At the initiative of President Balázs Gulyás, the comprehensive assessment of HUN-REN's 49 research institutes was launched in January 2024 with the involvement of internationally recognised researchers. The process, spanning several months, will be repeated every few years following international standards. The first institutes to undergo assessment belong to the field of life sciences, and the evaluation committees include Professor Bertil Andersson, former President of Nanyang Technological University, who, for about 20 years, including a period as the Chair of the Nobel Committee in Chemistry, was involved in the selection of Nobel laureates in Chemistry; Professor Ole Petter Ottersen, former President of the Karolinska Institute, one of the world's leading medical research centres and universities; and Professor Ole Holger Petersen, the former Vice President of the Royal Society, which serves as a model for the entire world, and the former Vice President of the Academia Europaea.
The President has set strengthening the scientific and innovation capabilities of HUN-REN in international competition and enhancing its social, economic, and intellectual impact by integrating research and innovation results into the value chain as priority tasks. To accomplish these tasks, the development of a new research strategy is necessary, which will be developed based on the initial evaluation. The aim is to provide an unbiased and candid assessment of the standing of HUN-REN's research institutes in the global competition and identify potential breakthrough points. This process will be repeated every few years following international standards.
Building on the results of the first evaluation, and by incorporating international best practices and examples, a new research strategy that supports the defined objectives will be developed in collaboration with the research institutions. This ensures that HUN-REN, as the flagship of the John von Neumann Programme (Neumann János Program) announced by the government, contributes to the improvement of the country's international position in scientific and innovative performance, in alignment with the program's strategy. The goal is for Hungary to rank among the top 25 innovators in the world and the top 10 in Europe by 2030.