 4.2 billion next year, reaching 350,000 students annually.

The Minister underlined that as part of the programme, the Stipendium Peregrinum scholarship supports young talents to study abroad. This scholarship opportunity has been announced for the second time this year, applications are now closed and a high-level jury will decide on the scholarship winners.

Katalin Novák also said that innovation is also the basis of competitiveness. Contrary to expectations, the competitiveness of the European Union has not increased recently, but Hungary is a leader in innovation capacity. This is Hungary’s way of preserving and improving its competitiveness and contributing to the EU's competitiveness.

János Pakucs, Honorary President of the Hungarian Association for Innovation and chairman of the organising committee, said that the European Union has officially organised the Contest for Young Scientists since 1988, with the aim of promoting cooperation between young scientists aged 14-19 and contributing to the development of promising young talents. The final was first held in Brussels in 1989, and since then students have been hosted by one European country at a time.

With the organisation of the 1st National Youth Science and Innovation Contest in 1991/92, Hungary had the opportunity to be the first country in Central and Eastern Europe to join the EU’s series of competitions. Thanks to the excellent performance of Hungarian young people, the Youth Science and Innovation Talent Contest has become a full member of the European series since 1995. Hungarian youngsters are very successful in European and world competitions, János Pakucs added.

László Jakab, Professor of BME Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, chairman of the jury, said that the 2020/2021 competition received a record 140 applications, 13 of which were from young Hungarians living in the neighbouring countries. The jury admitted and recommended for further elaboration 82 proposals, of which 68 were completed by the 1 April deadline. The evaluation was also an attempt to select young Hungarian talents who would compete in world competitions.

This year’s first prize was awarded to Gábor Gergő Balázs from János Bolyai Grammar School in Ócsa for his work on astronomy; Erik Seitz from Pannonhalma Benedictine Grammar School for his research into a new model for use in the pharmaceutical industry; Boglárka Ecsedi from Bocskai István Grammar School in Hajdúböszörmény for her work on optimising the operation of artificial neural networks; and János Radó from Berzsenyi Dániel Grammar School in Budapest for his digital pen project.

András Zoltán Ravasz, a student of the Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Lyceum, won the best cross-border applicant scholarship of the Hungarian Association for Innovation with his Braille Comfort Pack application, which was one of the runners-up in the competition.

The Hungarian Association for Innovation stated that this year Hungary will be represented by three first-place entries in the final of the EU Contest for Young Scientists, which will be held online by the University of Salamanca between 17-19 September, and the postponed final of last year's competition will be held in a separate section, where the winners of the 2019-2020 competition will compete with their projects.

The first, second and third place winners received a one-year scholarship and 100 extra points for university admission.

The 30th Youth Science and Innovation Talent Search Competition was announced on 1 October 2020 by the Hungarian Association for Innovation with the main support of the National Research,

Development and Innovation (NRDI) Office from the NRDI Fund, in cooperation with the Ministry for Innovation and Technology, the Ministry of Human Capacities and the M5 TV channel.

The main patrons of the competition are László Palkovics, Minister of Innovation and Technology, and Miklós Kásler, Minister of the Ministry of Human Capacities.

Companies and institutions also provided financial support for the preparation of the applications.

30 Youth Science and Innovation Talent Competition Awards Ceremony – 22 June 2021.

The 30th Youth Science and Innovation Talent Search Competition awards were presented on Tuesday at the headquarters of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

Source: MTI