The appointment is part of HUN-REN’s ongoing organizational and operational renewal. The Governing Board of the research network has appointed three Vice Presidents for specific scientific domains in order to strengthen collaboration across institutions and enhance research and innovation performance. Dr. Zsolt Szalay will oversee the coordination of engineering and natural sciences, while Dr. Péter Nagy will be responsible for life sciences and Dr. Petra Aczél for frontier sciences.

The HUN-REN Hungarian Research Network is one of Hungary’s most significant scientific institutions: its research centres, institutes, and supported research groups bring together thousands of researchers working to advance scientific knowledge, foster innovation, and strengthen the country’s international competitiveness. The Vice Presidents play a key role in the strategic coordination of this complex system, supporting research excellence and promoting cross-institutional collaboration and new research directions.

Dr. Zsolt Szalay has more than three decades of experience in automotive innovation, with a research focus on the verification and validation of automated vehicle systems. Alongside his academic work at BME, he has played a key role in the establishment and professional development of the ZalaZONE automotive proving ground. Throughout his career, he has consistently worked to advance the industrial application and commercialization of university research results. He has led numerous EU-funded R&D projects and is an active contributor to the development of Hungary’s innovation ecosystem. Alongside his new role, he will continue his academic and leadership duties at the university.

“It is a great honor to receive this appointment, and I am grateful for the trust placed in me. The task is clear: to strengthen collaboration within the scientific community and to build connections between academia, industry, and government that translate research performance into tangible results,” said Dr. Zsolt Szalay.

He added that one of his key objectives is to more effectively leverage the advantages of HUN-REN’s network-based operation, ensuring that scientific results contribute directly to Hungary’s innovation capacity and economic performance.

The appointment represents an important recognition of Dr. Szalay’s decades-long work in academic research, industrial collaboration, and innovation ecosystem development, while also creating new opportunities to apply this experience at a national level.

Dr. Zsolt Szalay, electrical engineer and economist, Associate Professor, has been awarded one of Hungary’s most prestigious professional recognitions in innovation and technical sciences, the Jedlik Ányos Prize.

Each year, the award is granted to only five professionals whose work makes an outstanding contribution to inventive activity, the practical utilization of innovation, and the conscious protection and cultivation of intellectual property.

The prize is conferred by the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office and is traditionally presented in connection with the national holiday of March 15. Named after Ányos Jedlik — Benedictine monk, physicist, and inventor — the award reflects a philosophy that sees the true value of science in its ability to create new solutions and serve societal progress.

This year, Zsolt Szalay received the prize alongside distinguished figures such as Balázs Gulyás, President of the HUN-REN Hungarian Research Network; Gábor Bayer, Director of Development at 77 Elektronika Ltd.; Dr. Péter Lábody, Vice President of the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office; and Nobel Prize–winning physicist Ferenc Krausz. The diversity of the laureates clearly demonstrates that the Jedlik Ányos Prize recognizes socially impactful achievements across science, industry, and innovation alike.

Over the course of several decades as a researcher and educator, Dr. Szalay has achieved defining results in the fields of autonomous vehicles, automotive innovation, and industry collaboration. His work builds a bridge between academic research, industrial development, and practical application — precisely in the domain where scientific results evolve into tangible innovation and economic value.

On the occasion of the award, we spoke with him about his professional journey, motivation, responsibility, and what it means today to be an inventor in a rapidly transforming technological era.

The Jedlik Ányos Prize simultaneously recognizes inventive thinking and the conscious management of intellectual property. Which aspect feels closer to you — the moment of creation, or the systemic protection and utilization of what is created?

For me, the two cannot truly be separated. As an engineer, the moment of creation is naturally the strongest source of motivation: when a theoretical idea becomes a functioning system, when a student project or research concept evolves into real technology. That is the point at which innovation becomes a personal experience.

At the same time, in recent years it has become increasingly clear to me that scientific research alone is no longer sufficient. If a result does not find its way into industry, if intellectual property is not managed consciously, it often cannot generate real impact on the economy or society. In a university environment in particular, it is crucial to teach young engineers that innovation does not end in the laboratory — in fact, that is where it truly begins.

