Page 8 - Roadmap

MOMENTUM OF INNOVATION

Scientific discoveries, extension of knowledge

Research infrastructures represent the nodes of state-of-the-art world-class research at national, European and global
level. They enable researchers to examine various materials, resources and data and draw conclusions in an internationally
outstanding, unique technological environment. With RIs researchers can access infrastructures that would not otherwise
be available to them, facilitating a creative work that can further extend our knowledge of the world. RIs have contributed
to many major scientific discoveries. Effectively operating RIs attract outstanding scientists from around the world, further
strengthening and expanding the network of research communities. Therefore, one of the main roles of RIs is to concentrate
research capacities, expand research knowledge both in terms of quality and quantity, and answer challenging questions.
In order to make domestic research effective and globally successful, it is essential to ensure that Hungary participates in
international and EU research infrastructures.

RI quality determines the level of international scientific competitiveness of the country

he scientific and technological quality of research infrastructures available in a country and the embeddedness of domestic
research communities into European and international scientific life largely determine the country’s international scientific
competitiveness. Accordingly, the European Union also considers the development of research infrastructures a strategic
priority. Increased and globalisation fundamentally affects society, business operation and business models, as well as re-
search capacities. The external changes triggered an increasing demand for more open RIs. The appreciation of knowledge,
as a dominant trend in the world economy, forecasts the importance of knowledge-sharing both within the research com-
munity and between the business sector and the academic world. One of the possible channels of knowledge-sharing might
be RIs and the researcher networks around upon them.

The reinforcement of human research capacities

As a further advantage, research infrastructures provide a great opportunity for domestic researchers for high quality
professional development. They facilitate access to international networks and support multidisciplinary cooperation.
They also offer unrivalled opportunities to domestic researchers in different circumstances. Thus, research infrastructures
also contribute to the recognition of the research career and improve the social acknowledgement of researchers.

Strengthening cooperation and networking between researchers and research groups

Besides the socio-economic effects, digitisation also fundamentally influences research. Advances in digital technology
have made it unpredictably easy to share knowledge and to store and freely access research information. Also, research is
becoming increasingly multidisciplinary: many scientific problems require collaboration between scientific fields, which
forces researchers to work together and join networks. Adaptation to these changed circumstances and the increased in-
ternationalisation of science are key to maintain and improve the competitiveness of the domestic research community.
European and international RIs play a pivotal role in this.

Sharing knowledge between the research community and the business sector

As another crucial role, RIs try to bridge the gap between the academia and the industry. Scientifically sound, econom-
ically and socially beneficial innovation can only be achieved through close professional cooperation between the business
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