Széchenyi István University faculty members and PhD students can travel to six universities in Western and Northern Europe to carry out research within the framework of the RUN-EU project. The size of the budget means that almost anyone who wants to can take advantage of the opportunity.

The Regional University Network-European University (RUN-EU) successfully applied to the European Commission's European University Initiative in 2020. One of the winning consortiums includes Széchenyi István University and six partner universities. The collaboration will strengthen the institution's international links, global visibility and benefits for both students and researchers. An example of the latter is the call for applications for research projects abroad for academic year 2022-2023, which will be open until the budget is exhausted. The first deadline for applications is 30 September.

Réka Kalamár, from the Centre for International Programmes at Széchenyi István University, said that the programme offers 4 and 12-week missions abroad for researchers and 4 weeks for PhD students in the Polytechnics of Leiria and Cávado-Ave, Portugal, the Technical University of the Shannon in Ireland, the University of Applied Sciences of NHL Stenden in the Netherlands, the University of Applied Sciences Häme in Finland and the University of Applied Sciences Vorarlberg in Austria. The grants available range from €1,950 to €3,850.

Another positive aspect is that it is possible to apply and be awarded more than once, in different locations.

The range of research areas is very broad, including Creative Arts, Design, Food Sciences, Biotechnology, Tourism, IoT, Cybersecurity, Smart, sustainable, advanced Manufacturing, Climate Change, Circular Economy, Decarbonisation, Education, Social Sciences, Health and Well-being.

The winning applicants will also be invited to Häme University of Applied Sciences in Finland...

... and the Technological University of the Shannon in Ireland

Dr Eszter Lukács, Vice President for Global Strategy at Széchenyi István University, said that the institution has already offered study abroad programmes, but this one is much broader in scope.

"On the one hand, not only lecturers but also doctoral students - including international PhD students with their own expenses - can apply. The main difference, however, is the size of the budget, which is open to almost anyone who wants to do research at one of the six partner universities. We are pleased that in the RUN-EU project we are now able to support colleagues in this way to teach and conduct research in a foreign language, build international research networks, publish in international journals and then integrate this into their teaching when they return home, further raising the quality of their teaching," said Dr Lukács.

The call for proposals is available at https://ipc.sze.hu/run-eu-research-felhivas while the application form can be downloaded at https://ipc.sze.hu/run-eu-research