Today, I would phrase it this way: creation provides the inspiration, but utilization gives it meaning.

Was there a defining professional moment or decision in your career that, in light of this award, you now see as a turning point?

Yes, there were several, but perhaps the most decisive was when we began to treat autonomous vehicle research not merely as a scientific question, but as part of a broader ecosystem. It was the moment when it became clear that the role of a university is not limited to producing publications, but also includes shaping a development environment together with industry.

This recognition led us to stop treating education, research activities, and industrial collaborations as separate domains. Instead, we began organizing them as an integrated system of mutually reinforcing functions. Autonomous vehicle technology clearly demonstrated the necessity of this approach: in this field, vehicle dynamics, perception and decision-making algorithms, software architecture, and safety and compliance requirements all form parts of a single complex system. At a certain point, it became evident that their development could no longer be separated into distinct educational, research, and innovation tasks — what was required was a consciously built, ecosystem-like mode of operation.

Looking back, this was the turning point that defined the professional direction of the past decade.

Does such recognition close a chapter, or does it rather bring new expectations and responsibility?

For me, it clearly signifies a strengthening of responsibility. In engineering and academic careers, there are rarely true closures, because every result opens new questions. A professional award of this kind is primarily a confirmation that the direction represented so far — the close integration of university, industry, and innovation — may have been the right one.

At the same time, it also means that even greater attention must be devoted to the next generation. True impact is not measured in individual developments, but in how many engineers leave the university capable of creating new systems and thinking responsibly about the societal implications of technology.

On a personal level, this recognition reminds me that the ultimate goal of innovation is not technology itself, but the future we build with it. It was reassuring to see and hear at the award ceremony that the other laureates, regardless of discipline, share this same principle.

For this reason, I consider the work and mission of the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office — celebrating its 130th anniversary this year — particularly important. The Office does not merely provide legal frameworks; it actively contributes to ensuring that research results translate into industrial and societal utilization. It is evident that they think in 21st-century terms: their focus lies not only on protection, but also on fostering development and promoting the responsible use of knowledge — in alignment with the forward-looking spirit that already guided its foundation 130 years ago.

In the world of autonomous vehicles, an “invention” is often not a single device but the cooperation of complex systems. What does it mean today to be an inventor in an era of system-level innovation?

For a long time, the classical image of the inventor was associated with a single device or mechanical solution. In the world of autonomous vehicles, however, true novelty almost never resides in an individual component, but rather in the way different systems operate together. Sensors, artificial intelligence, vehicle dynamics, communication infrastructure, and safety architectures form a unified whole.

To be an inventor today therefore primarily means to think at the system level. The question is not how novel a component is in isolation, but whether it can create a new operational logic within a complex system. In many cases, the greatest innovation emerges at the interfaces, in the mode of integration, or in the structure of decision-making.

This type of work is fundamentally team-based. Such systems can only be realized through collaboration across multiple disciplines, which is why I always regard this mindset as a shared achievement. I am grateful to the colleagues and collaborators with whom these solutions were developed, and it is important to me that they also feel this recognition as their own.

At the same time, this requires a shift in perspective: an engineer must not only understand their own field in depth but also grasp how their work affects other disciplines and how boundary areas connect. Success often depends on one’s ability to perceive and interpret the interactions across these domains in a comprehensive manner. The modern inventor is, in essence, a system architect.

When does an engineer know that an idea is truly novel, rather than simply an improvement of an existing solution?

This is rarely the result of a single moment of realization. True novelty usually begins to reveal itself when a problem becomes simpler or more robust to solve — while at the same time opening up new questions. If a solution merely optimizes, it typically remains within the existing framework. Genuine novelty, however, often reshapes the framework of thinking itself.

From an engineering perspective, it is often a good sign when an idea initially feels “uncomfortable” — when it does not fully align with established models or development logic. Many innovations are difficult to recognize at first precisely because they are not obviously superior along familiar metrics; instead, they approach the problem from a fundamentally different angle.

