For the third time, ELTE has supported its outstanding researchers.

15.12.2024.

In 2024, a total of 201 successful applications received a combined funding of 404 million HUF through the University Excellence Fund call for proposals.

In 2022, Eötvös Loránd University established the University Excellence Fund (EKA) to strengthen its position in the international university competition, with the primary goal of achieving significant progress in global and thematic rankings and enhancing the University’s international scientific embedding and reputation.

In 2024, as in the previous year, the majority of the calls had a submission deadline of 15 October. The Operational Committee made decisions on the submitted applications at its meeting on 14 November, resulting in 201 successful proposals receiving a total of 404 million HUF in funding.

The first call aimed to support authors of outstanding scientific publications published between 1 October, 2023, and 30 September, 2024, in prestigious journals (D1 and certain Q1 journals in specific fields). The EKA Operational Committee was able to support all formally eligible applications: 152 ELTE researchers received a total of approximately 100 million HUF. This year, a special category was introduced for those who published in “TOP journals” listed in the Shanghai Ranking subject rankings, or in Nature or Science journals, with ELTE affiliation. Fourteen ELTE researchers were awarded in this category.

The second EKA call recognizes the submission of significant international grants, with this year’s expansion to include major non-EU grants as well. A total of 20 applicants received recognition, with 10 of them receiving provisional support, as the international evaluation process for these applications has not yet concluded.

In terms of financial investment, the third call of the University Excellence Fund, aimed at supporting research groups established by young researchers, stands out. Thanks to this call, nine groups have already started their work in recent years. This year, two new groups were added to the initiative: Norbert Bencsik’s (Faculty of Science) ELTE Neuronal Scaffold Proteins Research Group and Péter Kovács’s (Faculty of Informatics) ELTE SMARTER Safety-critical Model-driven AI Research and Technology for Enhanced Reliability project.

The two groups have access to a total of 143 million HUF over three years,

provided they consistently achieve their set goals. For the first time this year, there was also a seed funding opportunity for significant international grant applications, which was successfully awarded to two Faculty of Science and one Faculty of Humanities applicants.

The Neuronal Scaffold Proteins Research Group aims to provide evidence for the importance of Caskin neuronal scaffold proteins in the central nervous system. They combine various biochemical and microscopic methods and utilize cell lines and primary hippocampal cultures. Their goal is to investigate the molecular mechanisms of how Caskin proteins integrate into the postsynaptic protein network and contribute to synaptic plasticity and cognitive functions. They anticipate that their future research will lead to significant advances in the early detection and treatment of neurological developmental disorders and other human diseases.

The SMARTER Research Group explores a rapidly advancing field of artificial intelligence: model-driven machine learning. This approach combines the strengths of mathematical modeling and data-driven AI. The research incorporates mathematical and physical heuristics (e.g., sparsity, smoothness, dynamic properties) into the architecture, objective functions, or training data of machine learning algorithms. This reduces the data dependency and complexity of deep learning models while making their decision-making mechanisms interpretable. The group applies their findings in safety-critical areas like autonomous vehicle control and healthcare, where interpretability and transparency are as crucial as performance. The interdisciplinary project builds on decades of collaboration between ELTE IK’s Department of Numerical Analysis and the System and Control Theory Research Laboratory at HUN-REN SZTAKI.

Additionally, the sixth call, which supported the organization of scientific conferences and summer schools, was very popular. There were two rounds of evaluation, one in summer and one in autumn, and a total of 16 events received 30 million HUF in funding.

The rector’s directive on the use of the University Excellence Fund (EKA) stipulates that about 25% of the funds should be allocated to innovation-related purposes. This year, in the 7th category, there was significant competition for the available resources. Ultimately, the operational committee supported 7 applications with a total of 102 million HUF, covering a wide range of valuable, innovative initiatives, from drug development to social innovations.

The result of the 8th call, which encourages becoming a course design expert, is expected in mid-January 2025.

The list of 2024 applications supported by the University Excellence Fund can be found here.