Call for proposals for awarding the HUN-REN Prize 2025

The HUN-REN Prize (hereinafter: Prize), established by the Governing Board of the HUN-REN Hungarian Research Network Headquarters (hereinafter: HUN-REN HQ) aims to ensure the further increase of HUN-REN Hungarian Research Network's (hereinafter: HUN-REN) international and domestic recognition.

Purpose of awarding the Prize

The Prize was established to provide moral and financial recognition, primarily for the professional work of researchers from Hungary and abroad, working in research centres operating either as central budgetary institutions or business entities, independent research institutes and supported research groups, which are under the management of the HUN-REN HQ.

In the event of exceptional professional excellence, the Prize may also be awarded to a Hungarian or foreign researcher who is not working at a research site under the management of the HUN-REN HQ but, for example, at higher education institutions or other research sites cooperating with the HUN-REN HQ, or who is otherwise connected to HUN-REN.

Principles of awarding the Prize

The Prize may be awarded - irrespective of age - to any domestic or international researcher who is currently working or has previously worked at a research institution under the management of the HUN-REN HQ. Outstanding research achievements carried out at other domestic or international research organizations are not excluded from consideration either. In the case of researchers working at institutions outside the management of the HUN-REN HQ, candidates may be nominated by the President of HUN-REN, members of the Scientific Council, or members of the Governing Board.   

The Prize can be awarded to any researcher with an outstanding professional career, achievements, research results, patents, etc. of Hungarian and international reputation, the scientific value of which justifies the recognition. In the award process priority is given to any individual or research group achievement supported by the most relevant publications on the subject.

The Prize is awarded annually to one person and may not be awarded to the same person for a period of five years.

The nomination procedure and the formal requirements for the nomination

In the case of a researcher nominated for the Prize by a research centre or an independent research institute, the nomination documents – Annexes 1-3, the nominee’s CV, and the nominee’s certificate of legal status – shall be sent by the head of the research site to HUN-REN’s Department of Strategy and Monitoring (hereinafter: Department of Strategy and Monitoring) in the manner and by the date indicated in the call for proposals;

In the case of a researcher nominated for the Prize from a supported research group, the head of the research group shall forward all documentation to the Director of HUN-REN’s Office for Supported Research Groups, who will forward the documentation to the Department of Strategy and Monitoring in the manner and by the date indicated in the call for proposals.

In the case of a researcher nominated for the Prize from other Hungarian or foreign research sites or higher education institutions (not under the management of the HUN-REN HQ), the President of HUN-REN, a member of the Scientific Council or a member of the Governing Board shall submit the nomination and the consent form to process personal information (Annex 1 and 2) directly to the Department of Strategy and Monitoring in the manner and by the date indicated in the call for proposals.                                                                     

The following documents (Annex 1, 2 and 3) can be downloaded, filled from the website hun-ren.hu and must be signed and submitted in Pdf format for the nomination

1. the nominee’s completed data form and a statement of their achievements including outstanding career, achievements, excellent research results, patents, etc. (Annex 1: Data form for the nomination for the HUN-REN Prize);
2. the nominee’s declaration of consent to the processing of their personal data (Annex 2: Declaration of consent to the processing of personal data);
3. a statement by the head of the research site/ head of the supported research group (Annex 3: Statement of the head of the research site/head of the supported research group).

Please attach to the documentation (i) the nominee’s professional curriculum vitae (CV) signed in pdf format as well as in Word format, and in the case of nominees employed at a research institution under the management of the HUN-REN HQ, (ii) the certificate of legal employment status signed in pdf format.

The Department of Strategy and Monitoring reviews and compiles the submitted nominations and then forwards them to the HUN-REN Award Committee (hereinafter: Award Committee).

The evaluation procedure

The submitted proposals will be assessed by the Award Committee. The winner will be decided on by the Governing Board of HUN-REN HQ, based on the evaluation of the Award Committee, and may designate additional nominees in the event of a withdrawal. In the case of a substantive rejection of the nomination, there is no right of appeal.

Submission of the nomination

The nomination documents shall be submitted electronically to strategia@hun-ren.hu by 4 p.m. on 2 June 2025. The documents must also be posted in a hard copy to the following address until midnight the same day: HUN-REN HQ, Department of Strategy and Monitoring, 1241 Budapest, P.O. Box 39.

Sum and award of the Prize

The Prize carries an award of HUF 7 500 000 gross, i.e. seven million five hundred thousand Hungarian forints gross. The Prize and a certificate of honour will be presented to the winner by the President of HUN-REN at the award ceremony in December 2025.

The winner will be notified personally by the Department of Strategy and Monitoring. The name of the winner and the laudation of his or her work will be published on the website of the HUN-REN HQ and - in the case of a research institution under the management of the HUN-REN HQ - the research organization employing the winner.

Grounds for exclusion from winning the Prize

After the verification and compilation of the submitted nominations, the Department of Strategy and Monitoring shall reject, without substantive evaluation, all proposals submitted after the deadline specified in the call for proposals; and/or that do not meet the requirements of the call for proposals, and the defects and deficiencies of which cannot be corrected will be rejected without evaluation. The reason for the rejection must be stated and justified. If the nomination is rejected for its merits after evaluation, there is no right of appeal.

The nominee shall not win the Prize in cases where the nominee

• provides untrue, false or misleading information, data and/or statements that affects the decision-making process;
• does not give statements and declarations indicated in the call for proposal, or does not submit all the necessary documents, or withdraws previously given statements and declarations.

For further information on the nomination process, please contact the Department of Strategy and Monitoring at strategia@hun-ren.hu.

Budapest, 30 April 2025

Balázs Gulyás
President

Annexes:

1. Data form for the nomination for the HUN-REN Prize
2. Declaration of consent to the processing of personal data
3. Statement of the head of the research site/head of the supported research group