As part of the HUN-REN Welcome Home and Foreign Researcher Recruitment Programme announced for the first time this year by the HUN-REN Secretariat, six Hungarian and one foreign researcher from the international elite will come to Hungary to form research groups at HUN-REN research sites to undertake their outstanding scientific projects as part of the winning proposals.
Among the researchers, four come from leading institutions in overseas countries: two from Stanford University, one from the New York University School of Medicine and Howard Hughes Medical Institute in the United States, and one from the Earthquake Research Institute of The University of Tokyo in Japan. Additionally, three researchers are transferring from prestigious European institutions: the Karelian Institute of the University of Eastern Finland in Finland, Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, and the Institut de Neurobiologie de la Méditerranée in France, to join HUN-REN.
According to Balázs Gulyás, President of HUN-REN, the success of this program demonstrates that Hungarian research has appeal and prospects as it has made it possible to bring to Hungary researchers with highly accomplished scientific results from some of the world's most prestigious institutions, with the majority of them being Hungarian. He emphasised that it is particularly important that the talented researchers joining HUN-REN are bringing research topics to Hungary from all three main scientific fields that hold substantial utilisation potential. Ensuring that both the Secretariat and research institutions collaborate in covering the expenses related to these researchers further reinforces their shared commitment to the initiative's success.
The Secretariat announced the HUN-REN Welcome Home and Foreign Researcher Recruitment Programme in March 2023, with the aim of engaging researchers, whether Hungarian citizens or foreign nationals working abroad, and bringing them to HUN-REN research institutions. These researchers, selected for their previous scientific achievements and commitment, are expected to have the capability to establish and lead a globally competitive research group during the program's five-year duration. The Secretariat allocates HUF 150 million annually to support the implementation of the winning projects.
The winning researchers have committed to residing in Hungary during the project's implementation period and, in addition to establishing an employment or other working relationship at an HUN-REN research institution, they will form a new research group or take over the leadership of an existing research group.
The decision of support was preceded by a comprehensive evaluation of the applications. Firstly, the HUN-REN Secretariat did a detailed scientific profile of the researchers included in the submitted applications, which were assessed by the subject-area members of the HUN-REN Scientific Council. Subsequently, the applications were also reviewed by the HUN-REN Governing Body, and their recommendation was presented to the President of HUN-REN for a final decision.
Details of the winning proposals can be found here on the HUN-REN Hungarian Research Network’s website.