The OTKA programme, which has been supporting Hungarian scientific research for almost four decades, continues from 2024 under the name of the National Research Excellence Programme (NKKP), renewed in line with the highest international standards. For this purpose, following last year’s allocation of HUF 13.5 billion, this year a significantly increased grant fund of HUF 19 billion is available, which exceeds the previous amount by over 40%. The distribution of these funds will be decided by the newly established Research Council of Hungary, led by Hungarian Nobel laureate physicist Ferenc Krausz, based on the recommendations of international professional evaluation committees. The primary aim of the renewal of the programme is to produce significantly more domestic scientific research results that are outstanding by international standards and have a significant social and intellectual impact.
János Csák, Minister of Culture and Innovation, underlined: “The John von Neumann Programme is a strategic package of measures designed to forge connections between universities, research institutions and the economy. In this, support for research excellence, which is greater, more focused and more consistent than ever before, plays a key role in ensuring that future Hungarian Nobel laureates can conduct their research under exceptional conditions.” The Minister added: “in addition to increasing the resources devoted to research, it is also necessary to make their use more efficient and performance-oriented, a task that is in the best possible hands with the professional body led by Nobel Prize winner Professor Krausz.”
Ferenc Krausz, President of the Research Council, highlighted: “The mission of the Research Council of Hungary is to develop attractive research careers for young, talented Hungarian researchers. This is a guarantee that we will not only succeed in retaining our most talented researchers in Hungary but also attract top researchers from around the world who have demonstrated their excellence abroad. The National Research Excellence Programme is a first, but crucial, element in achieving this goal. We will continue to work to create the most attractive environment for talent in our country.”
International ambitions will be helped by a significant increase not only in the budget, but also in the level of individual grants that can be awarded. While previously the maximum amount of funding available under the OTKA was HUF 48 million over 4 years, under the NKKP grants of between HUF 100 to 200 million are available for 2 to 4 years, depending on the sub-programme. It is important to note that although the new scheme will primarily support internationally competitive scientific excellence, and the submission and evaluation process will be in English, the possibility for so-called Hungarikum applications will also be maintained, ensuring that research important to Hungarian cultural heritage will also be eligible under the programme.
The National Research, Development and Innovation Office, which announces and implements the programme, continues to place great emphasis on ensuring that funded projects are carried out with the simplest possible administration and flexible cost accounting, in order to allow researchers to focus on their research. High-quality publication is an important requirement, so that the research results generated through the grant are not only known to a narrow professional group, but also become visible to the international scientific community and even the general public.
Source: Ministry of Culture and Innovation