Innovation Key to Hungary's Future Success

Innovation is the key to Hungary's future success and its most important resource, Minister of Science and Technology Zoltán Tanács said at the Demo Day of the Hungarian Startup University Program (HSUP) in Budapest on Friday.

The government views science, innovation and technological development as strategic areas, the minister said. Hungary's long-term competitiveness is not ensured by an economic model based on cheap labour, he added.

László Bódis, CEO of the National Innovation Agency, said that HSUP is one of the agency’s priority programs, aimed at developing the domestic startup and innovation ecosystem. Since its launch six years ago, more than 20,000 university students have participated in entrepreneurship and innovation training, hundreds of innovative projects have been launched, and numerous startups have been founded.

Last year, the program was also launched for high school students (HSUP BASE), and a separate training program was created for doctoral students, he added.

He noted that support for participants does not end after Demo Day; they can stay in touch with one another through the alumni community, and through the Pioneers Accelerator program, they receive mentoring, business development, and market entry support.

HSUP is a learning course that fosters innovative thinking and provides students with practical knowledge on how to start a business.