One of the eight university science parks in Hungary will be created at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Minister for Innovation and Technology László Palkovics announced on Wednesday in Budapest.

He stressed that in Hungary the investments of the past 8 to 10 years have resulted in structural changes, and this is one of the most important reasons why the Hungarian economy is growing far more dynamically than the European Union’s average.

The government is seeking to achieve that Hungarian experts should not only operate high-tech technologies, but should also carry out developments to the highest world standards, and science parks serve to facilitate the attainment of this goal, Mr Palkovics said.

There are infrastructural funding and legal issues attached to the construction of the science parks (innovation centres) to be created on the basis of the government’s decision, and consultations with the university regarding these are already under way, the Minister said.

He drew attention to the fact that in the past few years several investments have been brought to Hungary which are no longer linked to production; the companies in question have settled in Hungary on account of the knowledge available here. One of the priority elements of the government’s strategy is to create an environment where international and Hungarian businesses as well as universities and research institutes are able to cooperate successfully; this is why they have decided on the construction of science parks, Mr Palkovics highlighted.

The Minister spoke in words of praise about the results achieved by the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) in education and research. He also mentioned that the university has buildings which are suitable for accommodating the first science park building complex.

Zsolt Hernádi, Chairman-Chief Executive Officer of Mol said Mol and BME, in agreement with the metropolitan municipality and the government, will identify a concept regarding the utilisation by the university of the company group’s office buildings in the 11th district after the inauguration of the Mol Campus currently under construction. There are three buildings, including Mol’s present head office building. The size of the plot accommodating these buildings is over ten thousand square metres, and in the facilities there are office premises with a ground space of almost 40,000 square metres.

The Chairman-Chief Executive Officer recalled that at the beginning of the year Mol and BME had entered into a strategic cooperation framework agreement. The partnership will now be extended to a new element by virtue of the fact that the company and the university will submit joint proposals for research and development projects in connection with the latest industrial process safety technologies.

Mayor of Budapest István Tarlós stressed that the metropolitan municipality is cooperating with external actors, professional organisations and institutions in the formulation of development strategies and the implementation of developments, and there is now cooperation not only in connection with one-off projects.

He added that since 2010 the metropolitan municipality has concluded cooperation agreements with several universities, including BME which is a priority partner of the municipality.

Regarding Mol, he said for decades the company has been a reliable partner and has played an extensive role in the economic rise of Budapest and the region; as part of the cooperation of the company and the capital, they have already implemented several programmes together.

The mayor described the more competitive and more economical running of the city as an important goal which provides better quality of life for residents and local businesses.

Attila Kotán, Chancellor of BME said they have completed the university’s development programme for the period extending to 2030. He mentioned among its main elements the utilisation of Mol’s buildings which also creates an opportunity for extending the available student accommodation places; the refurbishment of Building V2, as a result of which institutions and offices involved in activities related to research, development and innovation could be given a new head office; and the conversion of the Goldmann Building into an incubator and start-up base.

The Chancellor additionally mentioned the installation of a G5 network on the entire campus premises.