As in the past two years, substantial funds are available for businesses from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund in 2018, totalling at HUF 30 billion (EUR 98 million). Two other funding schemes with a total budget of HUF 31 billion (EUR 101.5 million) aim to stimulate research-industry cooperation to ensure that research results end up in innovative marketable products and technologies in fields such as artificial intelligence, protein research and clean water.

Available resources support projects proposing the study of natural and social phenomena and establishing new methods and procedures as well as programmes to boost the scientific career of young researchers and to start international research projects. In order to secure conditions of preparing better scientific proposals, the National Research, Development and Innovation Office published the calls earlier than usual.

Surpassing disbursements of in 2016, last year HUF 83.3 billion (EUR 273 million) in funding was disbursed from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund to domestic businesses and research centres, and for international RDI cooperation projects and access to research infrastructures. More than 41% of this was received by domestic businesses, and 30% by university and academic research centres.

A recent report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) on ultrafast lasers recommends the European programme of Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI), a pillar of which is based in Szeged, Hungary, to the attention of the US government as an example to learn from. They say “the second laser revolution” is being done outside the US: the total peak power for operational, under construction, and proposed high power laser facilities in Europe is five times more than in the US or Asia.

The National Research, Development and Innovation Office in collaboration with the Research Council of Norway is organising a set of measures to enhance collaboration and exchange knowledge between research organisations in Hungary and Norway. The “Future Research Challenges” conference will bring together Hungarian and Norwegian research centres of excellence1 to share recent research activities and exchange views on future directions, in areas as health, environment, society, technologies and beyond.