Hungarian Minister visits EMBL

László Palkovics, Hungarian Minister for Innovation and Technology, visited the headquarters of EMBL in Heidelberg.

Today Prof. Dr. László Palkovics, Hungarian Minister for Innovation and Technology, visited the headquarters of EMBL in Heidelberg. This was a historic visit to EMBL, marking the first time a Hungarian minister has visited the headquarters. During his visit, Palkovics held discussions with EMBL Director General Prof. Dr. Edith Heard. He also met some of EMBL’s Hungarian researchers, including group leader Orsolya Barabas and students working at EMBL Heidelberg.

“Hungary has a long and proud tradition of scientific advancement. Our membership of EMBL, and its partnership with the Hungarian Centre of Excellence for Molecular Medicine, are key components of our national plans to retain our competitive edge in research,” said László Palkovics.

Hungary has a longstanding reputation for outstanding research in the life sciences. The country officially joined EMBL in 2017 as a full member state, after three years as a prospect member. The EMBL-HCEMM inter-institutional partnership was created in 2018 to facilitate an ongoing transfer of institutional, research, and collaborative expertise between the two organisations. The fact that the Hungarian Centre of Excellence for Molecular Medicine was also a first-generation Horizon 2020 project, makes this partnership one of the two research flagships in Hungary.

“I am looking forward to working on the visions and goals of the new EMBL programme, together with the Hungarian government and our Hungarian colleagues working at EMBL and at the national research institutions,” said Edith Heard.