Excellence Programme: HUN-REN Researchers Awarded Billions in Funding

16.01.2025

The winners of the ADVANCED sub-programme of the Hungarian National Research Excellence Programme, managed by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NRDI Office), have been announced. A total of 32 HUN-REN projects have been awarded non-repayable grants totalling HUF 3,348,037,000.

Following its launch, the ADVANCED_24 sub-programme received 758 valid proposals, with a total funding request of HUF 76,348,894,000. The Research Council of Hungary made its decisions during its evaluation meeting on 6 November, awarding a total of HUF 9,959,363,000 in non-repayable grants to 96 outstanding research projects from the NRDI Fund.

The ADVANCED sub-programme of the National Research Excellence Programme aims to provide funding to experienced, talented researchers with independent research teams, who are internationally recognised experts in their field and wish to further advance their successful basic research topics by exploring new aspects, according to the National Research, Development and Innovation Office.

According to the latest results, the following institutes and researchers from HUN-REN have been awarded funding (grant amounts in HUF):

János Korompay, HUN-REN Research Centre for the Humanities (73,760,000)
Ágnes Szobonyáné Szabó-Morvai, HUN-REN Centre for Economic and Regional Studies (119,966,000)
Bálint Kintses, HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Szeged (120,000,000)
Péter Németh, HUN-REN Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences (61,788,000)
Balázs Papp, HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Szeged (119,792,000)
Ágnes Kóspál, HUN-REN Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences (119,896,000)
Péter Ván, HUN-REN Wigner Research Centre for Physics (87,896,000)
Zoltán Varga, HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences (113,064,000)
László Pásztor, HUN-REN Centre for Agricultural Research (119,402,000)
Zsolt Kasztovszky, HUN-REN Centre for Energy Research (111,999,000)
Ákos Zarándy, HUN-REN Institute for Computer Science and Control (119,930,000)
Zsolt Molnár, HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research (119,819,000)
Gergő Orbán, HUN-REN Wigner Research Centre for Physics (119,989,000)
András Varró, HUN-REN Office for Supported Research Groups (120,000,000)
Péter Kaló, HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Szeged (120,000,000)
Balázs Ráth, HUN-REN Alfréd Rényi Institute of Mathematics (61,294,000)
István Czigler, HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences (87,947,000)
István Molnár, HUN-REN Centre for Agricultural Research (111,757,000)
Krisztián Csaplár-Degovics, HUN-REN Research Centre for the Humanities (35,704,000)
Károly Böröczky, HUN-REN Alfréd Rényi Institute of Mathematics (62,744,000)
Nándor Fodor, HUN-REN Centre for Agricultural Research (119,729,000)
Zoltán Nusser, HUN-REN Institute of Experimental Medicine (120,000,000)
Lucia Wittner, HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences (120,000,000)
Eszter Draskóczy, HUN-REN Research Centre for the Humanities (75,242,000)
Lajos Baráth, HUN-REN Centre for Economic and Regional Studies (119,866,000)
Csaba Fekete, HUN-REN Institute of Experimental Medicine (119,999,000)
András Dér, HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Szeged (120,000,000)
Gábor Pete, HUN-REN Alfréd Rényi Institute of Mathematics (68,614,000)
Nigel J. Mason, HUN-REN Institute for Nuclear Research (119,880,000)
Péter Horváth, HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Szeged (117,960,000)
László Szabados, HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Szeged (120,000,000)
László Hunyady, HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences (120,000,000)

The full list with topics of the funded research projects is available on the National Research, Development and Innovation Office website.

HUN-REN aims to become one of the most effective research organisations in Europe and to contribute significantly to Hungary's social and economic success. The HUN-REN Act, effective from 1 January 2025, provides the necessary framework for HUN-REN to transform into a more responsive, collaborative, performance-oriented, and well-functioning network, ensuring the freedom of scientific research and the continuation of exploratory research, while providing multidisciplinary solutions to complex challenges affecting both national and international communities. Employees within the modernising HUN-REN can look forward to a long-term, consistent, value-driven, and performance-focused funding system, mutually reinforcing structure and operation, competitive salaries, and a predictable research career.