The real validation usually arrives when other professionals begin applying the same approach. When an idea becomes reproducible and capable of being further developed by others, it crosses the threshold from improvement to true novelty.

Early in your career, you worked as an industrial development engineer, giving you first-hand experience in both academic and industrial environments. How did this dual perspective shape your research mindset?

Indeed, for me the industrial and academic perspectives did not follow one another sequentially; they were present in parallel from the very beginning. During my years as a development engineer, I learned very early on that every technical decision has concrete consequences — in cost, reliability, manufacturability, and above all, safety. This sense of responsibility has fundamentally shaped the way I approach research questions ever since.

When I transitioned into academia, it was already natural for me to view real-world applicability as the ultimate benchmark of engineering work. As a result, even in research, I consistently sought ways in which theoretical results could evolve into functioning systems. In the field of autonomous vehicles, this is particularly important: we are not developing demonstration prototypes, but technologies that must perform reliably in complex, real-world environments.

This dual experience helped me avoid seeing industry and academia as two separate worlds. Instead, I regard them as two necessary phases of a single innovation process: the university can open new directions and pose riskier questions, while industry provides feedback on which of these can become sustainably functioning solutions. For me, ideal research emerges where these two perspectives remain in continuous dialogue.

You often emphasize the practical utilization of research. At what point does a scientific result become “real innovation”?

Perhaps at the point when a result leaves the controlled environment of research and others can use it without the continuous presence of its creators. Scientific success is often measured by a deeper understanding of a problem; innovation, however, is born when a solution takes on a life of its own.

This boundary is often subtle: the question is no longer whether something works, but whether it is reproducible, scalable, and capable of creating long-term value. Genuine innovation also requires that a solution be integrable into existing processes — whether industrial or societal.

Many research results are technologically excellent, yet never become innovations because the usage context in which they would gain meaning fails to emerge. For me, therefore, innovation is not an event, but a transition: knowledge becoming operational practice.

In 1997, you founded Inventure Automotive, whose vehicle-data-based telematics solutions now operate in more than one million vehicles worldwide. What did entrepreneurship teach you about innovation that you might have perceived differently as a researcher?

Founding Inventure Automotive was a unique learning process for me, because it allowed me to experience directly how a technical idea becomes a real product. In research, it is often sufficient to prove that a solution works; in an entrepreneurial environment, the real question is whether it works sustainably across different countries, vehicle platforms, and usage contexts.

During the development of telematics systems, we quickly realized that technological success alone is not enough. Reliability, scalability, and the ability to create continuous value — often invisibly to the user — are equally important. When a solution operates in hundreds of thousands or millions of vehicles, every minor engineering decision is multiplied in its impact.

This experience later had a profound influence on my research work as well. I began looking at developments differently: not only asking whether something is technologically feasible, but also whether it can evolve into a system that is sustainable from a business perspective in the long term. Perhaps this is one of the most important lessons: the true test of innovation is time and scale.

What did you learn from industrial collaborations that you likely would not have experienced in a purely academic setting?

Perhaps the most important realization was that a significant proportion of engineering decisions are not purely technical. In real-world development, continuous trade-offs must be made among competing considerations: performance, cost, development time, risk, and regulatory compliance.

Industry also very quickly reveals whether a solution addresses a real problem. A technology may be highly sophisticated from an engineering standpoint, but if there is no genuine user demand behind it — if the use case is not authentic — it will not become innovation. This form of reality check fundamentally shapes one’s thinking.

In academia, we naturally seek the best technical solution. In industry, however, the right decision is often the one that represents the most balanced compromise under given circumstances — technically, economically, and from the user’s perspective alike. This teaches that innovation is not only creativity, but also responsible prioritization.

This mindset has become equally important in education for me: engineering students must not only solve problems, but also make decisions under uncertainty, while considering whether their solutions are capable of generating real impact.

