Fields of astronomy and earth sciences, society, economy, history, archaeology, humanities and language
HUN-REN’s research centres, institutes and university research teams – HUN-REN Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences (HUN-REN CSFK), HUN-REN Research Centre for the Humanities (HUN-REN RCH), HUN-REN Centre for Economic and Regional Studies (HUN-REN CERS), HUN-REN Hungarian Research Centre for Linguistics (HUN-REN NYTK), HUN-REN Institute for Computer Science and Control (HUN-REN SZTAKI), HUN-REN Centre for Social Sciences (HUN-REN CSS), Military History Institute and Museum, University of Szeged and the Hungarian Medievalism Research Group of the Hungarian National Archives (HIM-SZTE-MNL Hungarian Medievalism Research Group) – are the most outstanding Hungarian centres in their field, working with highly experienced researchers. Therefore, they have a leading role in the analysis of social, economic and industrial challenges, in the foundation and elaboration of responses to these challenges, in the protection of the Hungarian and European culture and in the improvement of the quality of life.
Through the micro and macro level analysis of the conditions for economic growth both in the short and long term, the researchers at HUN-REN CERS aim to reveal how large distribution networks and associated policies can influence the sustainable development of the Hungarian economy by making company networks more innovative and effective; by helping them contribute to the replenishment of human resources at increasingly high levels; and by helping people break out of the poverty trap. HUN-REN SZTAKI is participating in an international consortium to create a new digital platform concept that supports a cyclical economic model that bridges the asymmetry of information present among stakeholders in the value chain.
The investigation of policy processes allows for the creation of methodologies to analyze the implementation of government policies, which is carried out in HUN-REN CSS’s Child Opportunities Research Group and the Research Centre for Family Studies. The data requirements of public policy research are made possible by building databases leveraging big data methods, which also rely on investigations into political and social context.
The qualitative and quantitative analysis of the ethnic/minority dimension of mobility is made possible by the research conducted at HUN-REN CSS on the culture, values and social networks of minorities within and outside the borders of Hungary. This survey reveals what people from the minority or majority population in Hungary or the neighboring countries and in the Western European diaspora think about nationhood and the different forms of social coexistence.
Within domestic and international collaborations, HUN-REN RCH is researching the past and culture of Hungarians. In line with the centre’s basic task of revealing and maintaining Hungarian cultural heritage and strengthening Hungarian identity, HUN-REN RCH is operating research groups both at the central and institute level to explore subjects fundamental to the national identity, while at the same time reflecting on the challenges of the present.
HUN-REN RCH’s Institute of Archaeology conducts research on the archaeological evidence of the past inhabitants of the Carpathian Basin and of the Magyars in the 8,000 years between the formation of the first food producing societies until the Early Modern Age. The Institute has become the most important laboratory for archaeogenetics in Hungary, where high profile researchers with strong international educational backgrounds and extensive sampling experience are conducting research in the field. HUN-REN RCH has extensive international relationships, including with the Harvard Medical School for example, and performs research that excels in Europe. In line with its mission to conduct basic research on the history of the Hungarian state and society, the HUN-REN RCH Institute of History publishes valuable sources and comprehensive books, sometimes in cooperation with HUN-REN-funded university research groups. The Institute’s interdisciplinary research groups deal with topics forming public opinion in Hungary, including the early history of the Magyars, the Battle of Mohács, the Siege of Szigetvár, family histories in Hungary and Europe, the Treaty of Trianon and its consequences, the Horthy era, the Soviet occupation, and the history of the Hungarian provinces in the 20th century.
One of the priority research areas of the Institute of Geology and Geochemistry (FGI) of the HUN-REN Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences is the geochemical aspects of archaeometry. This involves the analysis of artefacts using geochemical tools and approaches to determine the technologies of the period and the provenance of artefact material, as well as the geobioarcheological analysis of human remains to determine the diet and mobility of the past societies. The research is carried out in an interdisciplinary research collaboration with university institutes and the Institute of Archaeology and Archaeogenomics of the HUN-REN Research Centre for the Humanities. Research on migration, changing ethnic geography of the Carpathian Basin and changes in tourism (e.g. the impact of COVID-19) are of particular importance at the Institute of Geography of the HUN-REN CSFK.
The Institute of Ethnology, which performs research on Hungarian ethnography and ethnology, folkloristics, cultural and social anthropology, is currently working on the Lexicon of Folk Poetry. The comprehensive publications of this field of science are compiled in the Institute (Lexicon of Ethnography, Ethnographic Atlas, Hungarian Ethnography, folklore and genre catalogs). The institutes of HUN-REN RCH own collections considered to be national treasures, including the Bartók Archives and the Hungarian Music Archives of the 20th and 21st centuries. In addition, Ernő Dohnányi’s legacy is owned by the HUN-REN RCH Institute of Musicology, which also operates a museum. The Institute’s methods go back to the methodological traditions established by Zoltán Kodály and Bence Szabolcsi, and thus their work synthesizes research on historical music, folk music and folk dance. The digital collections of the Department for Folk Music and Folk Dance Research, and the Department of Early Music History are of great importance to Hungarian culture.
The HUN-REN RCH Institute of Art History maintains a database of the most important handbooks and bibliographies of Hungarian art history and of art on Hungarian topics. The Institute also owns a collection of photographs of significant works of art, artists and buildings. It manages the Collection of Art and the Psychiatric Art Collection of MTA.
In the field of historical research conducted by the supported research groups affiliated with HUN-REN, a significant result is the publication of the Archives of the Anjou and Sigismund Eras by two departments of the HIM-SZTE-MNL Research Group for Medievistics. The publication of these archives ensures the preservation of this important part of Hungarian cultural heritage and provides indispensable sources for investigation into the medieval Hungarian state and society, and for comparative history research in Central Europe. It also serves as a firm base for the publication of the archives from the Hunyadi Era and the period before the Battle of Mohács.
The strategically important tasks of the HUN-REN Hungarian Research Centre for Linguistics (HUN-REN NYTK) include the creation of language technology and healthcare applications, as well as the exploration of the past of the Hungarian language, which is one of the most important carriers of our culture, and also the listing and preservation of Hungarian written records.