World-class research centre to come into being in Hungary

Based on the plans of the Frontiers Foundation that was set up at the initiative of Nobel laureate Ferenc Krausz, a world-class research centre will come into being in Hungary, and the patriotic government will create the necessary conditions for this, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stressed at the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Frontiers Campus on Tuesday in Budapest.

The Prime Minister highlighted: it is an old thesis of Ferenc Krausz that good foundations, excellent teachers and many Hungarian talents wanting a career in the field of sciences are all in vain if at some point in their lives they are compelled to leave Hungary because modern research requires technological and technical conditions which smaller states such as Hungary do not possess. He added: this is why they agreed with Professor Ferenc Krausz that he and his team will deliver the plans about how to create a world-class research centre amidst domestic circumstances, and the patriotic government will create the conditions that are necessary for this.

"This is our pact," Mr Orbán said, indicating that the prospective campus will be erected in the Budapest Infopark, on the Boulevard of Hungarian Scientists.

"We sincerely hope that we will reach our destination, […] and I do hope that we will do so together, but we'll see after 12 April," the Prime Minister said.

He recalled that in the past decade, the government had implemented infrastructure developments worth almost a thousand billion forints at Hungarian universities. At the same time, through the HU-Rizont programme, the government supports the joint research projects of Hungarian higher education institutions and the world's best universities, and they also started renewing the HUN-REN Hungarian Research Network from an allocation of more than HUF 20 billion.

He also highlighted: the mission of the Frontiers Foundation led by Mr Krausz is to create more than 70 knowledge centres in several parts of the country, in addition to the research centre to be built, with which the Hungarian state can help 15,000 talented young Hungarians.

Mr Orbán recalled: earlier, he would have also liked to come to an agreement with Nobel laureate György Oláh on the establishment of a similar knowledge centre, but that idea came to nothing, despite the fact that he made "at least as generous an offer" at the time as to Mr Krausz now in order to finally have a project which keeps and utilises at home all the enormous amount of talent that Hungary has.

He stressed: the Hungarians are a country of 10 million and a nation of 15 million, and so every single talented person must be appreciated as "fewer will yield fewer," we can only be competitive in the world if we make the most of those few.

We must, however, also pay attention to the threats we are facing, he said in continuation. It is to be feared that Europe will be overtaken by the war madness and will run out of energy all at once, and on top of that, another wave of migrants is coming, of that there can be no doubt, he pointed out.

"Therefore, we Hungarians must stand our ground, must stay out of the war, must secure the country's energy supply and must continue to resist uncontrolled migration," he laid down, adding that this will require wits that are sharper and more adaptable than others'.

Mr Orbán said since Trianon there has been a single thing with which the Hungarians can rise above others: their wits. He said the strength and power of a nation such as the Hungarian rests on the skills and aptitude of scientists, but this also requires a decision on what to use them for which in turn requires political common sense. Only such a nation can be successful that is its own master, he stated.

Mr Orbán said a nation which follows the goals of others, furthers the causes of others can never be successful. A nation like that always finds itself on the receiving end: they are sent to war, the profits of their hard work are skimmed by others, or they are indebted forever, he argued.

The Prime Minister said this is not Hungary's path, Hungary must follow its own interests and must pursue its own path. We cannot allow our most talented youths not to "flash" their talent in this research centre, he stressed.

Addressing young people, in conclusion he said "soon the golden gate will open up, you just have to walk through it."

According to the invitation to the foundation stone laying ceremony, the Frontiers Foundation initiated by Nobel laureate physician Ferenc Krausz is a scientific ecosystem where talent fostering, world-class research infrastructure and the utilisation of scientific results are combined into one. The Foundation is commissioning the building of the Frontiers Campus for the fulfilment of its complex activities, with research and development laboratories serving a variety of branches of science, communal and event spaces necessary for talent fostering, and offices.