The aim of the forum was to further deepen bilateral relations between Switzerland and Hungary in the field of innovation and to open up new opportunities for cooperation between companies, research institutions, universities and public institutions. Participants included Swiss and Hungarian companies and research institutions, as well as representatives of public administration and the Swiss Business Hub Central Eastern Europe.
The participation of Dr. Péter Horváth, the recently appointed Hungarian State Secretary for Science Policy and Innovation, sent a strong signal about the importance of Swiss-Hungarian cooperation. In his opening remarks, he described Switzerland as a strategic partner for Hungary in research, development and innovation. He also emphasized his close personal ties to Switzerland: from 2007 to 2013, he worked as a lecturer in biochemistry at ETH Zurich.
Prof. János Levendovszky, Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation at BME, presented the university’s innovation ecosystem in his lecture “The Innovation Ecosystem of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics”. He showed how academic excellence, technology transfer, industrial cooperation and targeted support instruments can help translate scientific results into societal and economic impact.
The forum focused on two core areas: innovative ecosystems and the path from laboratory research to market readiness. Prof. em. Dr. Alexander Zehnder, former President of the ETH Board, provided insights into the success factors of the Swiss innovation ecosystem, with particular emphasis on the importance of freedom and room for movement for research, companies and investors. Prof. Róbert Somogyi, Chief Operating Officer of the Hungarian Innovation Agency, broadened the perspective to Europe’s international competitiveness compared with the United States and China. In his lecture, he showed that Europe has strong scientific foundations but must translate them more consistently into scalable market and industrial solutions.
The roundtable discussions and short presentations made clear the significant potential for concrete Swiss-Hungarian cooperation – from technology transfer and industrial partnerships to the experiences of start-ups and SMEs, as well as new forms of collaboration between universities, companies and public institutions. Adam Gontarz, Head of Digitalisation, Innovation and Technology and member of the Executive Board at Swissmem, contributed the perspective of the Swiss mechanical, electrical and metal industries and underlined the importance of close international partnerships for innovation, competitiveness and industrial implementation.
The main sponsor of the forum was Roche, a globally leading company in healthcare and life sciences that exemplifies the connection between research, innovation and societal benefit. Further sponsors included Novartis, WTS, ABB, Presence Switzerland, Nespresso and Lindt.
The Swiss-Hungarian Innovation Forum provided important momentum for bilateral innovation relations between Switzerland and Hungary. The next step includes to build on the contacts established during the event and translate them into concrete projects.
