It is the government’s top priority that Hungary should belong in the top five most liveable and competitive countries in Europe by 2030, an official of the ministry of innovation and technology said on Thursday.
Spending on research and development was 1.61% of GDP last year, a record high since 1990, he said on Facebook. The government has introduced support schemes and improved work conditions for Hungarian researchers, as a result of which their number was over 62,000 last year as against 31,000 in 2010, he said. The crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic has not prevented an increase in high value added, knowlegde-based employment in Hungary, he added. Most new jobs have been created in sectors that boost long-term competitiveness, including the IT sector, he said.
Universities play a key role in improving innovation and the government has placed higher education institutions in the focus of the researcher network, he said. Universities’ research and development spending has exceeded 100 billion forints (EUR 270m) for the first time, he added. The government’s strategy is to increase the proportion of research and development resources to 3% of GDP by 2030, Schanda said.
hungarymatters.hu
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