10 of our university lecturers and researchers have won a total of 385 million forints in support from the OTKA competition

This year, the competition was immense for the 2023 OTKA competition announced by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NKFIH). In three categories, nearly 1400 valid applications were received from all over the country. 

In the Postdoctoral Excellence Program and the Young Researcher Excellence Program categories, which target applicants at the beginning of their research careers, a total of 176 projects won support, amounting to nearly 6.1 billion forints. In the category of young lecturers, two researchers from Corvinus were successful: Johannes Wachs with the topic “Building Blocks of the Digital Economy” and Sofia De León Almaraz with the topic “Competition, Cooperation, and Coopetition in the Establishment of the Hydrogen Supply Network.” In the postdoctoral category, László Kökény‘s project titled “ Infinite world, infinite challenge? Consumer concerns and the role of consumer protection in tourism with the growth of online opportunities ” received support. 

Experienced researchers and the research groups they lead could apply for support in the Research Theme Competition sub-program for the continuation of their successful basic research topics or the development of new promising topics. In this category, 183 new projects can start with a total of 7.5 billion forints in support. From Corvinus, 7 researchers received support in the following topics: 

• Petra Arnold-Broccati: New Drugs – New Trends – New Challenges: European School Survey on Alcohol and Other Drug Use in the Last 30 Years – ESPAD 8th Data Collection 
• Ildikó Borbásné Szabó: Measuring the readiness of construction organizations for technology adaptation with using artificial intelligence 
• Mária Csutora: Life within  the +2 Celsius limit: Making sustainable consumption inclusive 
• Melinda Jászberényi: The impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the dynamics of tourism spatial use 
• Zsófia Kenesei: Digital Humanism: Customer- centered application of Artificial Intelligence in Services   
• Miklós Pintér: Games and decisions: classical and non-classical 
• Judit Simon: Dynamic model of the relationship of optimized customer behaviour and firm performance in the changing omnichannel purchasing environment   

The applications were evaluated through a multi-level process, involving more than 2000 individual evaluators and 33 expert committees, following the procedures of previous years. The scientific significance, novelty, expected outcomes of the respective projects, as well as their scientific and societal utilization, played a key role in the evaluation. An important aspect was the international excellence of the applicant researchers, which is measured by their previous research performance, the number of publications, and the citation of their scientific results. 

More than half of the applicants were young researchers who obtained their scientific degrees within the last 12 years. Among the winners, 41 percent are under the age of 40, including the youngest at 28 years old. The oldest successful applicant, at 77 years old, will initiate their research project. 

In the previous OTKA competition last year, 8 of our researchers secured a total of 256 million forints in support.