One recurring question in Hungarian innovation concerns market entry. Where do you see the greatest obstacle today: technology, mindset, or ecosystem?

I increasingly believe that technology itself is no longer the primary bottleneck. In Hungary, high-level technical expertise and competitive research results are often present. The real challenge lies in the fact that the various actors of innovation — researchers, companies, investors, and regulators — operate on different time horizons.

Research accepts long-term uncertainty, while the market expects results that can be evaluated quickly. When these timeframes fail to align, many promising developments remain in an intermediate phase: technologically validated, yet lacking the maturity and business environment necessary for market introduction.

For this reason, I would describe it primarily as an ecosystem issue. Successful innovation requires not only good ideas, but also an environment capable of accompanying a technology from early-stage research through to market deployment. Creating this continuity is perhaps the most important task today.

What sustains your curiosity over the long term in a field where technology seems to reinvent itself almost every year?

Precisely this continuous transformation. In the field of autonomous systems, one can rarely feel “finished” for long — a new technological direction, a novel methodology, or an unexpected question always emerges, prompting a reconsideration of earlier answers. For me, this represents not uncertainty, but intellectual freedom.

Curiosity is sustained by the fact that behind technological progress lie fundamentally human questions: How can we trust a machine’s decision? How can automated systems be made safe? How does the role of mobility evolve within society? These questions do not become obsolete from one year to the next; they simply appear in new forms.

Thus, motivation is not tied to a specific technology, but to the ongoing learning process in which every new development also offers a new opportunity for deeper understanding.

As a researcher, department head, and educator, you operate in different roles. Which provides the most personal feedback?

Each role offers a different type of feedback, and perhaps that is precisely why they complement one another. As a researcher, one rarely receives immediate validation — years may pass before the true significance of a result becomes visible. As a department head, success is more indirect: it becomes tangible when a team begins to function autonomously or when younger colleagues establish their own direction.

The most immediate feedback comes from teaching. During a lecture or collaborative project, it becomes evident very quickly whether an idea resonates with students. When a complex technical relationship suddenly becomes clear to them, the feedback is immediate and genuine.

I have always sought to work as a mentor-type educator: not merely transmitting knowledge, but helping students discover problems independently and find their own paths to solutions. This approach allows education to become more than information transfer; it becomes the development of thinking and problem-solving capability. That is why I see teaching as a stable reference point alongside research and leadership work, which often operate in much longer cycles.

Was there ever a moment with a student or young researcher when you felt, “This is why it is worth doing”?

Yes — and interestingly, these moments are not necessarily tied to spectacular successes. Rather, they occur when a student or young researcher crosses a conceptual threshold — when they move beyond simply solving a task and begin to see behind the problem, formulating their own questions.

I vividly recall situations where, at the end of a project, someone did not say, “We are finished,” but instead asked, “What if we tried approaching this in a completely different way?” That is when independent engineering thinking begins to take shape.

For me, these moments provide the strongest affirmation, because they make visible that knowledge is not merely transferred — it continues to live and evolve in the work of the next generation.

In your view, what skills distinguish future innovators from good engineers?

A good engineer can precisely solve a well-defined problem. A future innovator, however, often plays a role in defining the problem itself. Today, the primary constraint is increasingly not access to information or technological tools, but the ability to recognize which questions are worth solving in the first place.

Beyond classical technical expertise, three capabilities are becoming decisive: recognizing interconnections between systems, collaborating effectively across disciplines, and managing uncertainty. An innovator does not necessarily know more within a single domain, but is capable of building bridges between different modes of thinking.

Perhaps this is the most fundamental distinction: while the engineer primarily provides answers, the innovator dares to ask new questions.

If Ányos Jedlik were alive today, which technological question do you think would most capture his interest?

What I find most fascinating about Jedlik’s work is that he was not merely interested in an invention itself, but in the phenomenon underlying it. If he were alive today, he would likely be drawn to fields where fundamental physical or engineering principles appear in new application contexts.

