Dr Péter Vári, Associate Professor at Széchenyi István University and Deputy Director-General of the National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH), has been awarded the Bay Zoltán Prize by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He continues to make it his priority to support the education of quality engineering students and the activities of student excellence.

Zoltán Bay was an internationally renowned Hungarian physicist and inventor of the 20th century, whose landmark Earth-Moon-Earth radar experiment was previously replicated by students at Széchenyi István University. Since 2020, the prize named after him has been awarded by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade for outstanding work in the field of space research. This prestigious award was presented to Dr Péter Vári, former student, current Associate Professor at SZE and Deputy Director General of the NMHH, by Péter Sztáray, State Secretary for Security Policy and Energy Security.

Dr Péter Vári (left) recently received the prestigious award. (Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade)

Dr Péter Vári graduated from Győr in 1990 as operations engineer for wireless telecommunications and is currently an Associate Professor at the university. In addition to supporting teaching, research and innovation activities of the Department of Telecommunications, he is also involved in talent management by supporting the work of the SZESAT Interdisciplinary Vocational College.

"It was a great honour for me to receive this award, especially knowing that it has been given to distinguished scientists and high profile personalities who I myself consider as role models. It is gratifying that over the past decades, together with students and colleagues, we have been able to demonstrate values that are recognised by others," said Dr Péter Vári. He added that the award is also an encouragement for him to continue the professional work he has started. "UniSpace's interdisciplinary space science degree programme and the cross-disciplinary activities of SZESAT will also continue at the University. As a testament to Széchenyi University’s programmes, the communication module created by the Vocational College is operating well in space and the student team has its own satellite construction plans. With these, Hungary was the first country to qualify for the ‘Fly Your Satellite!’ programme of the European Space Agency," he said.

The Associate Professor said that young people studying at the University are currently involved in the construction of a satellite, which is a great opportunity not only for engineering students, but also for future professionals in other disciplines, from law to economics. "We would like to see more people join this, as they will gain practical knowledge and experience that will be invaluable in the job market. We also welcome the involvement of academics and their ideas, as this research could lead to many new things, from the study of properties of materials in space to the application of artificial intelligence in space science," he explained.

As for the upcoming Hungarian space mission, he stressed that they are consciously preparing for 2025 and would like to make this special event a memorable experience for as many young people as possible. "The most important goal is to arouse children's interest in exciting scientific fields, such as telecommunications or space exploration, at an early age, which they can later study at Széchenyi University to a high standard," concluded Dr Péter Vári.