Dr Péter Földesi, Rector, having welcomed participants and guest speakers, opened the conference with an introduction to the theme of the morning’s presentations: The Science and Innovation Park as the Centre for a New University-Based Innovation Ecosystem, or the Perspectives of a 21st Century University.

Following the Rector, the first guest speaker was Dr Tibor Gulyás, Deputy State Secretary for Innovation at the Ministry of Innovation and Technology whose keynote speech, Innovation-Development Strategy of Hungary - with special regard to the development of the Science and Innovation Park network and the University Innovation Ecosystem was well received by the audience.

Dr Gulyás was succeeded by Dr György Grüner, Distinguished Research Professor, University of California, Los Angeles, Senior Advisor at the Ministry of Innovation and Technology with a talk entitled 21^st Century Universities - Idea Factories

Following the break, the conference continued in two sections. The  thematic area of Section 1 was Making Global Problems Understandable at National, Rgional and Local Levels; Communication of National Priorities in a Global Context. The special area of Section 2 was Trends and Perspectives of the National and International Science and Innovation Park Developments

The first speakers in Section 1 were Dr Bálint Filep, Chancellor of Széchenyi István University and Dr Eszter Lukács, Vice-Rector for Educational Affairs, who delivered an insightful presentation titled: The role of the Globalization Competence Center in Széchenyi István University's Science and Innovation Strategy.

Following the Chancellor’s and Vice-Rector’s contribution, it was the turn of  Professor Kaoru Natsuda from Ritsumeikan University College of International Management, Japan, with an Englsish language  presentation entitled Science & Technology Policy and Academy-Industry Relations in Japan.

Subsequently, the Chief Architect of the City of Győr, Mr Zsolt Révi in his talk The Role of Science and Innovation Parks in Urban Development - Opportunities and Challenges of Győr in the Light of International Examples spoke among other things about the dynamic development of the German city of Bremen.

The final presenter In section 1 was Ms Katalin Németh, Head of Education and Scientific Cooperation at Audi Hungaria Zrt. Her presentation Expectations and Experiences of a Multinational Company in Higher Education Cooperation outlined aspects of the continuous collaboration between Széchenyi University and the world famous car manufacturer.

Section 2 of the conference had a strong focus on Science and Innovation Parks. The first two presentations gave an overview of Singapore’s innovation ecosystem. Dr László Vasa, research professor, and Dr Zsolt Kovács, Director General of Széchenyi István University, introduced the Singapore success story in economic, social and geopolitical means. Mr Gábor Mayer, Head of Centre for University-Business Cooperation gave a detailed introduction to Singapore’s innovation system and science park infrastructure. The two presentations were based on a complex research programme enabled by Pallas Athéné Innovation and Geopolitical Foundation.

Following insights into the Singaporean benchmark, Dr Petra Szakonyi, assistant professor, and Dr László Tamandl, Head of Project Office, informed participants about the Science Park concept of  Széchenyi István University.

The last part of the section was dedicated to Zalazone Science and Innovation Park. Dr András Háry, Managing Director of Zalazone Ltd., emphasized the importance of the cooperation between the two research locations. Finally, Mr Dániel Pup, assistant lecturer in the  Vehicle Industry Research Centre at Széchenyi István University, demonstrated joint autonomous vehicle research programmes implemented in partnership between ZalaZone and SZE.