Széchenyi István University has recently secured significant international research grants from the European Union’s Horizon Europe and Interreg Danube programmes. These grants support research in the fields of environmental protection, sustainability, water management and fisheries. The University is collaborating with esteemed institutions such as the University of Zagreb in Croatia, the University of Leeds in the UK, and the WWF’s Central and Eastern Europe Programme.

The development of collaborative scientific activities with prestigious international institutions is the key priority in the strategy of Széchenyi István University. The university also considers the exploration of sustainable development, as well as environmental and climate protection issues, to be among its core objectives. These goals will be advanced through international research projects in the fields of the environment protection, sustainability, water management and fisheries, which are set to launch in early 2025. These projects will be supported by successful proposals under the European Union-funded Interreg Danube programme and Horizon Europe, alongside funding from the Hungarian Government’s Guarantee Fund. The scientific work will be conducted within consortia involving the University of Győr and renowned foreign institutes, organisations, and higher education institutions.

The Győr campus of Széchenyi István University – The institution places great importance on contributing to sustainability, climate action, and environmental protection. This commitment is also reflected in the research carried out with the support of the grants awarded (Photo: Miklós Máté Korcz)

In the HORIZON-MISS-2024-OCEAN-01-02 tender, Széchenyi University secured a HUF 110 million grant for its research project titled "Sustainable Water Management and Integrated Management of Fish Migration and Habitats in the Danube River Basin and the North-Western Black Sea." The project supports the implementation of the European Green Deal, the Biodiversity Strategy, the Water Framework Directive, the Habitats Directive, and policies for the protection of freshwater ecosystems by monitoring and protecting fish habitats and species. The two-year research project is led by the University of Zagreb in Croatia, in partnership with institutions such as the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt in Germany, the Danube Delta National Institute for Research and Development in Romania, and the Technical University of Košice in Slovakia. The project will be coordinated by Dr Katalin Bene, Associate Professor at the Department of Transport Infrastructure and Water Resources Engineering at Széchenyi University.

Széchenyi University has been awarded a grant of HUF 30.5 million under the HORIZON-CL6-2024-CLIMATE-02-1 tender. On the Hungarian side, the five-year climate protection research will be led by Dr István Kulmány, head of the Agricultural and Food Industry Research Centre at the Smart Farm in Mosonmagyaróvár. The ClimateSmartExperiments (CSE) programme aims to establish and coordinate an active network of research stations and associated research communities across all EU Member States and associated countries, with the goal of developing joint, creative research approaches and innovative solutions for climate change mitigation and adaptation. The consortium will be led by research institutes of the Dutch Stichting Wageningen, with partners including the University of Leeds in the UK, the French National Institute for Agricultural Research, and the Cypriot Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment.

Széchenyi University has been awarded a grant of €129,998 (approximately HUF 53 million) in the Interreg Danube competition, partly funded by the European Union Dr Gábor Guti, a member of the Natural Aquatic Fish Management Research Group, is responsible for overseeing the success of the international research on fish management. The three-year project aims to establish and test a cross-border system for monitoring sturgeon and protecting migratory fish in the Danube. The international research project, led by the Romanian Ministry of Environment, Water and Forestry, also involves the participation of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the Central and Eastern European Environment Organisation, and the State University of Moldova.