Levente and AI masters courses are coming
Next year, the country’s first masters courses in Artificial Intelligence will be launched in the country’s universities specialising in computer science, with a harmonised curriculum and requirements system, announced Charaf Hassan, the rector of BME, at a conference on 24 September. The central theme of the event, organised by the Hungarian Project Management Association and the National Research, Development and Innovation Office, was the relationship between public administration and AI. The event also discussed the expected capabilities of the Levente supercomputer.
Digital transformation, including the use of AI, is one of the most important issues of our time, with a major impact on the economy and public administration. This was the theme of the professional conference held on 24 September. The conference was jointly organised by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NRDI Office) and the Hungarian Project Management Association (PMSZ). The event took place at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME), where leading representatives of the industry discussed issues related to the digital future. Speakers included the heads of the Ministry of Culture and Innovation (KIM), the NRDI Office, the Hungarian Tax Administration (NAV), BME, the Artificial Intelligence Coalition and the HUN-REN Hungarian Research Network, while the business sector was represented by consultants from Deloitte and Stradamus.
The event highlighted that the digital transformation of the economy and the increasing use of AI will be a priority in the allocation of both domestic and European funding. The conference showed how the state can encourage economic actors to use AI and how AI can increase the efficiency of public administration. The event also drew attention to the fact that there are many opportunities for Hungary in this field.
Latest announcement: AI masters courses are coming
The conference was opened by Charaf Hassan, Rector of BME in Building Q of the host university. In his opening speech, he highlighted that negotiations between universities have recently been concluded, as a result of which almost all IT higher education institutions in the country are launching masters programmes in AI with a harmonised curriculum and requirements.
Some institutions will launch these new courses as early as February 2025, others in September next year, working closely with industry. A micro-certificate scheme will also be introduced, under which those who complete shorter courses can obtain a state-recognised certificate, for example in digital skills or even a shorter basic course in Artificial Intelligence. For those who go on to further study, these micro-certificates will be worth credits in higher education in a related subject.
A focused and effective AI strategy is needed
Almost all speakers stressed that the role of the state is to strengthen cooperation. They stressed that the state itself is a relatively new player in the use of AI, so it is worth working with both universities and business experts and consultants to ensure that the country’s digitalisation strategy, especially in the field of AI, is focused and effective.
This is particularly important in a critical area like AI, as currently only 3% of people in Hungary actively use AI, compared to 7% in the EU. “While neither of these figures is high, both need to be improved,” the event was told.
Speakers at the conference shed light on the role of Artificial Intelligence in the functioning of the state and in the daily life of public administration from a variety of perspectives. This helps not only citizens, but also businesses, entrepreneurs and experts in the field.
The state should actively support the ecosystem and create markets
It was said that the state could also use AI-enabled IT solutions in a number of areas in its own operations. Several contributors and experts supported the idea that the state could play an open innovation role in promoting the uptake of AI, following successful international examples. This would mean that the state and its research institutes and agencies could also act as a customer for the business sector, especially when it comes to testing or implementing AI systems.
AI has been around for decades, but it’s really taking off now
An expert speaker from BME also highlighted that Artificial Intelligence is not a development of the last one or two years, but a discipline that has been around for decades, and its achievements are greatly influenced by the amount of data available in the field of implementation and application. Although anonymisation of data is essential (just think of the EU GDPR rules), in many respects the largest amount of data is mostly available in the public and municipal sectors, which should be made available in some sort of orderly form, either to the domestic research network, universities or businesses contracting with the state. This can create the basis for the development chain needed to build a strong AI ecosystem in Hungary.
Not only digitisation, but also a much more active and widespread use of AI to increase competitiveness will be supported by, among others, the NRDI Office’s funding system, in line with the objectives of the John von Neumann Programme, which focuses on digitisation. In addition, the HUN-REN Hungarian Research Network is also actively involved in the developments, which consciously applies the latest results of Artificial Intelligence in a wide range of research areas, and through a recent initiative called AI 4 Science, they are building a focused professional community – emphasized Roland Jakab, CEO of HUN-REN. HUN-REN also manages a national, centrally funded research network comprising 11 research centres, 7 research institutes and 116 funded research groups.
The way is clear for Levente, the 5-6 times faster supercomputer
The 5 petaflops Komondor supercomputer, which went into operation in early 2023, will soon be followed by a new domestic supercomputer, Levente, which will be 5-6 times more powerful than its predecessor. The project would be carried out at the Wigner Research Centre for Physics in Csillebérc under the EuroHPC JU programme. Once built, the supercomputer will not only be used by Hungarian researchers or university labs, but will also be available to Hungarian SMEs and start-ups, for example to develop and test AI models in a wide range of scientific fields.
At the closing roundtable discussion of the conference, which addressed current issues, speakers also made it clear that AI will play a very important role in the country’s future digital leap forward. Public and business partnerships, strengthening the open innovation role of the state, and improving the available infrastructure can all contribute to Hungary’s success in taking the lead again in AI-based innovation.
Budapest, 27 September 2024