Széchenyi István University hosted four prestigious international conferences simultaneously between 29 July and 1 August. The institution's academics networked with researchers from all over the world in forums on civil engineering, environmental engineering and agricultural biology.

The first International Conference on Material Strength and Applied Mechanics (MSAM) was organised by the Bosen Academic Research Institute in China in 2018, and Dr Majid Rad Movahedi, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Civil and Transport Engineering at Széchenyi István University, was invited to attend. The researcher has been a regular participant in this prestigious event ever since, and this year the organisers chose Széchenyi University as the venue as a European partner. In addition to MSAM, the Győr campus hosted two other events organised by the institute: the 10th International Conference on Agricultural and Biological Sciences (ABS) and the 7th International Conference on Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology (ABB), which was held in conjunction with it, as well as the 9th International Conference on New Energy and Future Energy Systems (NEFES).

Dr Eszter Lukács, Vice President for International and Strategic Relations of Széchenyi István University, welcomed more than 200 foreign participants and Hungarian researchers. "We are delighted that, in addition to the professional programme of the conferences, we also have the opportunity to show you the wonders of our city with its rich history dating back to Roman times and the third largest number of monuments in Hungary, as well as the over 1,000-year-old Pannonhalma Benedictine Abbey, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List", she said. With its 14,000 students, including 1,000 international students from 77 countries, and its modern infrastructure, Széchenyi University is one of the most dynamically developing higher education institutions in Hungary, and is now included in many international rankings.

Participants in front of the Management Campus building on the campus of Széchenyi István     

    University in Győr (Photo: András Adorján)

On behalf of the University of Győr, Dr Movahedi Rad Majid, along with Dr János Szép, Dean of the University of Győr, were in contact with the Bosen Academic Research Institute in China, ensuring the smooth running of the conferences as local organisers. "Colleagues from all over the world came to Győr to participate in professional discussions in various fields of science. We involved several faculties of our university in the organisation, including the Albert Kázmér Mosonmagyaróvár Faculty and the Audi Hungaria Faculty of Automotive Engineering also took part in the professional programmes," said the professor of the Department of Structural Engineering and Geotechnics. He added that the diversity of the disciplines covered meant that the conferences provided the university's many lecturers with opportunities to present and publish papers, as well as relevant knowledge.

The four-day event attracted an exceptionally high number of foreign researchers, mainly from Chinese, Japanese, South Korean, Turkish, Italian and German universities. The opening lectures were given by professors from renowned institutions such as the Technical University of Turin, the Vienna University of Technology and the University of Tsukuba in Japan. "The aim of the conferences was both to promote international exchange and professional networking, and to provide academic colleagues with the opportunity to present in English and to create high quality publications. The vast majority of the foreign participants are university professors who, in addition to being at the top of their fields, represent their institutions at the event. It is a great opportunity to promote first class publications, meet foreign colleagues and strengthen research links," said Dr Majid Movahedi Rad. Staff from Széchenyi István University participated in the conferences with more than 70 presentations.

Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Civil and Transport Engineering of Széchenyi István University, Majid Rad Movahedi and  Dean, Dr János Szép (Photo: Márton Horváth)

The MSAM discussions promoted the understanding of the mechanical behaviour of materials under different conditions and provided an excellent opportunity for the participating researchers to present and discuss the latest analytical, experimental and computational results in the field of applied mechanics. The ABS and ABB conferences provided a platform for interdisciplinary exchanges between subject matter experts in the agricultural and biological sciences. The ninth NEFES provided a platform for researchers to present their ideas to the industry on new energy and future energy systems.

Gallery (Photos: András Adorján):