I believe he would be particularly interested in the relationship between energy and intelligent systems — for example, electric mobility, energy storage, or the physical and information-theoretical foundations of autonomous systems. These technologies simultaneously embody experimental engineering thinking and fundamental scientific curiosity, both of which characterized his work.

He would probably not focus on a single device, but rather on the broader question of how the physical world and information processing are becoming ever more tightly interconnected.

What would you say to young researchers who do not yet see how their work might achieve genuine societal or industrial impact?

I would tell them that this is a completely natural state. Most significant research results do not initially appear applicable, and it may take years or even decades for them to find their place. Impact rarely develops in a linear fashion.

It is important to understand that a researcher’s first responsibility is not necessarily to ensure immediate application, but to formulate the question precisely and to develop a deep understanding of the phenomenon. Real value often lies in generating a new perspective that others can later build upon.

For this reason, it is worth remaining open to collaborations and unexpected connections. Many innovations are not realized where they originally began, but where different modes of thinking intersect. One of the most rewarding aspects of a research career is that one often only later recognizes how far an earlier idea has ultimately traveled.

The distinguished professional partners of the Conference were the Department of Railway Vehicles and Vehicle System Analysis of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, BME ITS Nonprofit Zrt., BKV Zrt., MÁV Zrt., Stadler Magyarország Kft., Ganz Motor Kft., and Siemens Mobility Kft.

During the four-day event, 25 presentations were delivered, covering recent achievements in the design, manufacturing, operation and research of railway bogies and running gears.

The Conference was patronized by leading representatives of the Hungarian and international railway operation and industry, including executives from MÁV Zrt., GYSEV Zrt., BKV Zrt., Stadler Magyarország Kft., Ganz Motor Kft., and CRRC ZELC EUROPE GmbH.

The President of the Conference was Prof. Dr. András Szabó, and the Co-Chairman was Prof. Dr. Lajos Borbás. The International Scientific Committee consisted of distinguished professors from several European and Asian countries.

On the opening day, a special workshop addressed a specific topic within vehicle system dynamics and anomalies, focusing on the challenges of introducing the Digital Automatic Coupler (DAC) in Europe. The program was complemented by a panel discussion and a laboratory visit. The ceremonial opening took place in the Danube Hall of the BME Central Building.

In the following days, valuable presentations were delivered on topics including:

• multibody dynamic modelling and simulation,
• investigation of wheel–rail contact and wear processes,
• suspension systems, with particular emphasis on rubber–metal spring elements,
• running stability of high-speed vehicles,
• rolling contact fatigue phenomena,
• noise and vibration analysis,
• crack detection and applications of non-destructive testing methods,
• traction and energy management systems.

As part of the professional program, participants visited the vehicle maintenance depot of Metro Line M1 operated by BKV Zrt., where they also took part in a special heritage ride on the 130-year-old vehicle No. 11.

On the final day, further scientific presentations were delivered, followed by the traditional BOGIE’26 cake ceremony, which concluded the Conference. BOGIE’26 once again demonstrated that the development of railway bogies and running gears remains one of the most dynamic research and professional fields of vehicle dynamics, where academic institutions and industrial partners jointly shape and reflect on the technologies of the future.

A Career Dedicated to Assembly Technology

From the very beginning of his professional career, Balázs Göndöcs focused on manufacturing engineering, with a particular commitment to assembly technology. As a mechanical engineer and certified engineering teacher, he became involved in higher education already in the late 1970s, contributing as an external lecturer to advanced engineering training programs while working as a research associate at the Institute for Industrial Technology, where his main research areas included assembly development and assembly systems.

His international experience was further enriched through a scholarship from the DAAD, during which he conducted research in Aachen, Germany. There, he studied handling methods for small components and gained early insights into flexible assembly systems and robotized workplaces — topics that today form essential pillars of industrial automation and Industry 4.0.

An Educator Shaping Generations

Dr. Göndöcs’s teaching activity spanned several institutions and programs, yet his professional identity became most closely associated with vehicle engineering education at BME. From the 1980s onward, he taught subjects related to assembly technology and plant implementation, later becoming a defining lecturer within the Vehicle Manufacturing and Repair curriculum.

