Széchenyi István University hosted a major international event on the topics of economics, business and tourism. The Kautz Conference on Business and Economics, held between 10 and 12 October, brought together researchers from twenty-one countries from four continents to present their work on global challenges and to develop academic links.

How can current global challenges be transformed into development opportunities? This was the question addressed by the participants of the international conference organised by the Kautz Gyula Faculty of Economics at Széchenyi István University. The three-day programme covered a wide range of business, economic and tourism topics, with a special focus on the corporate sector and the economic development of a technology-driven world.

The Kautz conference brought together researchers from twenty-one countries on four continents, representing institutions such as the Universities of Rhode Island and Central Florida from the US, Bournemouth University from the UK, Nanjing Tech University from China, North West University from South Africa and Mahidol University International College from Thailand. The event was attended not only by higher education institutions but also by research centres. The 230 participants were able to learn about the latest research in the field through 170 presentations in 16 sessions. Topics included human resource management, tourism and hospitality, and corporate communication.

Dr Eszter Lukács, Vice-President for International Affairs and Strategic Relations of Széchenyi University, said at the opening ceremony, "This year, our University is organising three prestigious conferences of high importance. The first one took place in mid-summer and focused on important areas such as future energy systems, applied biotechnology and material strength. This year's Kautz Conference on Business and Economics is the second in a series, while our Conference on Sustainability - now in its second year - will take place in November."

Dr Lukács added that she was extremely pleased to see such a large and diverse community of researchers attending the event. "The strategic goal of our University is to increase our scientific output, which is important for our position in international academic rankings, but more importantly, it is the basis for the scientific development of our staff. That is why we are striving to develop our knowledge in international research networks," she said.

Dr Eszter Lukács, Vice President for International and Strategic Relations of Széchenyi István University at the opening of the conference (Photo: Máté Dudás)

On behalf of the Kautz Gyula Faculty of Business and Economics, Dr Sándor Remsei, Dean of the Faculty, welcomed the participants. "This event is the most important event of the year for our faculty. While the former focuses on the academic success of our students, the latter is special because it provides an opportunity to learn about the academic activities of our lecturers, researchers and partners," he said. He expressed his thanks to the University's management, the organisers, the speakers and all the partners who supported the publication.

Dean Dr Sándor Remsei mentioned the conference as one of the most significant events of the Faculty (Photo: Máté Dudás)

The plenary session on the opening day also featured research by five distinguished professors. Dr Maling Ebrahimpour (University of Rhode Island, USA) spoke on the benefits, threats and future of artificial intelligence, Dr Marco Cucculelli (Marche Polytechnic University, Italy) on the relationship of family businesses to innovation, and Dr Jessica Lichy (IDRAC Business School, France and University of Sunderland, UK) on the impact of technology on society. Dr Markku Kuula (Aalto University School of Business, Finland) spoke on strategic dilemmas for organisational development, while Dr Kamil Pícha (University of South Bohemia České Budějovice, Czechia) presented his work on the challenges of transforming markets in Central and Eastern Europe.

Gallery (Photos by Máté Dudás and András Adorján):