Automotive Engineering Competence Center in Budapest

Bosch and the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) Competence Center for Innovative Automotive Technologies was inaugurated this Wednesday in Budapest. The competence center will focus on the development of electric vehicle powertrains, with BME and Bosch experts working on the optimization of electric vehicles.

In his speech, Deputy State Secretary for Innovation of the Ministry of Culture and Innovation, László Bódis, identified three areas where significant progress is needed to improve innovation: one is the expansion of researcher-trainee education, and the number of innovative enterprises and patents should be further increased.

In engineering and science, the number of people aged 25-34 in doctoral studies has increased from 0.3% to 0.4%, but further improvement would be needed to reach the OECD average, he said.

In the area of intellectual property, the government plans to further simplify patent procedures, among other things, to increase the number of patents through collaborations such as the Bosch and BME centers.

Speaking at the event, BME Rector Tibor Czigány said that the competence centre has taken automotive development to a new level. He added that the university is a partner in building on the strong basic education to provide practical training in cooperation with companies, and has close links with industry.

Bosch Hungary Managing Director András Kemler stressed that the company wants to actively contribute to the training of the new generation of engineers, which is in the common interest of the whole country and will also strengthen competitiveness. Their cooperation with the university began 15 years ago, and the handover of the new competence center is "the most significant milestone on our common path" and "unprecedented in Hungarian higher education", he added.

He also said that the results of the improvements at the center would hopefully be seen in vehicles on the road within 3-5 years.