He also played an early role in English-language education, contributing to the internationalization of engineering training by teaching assembly technology within English-taught courses. Over the years, he served as assistant lecturer and later as master instructor, delivering lectures and practical sessions, supervising diploma theses, and fulfilling departmental educational coordination responsibilities.

Generations of students benefited from his teaching philosophy, which consistently combined solid industrial experience with structured engineering thinking and practical applicability.

Bridging Industry and Academia

One of the defining characteristics of his career has been the strong connection between academic work and industrial practice. Alongside teaching and research, he held a wide range of professional roles: research engineer, company executive, technical advisor at the Ministry of Economy, and editor-in-chief of a professional automotive journal.

He contributed to the early development of Hungary’s automotive supplier ecosystem and participated in the selection of the first Hungarian suppliers for automotive manufacturing projects. These real-world experiences enriched his teaching, allowing students to understand engineering challenges through authentic industrial perspectives.

Scientific and Professional Legacy

Dr. Göndöcs is the author or co-author of more than 110 professional publications, textbooks, and educational materials. His most significant contributions include system-level analyses of assembly technology, development of assembly workplaces, and the formulation of design principles supporting maintainability and repairability in vehicle engineering.

His key professional fields include:

• development of assembly technologies and assembly systems,
• quality assurance in vehicle repair as a service activity,
• technical and economic aspects of component recycling,
• integrated engineering approaches to manufacturing and repair.

Beyond academia, he has also played an active role in professional organizations and technical journalism, contributing to knowledge dissemination within the engineering community.

Continuing Professional Curiosity

According to colleagues, even after retirement Dr. Göndöcs has remained professionally active and intellectually engaged. He has continued to follow developments in assembly systems, industrial automation, and Industry 4.0, occasionally participating in teaching activities even in recent years. This openness toward innovation and continuous learning has characterized his entire career.

Our Congratulations

On the occasion of his 80th birthday, the Department warmly congratulates Dr. Balázs Göndöcs with respect and gratitude. His dedication to engineering education, professional versatility, and long-standing commitment to training future engineers represent a legacy that continues to shape our educational philosophy and daily work.

We wish him good health, continued intellectual curiosity, and many joyful years ahead among his family, colleagues, and former students.

Thanks to the contribution of BMW Group Hungary, a brand-new fully electric MINI Countryman SE All4 has arrived at BME’s Department of Automotive Technologies. The vehicle is not road-legal and cannot be sold; it will exclusively serve educational and research purposes in laboratory environments, supporting hands-on learning for students.

The official handover ceremony took place on October 27 at Rack Autó, BMW’s dealership in Budaörs. The car was presented to the university representatives by Éva Csomor, Qualification & Retail HR Manager for Hungary and Romania, and Róbert Rák, Head of Customer Service at BMW Group Hungary.

“At BMW Group Hungary, we consider it a priority to support higher technical education and inspire the engineers of the future. Electromobility represents not only technological progress but also a change in mindset — one that requires the active involvement of young talent. With this initiative, we are strengthening our presence in higher education as well, contributing to the competitiveness of Hungarian engineering students and to shaping the future of the automotive industry,” said Éva Csomor, Training and Retail HR Manager at BMW Group Hungary.

Róbert Rák, Head of Customer Service at BMW Group Hungary, emphasized the long-term goals of the initiative:

“This is a long-term program focused on developing the next generation of professionals — one of the biggest challenges in our industry today, especially on the service side. Collaborations like this ensure that future engineers can learn using state-of-the-art technology. Our technical trainers are also ready to support university instructors in gaining a deeper understanding of the vehicle’s diagnostic and drivetrain systems.”

Dr. Zsolt Szalay, Head of Department, expressed his appreciation:

“We are very pleased about this collaboration and grateful to BMW Group Hungary for this generous donation. The vehicle will play a significant role in both laboratory courses and research projects. We hope this handover will be the first milestone in a long-term partnership that creates new opportunities in automotive education and research.”

