The European Regional Meeting of the Global Research Council was held in co-organisation with HUN-REN

The four-day meeting was jointly organised by HUN-REN, the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia, and Science Europe, reaffirming the commitment of the Hungarian Research Network to advancing international scientific collaboration. Together with our regional and global partners, we stand for dialogue, cooperation, and a shared vision for the future of research and innovation.

One of the speakers at the opening session was András Stipsicz, Director of the HUN-REN Alfréd Rényi Institute of Mathematics and the Hungarian member of the European Research Council (ERC). In his capacity as an ERC member, he drew attention to the fact that the countries which joined the European Union most recently—predominantly from Central and Eastern Europe—win a disproportionately small share of ERC grants. He stressed that this imbalance should be addressed, as doing so would serve the interests of Europe as a whole.

The Belgrade meeting focused on two highly relevant and forward-looking themes:

• The role of Open Science and Artificial Intelligence in promoting fairness, equity, and sustainability

• Sustainable research for sustainable communities

The opening lecture of the second thematic session was delivered by Zoltán Divéki, Deputy Director General of the HUN-REN Agricultural Research Centre, who discussed various aspects of sustainability, with particular reference to the connections and collaborations of Martonvásár, the host of the research centre. During the panel discussion on sustainability, Beáta Hoffer, Deputy CEO for Operations at the HUN-REN Headquarters, emphasised the importance of ensuring the organisational and financial conditions necessary for the sustainability of research.

“We particularly welcome this thematic focus, as these topics are closely aligned with HUN-REN’s strategic vision,” said Roland Jakab, Director General of HUN-REN, in his opening address. He added that “AI not only accelerates discovery but also enables us to generate knowledge that serves both scientific excellence and sustainability.”

Roland Jakab also emphasised that at HUN-REN, researchers use AI not only to deepen understanding but also to make research itself more sustainable – by improving data-use efficiency, applying resources more prudently, and fostering collaboration and openness-based practices.