The Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) Graduate Student Council organized its international conference for the second time not long ago. Five students of the Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Transport Sciences of Széchenyi István University presented their research at the online discussion, and one of them was also the main organiser of the event.

Széchenyi István University has a long tradition in training civil and architectural engineers. One of the research focuses of the faculty dealing with these fields is sustainable construction industry, within that the prevention and mitigation of damages caused by natural disasters, as well as the innovative solutions for risk reduction.

Nurullah Bektas, a Turkish PhD student in civil engineering arrived at the Győr institution in 2020 thanks to the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship programme. His doctoral studies focus on natural hazards and disasters. He travelled home following the 2023 earthquakes in Türkiye to volunteer in an international team to help post-disaster reconnaissance and damage assessment. In recent years he has become more involved in international non-governmental organizations, and is constantly looking for opportunities to work with organisations and experts who are key players in this field.

„During the first year I spent here I decided that I wanted to be a researcher and a professor, so I have been mentoring undergraduate and master's students for three years now, who have submitted five papers to the Scientific and Artistic Students' Association Conference this spring semester” – Nurullah Bektas explained. He also added: he is trying to give more and more professional advice to junior engineers, especially in the field of publications and participation in conferences.

„I have been a member of the Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure Graduate Student Council – NHERI GSC since 2021. Initially, I have only been present as a member, but I have become the Chair of Research of the organization by now. This is the second time we have made the one-day online conference on natural hazards and disasters, where besides me four Széchenyi students presented with success and in addition to those students two other students will have their abstracts published in the book of proceedings” – said the student of the Doctoral School of Multidisciplinary Engineering Sciences of Széchenyi István University.

James Wangai, Marie Gisele Sibomasimbi, Zhang Jingjie and Samuel Alexandro Silitonga prepared for the conference on topics such as sustainable debris management, recycled plastic waste utilization, seismic resilient design of reinforced concrete structures and incorporating soil properties into sustainable building design. Nurullah Bektas, who also presided one of the sessions at the event, greatly assisted their research and presentations.

The students of Széchenyi István University represented the University with great success at the international conference. From left to right: James Wangai, Marie Gisele Sibomasimbi, Nurullah Bektas and Zhang Jingjie. (Photo: Máté Dudás)

“A special feature of the conference is that we set up a cooperation network months before that and applicants were placed into intra- and inter-disciplinary research challenge groups. Group members representing different scientific fields from all over the world were able to discuss their research. This method promotes interdisciplinary thinking and encourages international collaboration on publications” – summarized the PhD student, who is learning Hungarian language in his free time, besides his studies and teaching duties.

Nurullah Bektas considers the biggest success of the conference the fact that young students, even at the undergraduate level, were able to showcase their work and gain an insight into the international scientific community. As he said, preparation for the conference demanded significant effort, but the energy invested has paid off as the presentations of students have brought the high quality of education and talent development activities of Széchenyi István University into the attention of this scientific field.