He added that the department has in recent years placed growing emphasis on inspiring young people and promoting engineering careers. Partnerships with industry leaders such as BMW Group Hungary are essential to ensure that students encounter real, cutting-edge technologies during their university studies.

The donated MINI Countryman SE All4 is the brand’s largest model — the flagship of the Countryman range. The fully electric, all-wheel-drive vehicle incorporates BMW Group’s latest technologies. It will serve as a valuable educational tool for teaching electric mobility, powertrain diagnostics, and energy management.

The collaboration between BMW Group Hungary and BME’s Department of Automotive Technologies represents an exemplary step in bridging academic knowledge and practical industry experience — and a strong signal of the automotive industry’s commitment to supporting the next generation of engineers.
As Éva Csomor concluded, “this cooperation is part of BMW Group Hungary’s long-term strategy, built on the three pillars of innovation, sustainability, and education.”

This prize honours outstanding scientific achievements in the field of transport sciences and aims to encourage sustainable, cross-border, and pan-European transport development.

Awards:

• Doctoral thesis (PhD or equivalent): 1,000 €
• Master thesis (or equivalent): 500 €

Application deadline: January 14, 2026

Award Ceremony: May 7, 2026, during the 24th European Transport Congress in Vienna, Austria.

More information & applications: www.epts.eu

Application requirements

“The World’s Smartest Highway Section” – Hungarian Innovation Recognized in China

In July 2025, three researchers from BME – Dr. Zsolt Szalay (Head of Department), Dr. András Rövid, and Zsolt Vincze – embarked on an extensive study tour across China and Hong Kong. Their goal was to gain firsthand insights into the development of Chinese intelligent transport infrastructure and strengthen the ongoing collaboration between BME and the City University of Hong Kong.

One of the most important conclusions from the trip was that – although Chinese smart road networks cover far greater distances than Hungary’s demonstration section – the technological sophistication of the M1–M7 digital twin system, especially in terms of precision and real-time performance, surpassed all the systems observed in China.

Experts at multiple institutions in China openly acknowledged this and expressed their aim to reach the technological level already achieved in Hungary.

This feedback reinforces the fact that the M1–M7 smart road section, developed by BME, is not only a European but also a global benchmark in intelligent road infrastructure. It rightly deserves to be called: the world’s smartest highway section.

Hong Kong: Teleoperation Breakthroughs and International Innovation Programs

Invited by the City University of Hong Kong, the BME delegation reaffirmed an existing research collaboration. The teleoperation system used in Hong Kong is powered by technology developed at BME, and recent improvements have reduced response latency to below 10 milliseconds using a local server—an exceptionally low delay even by global standards.

The development experiences from Hungary’s M1–M7 smart road also attracted strong interest, and two new joint project proposals were outlined during the visit.

The CityU leadership—including Vice President for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Prof. Michael Yang and Prof. Johnny Ho—introduced the HKtech300 program, which supports research-driven technology startups with seed investments equivalent to approximately 100,000 EUR. The program is open to international partners, and future joint patent applications with BME are also on the agenda.

BYD, Tsinghua, CICV – China’s Technology Hubs

At the Shenzhen headquarters of BYD, Vice President Luo Zhongliang and the future director of the Hungarian plant confirmed that they are actively seeking MSc and PhD students for their Budapest R&D base and are open to launching a collaborative program proposed by BME.

At Beijing’s National Intelligent Connected Vehicle Innovation Center (CICV), experts responded positively to the technological solutions implemented on the M1–M7 section, stating that they are aiming to reach a similar level.

At Tsinghua University, Dr. Zsolt Szalay’s lecture attracted great interest, particularly in the topics of digital twin technology and autonomous drifting—areas where Chinese professors acknowledged that Hungary has a truly unique approach.

Real-World Traffic Tests and AI – Insights from Multiple Chinese Cities

In Beijing and Suzhou, the BME researchers encountered various smart transport solutions where autonomous vehicles are already operating in real urban traffic. These included buses and shuttle vehicles that alternated between relying on their own sensors and external infrastructure signals.

Among the Chinese implementations, Suzhou had the most advanced digital twin model, but even this was found to be surpassed by the Hungarian M1–M7 system in terms of technical capabilities.

Chongqing and Seres Automotive: Training Future Engineers and Autonomous Luxury Vehicles

At Chongqing University, the team was introduced to cutting-edge research in the automation of land, air, and water-based vehicles. Meanwhile, a visit to the Seres Automotive factory showcased the production of Huawei-powered AITO luxury vehicles.

The delegation rode in the M9 flagship model on a fully autonomous 25-minute journey from the factory to the airport. The vehicle successfully handled two unexpected traffic scenarios, demonstrating the maturity of the system.

Global Experience, Local Success – BME’s Smart Road Becomes a Global Reference

The study tour offered unambiguous confirmation: the digital twin-based system developed by the Budapest University of Technology and Economics not only held its ground against the world’s top smart road technologies — it actually outperformed them.

The M1–M7 smart road section has become an international reference point and rightfully claims the title: the world’s smartest highway section.

The collaborations already launched or currently under development—as well as the growing international recognition of Hungarian solutions—are paving the way for Hungary to become a key player in the future of mobility.

The Collaboration Agreements were signed within the framework of the Cooperative Technologies National Laboratory of Hungary (Grant No. 2022-2.1.1-NL-2022-00012), highlighting BME KJK’s strategic vision for interdisciplinary research and innovation through global and national engagement.

The following institutions and representatives participated in the signing of the cooperation agreements:

1. Piri Reis University, Istanbul, Türkiye
   – Prof. Dr. Ziya Söğüt, Vice-Rector
   https://pirireis.edu.tr/en/
2. Sustainable Development and Environment Association (SUDEAS)
   – Prof. Dr. Ziya Söğüt, Founder and President
   https://sudeas.org/
3. Erciyes University – Aviation Application and Research Center (ERHAM), Türkiye
   – Assoc. Prof. Melih Yıldız, Deputy Director
   https://www.erciyes.edu.tr/home/index
4. HT Division
   – Mr. Suat Gökhan Karakuş, CEO
   https://htdivision.com/hu
5. Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VILNIUS TECH) – Institute of Mechanical Sciences, Lithuania
   – Prof. Dr. Artūras Kilikevičius, Director
   https://vilniustech.lt/mechanics/departments/institute-of-mechanical-science/about-institute/299330

Representing the Budapest University of Technology and Economics were:

• Prof. András Nemeslaki, Vice Rector for International Relations
• Prof. Dr. Ádám Török, Vice Dean, Faculty of Transportation Engineering
• Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dániel Rohács, Head of the Department of Aeronautics and Naval Architecture (RHT-BME)
• Assoc. Prof. Dr. Utku Kale, Faculty Member at RHT-BME and European Commission Expert

In addition to the signing ceremony, the gathering welcomed more than 20 international academics and industrial experts from a variety of countries, who participated in discussions on emerging technologies, research synergies, and future collaboration opportunities. Their presence contributed to a dynamic exchange of knowledge and further reinforced the international significance of the initiative.

These partnerships mark an important milestone in BME KJK’s ongoing efforts to foster interdisciplinary cooperation, promote innovation, and contribute meaningfully to the global advancement of transportation technologies.

The conference will cover relevant areas of transportation research with specific focus on User Centered Mobility, Green Mobility and Decarbonization, Planning and Operation, Transport Digitalization. The aim of the conference is to connect academics with practitioners, bring together leading experts, and provide opportunities to promising young researchers. The conference will be accompanied by interesting demonstrations, innovative exhibitions, technical tours, and social events.

We have received almost 1600 abstracts for the TRA 2026 conference, which is the highest number of submissions in the 20-year history of this prestigious conference series. We hope that you are interested in participating in the TRA 2026 conference, supporting the formulation of a national and international scientific community.