The ESFRI Forum was established in 2002 to promote a coherent, strategy-led approach to policy-making on research infrastructures (RIs) in Europe and to facilitate multilateral initiatives leading to the better use and development of RIs.
An important objective of the ESFRI Forum is to produce a roadmap of the current situation and future goals of European RIs every 3 to 5 years, identifying the research infrastructures that are critical at pan-European level and essential for the long-term needs of European research communities.
Of the 22 projects and 41 landmarks included in the latest roadmap (ESFRI Roadmap 2021), Hungary is a full member in 4 projects and 16 landmarks; participation of Hungarian researchers in these schemes is ensured by annual membership fees paid by the NRDI Office. Two of these schemes, the ELI - Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI ERIC) and the ELI Attosecond Light Pulse Source (ELI ALPS) in Szeged are of particular importance for us.
Gábor Szabó
The delegates were welcomed by Prof. Dr. Gábor Szabó, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Szeged. The closed meeting was attended by about 60 policy-makers and academic representatives from EU Member States and associated countries. During the two-day meeting, the participants discussed the tasks related to the preparation of ESFRI Roadmap 2026, the role of research infrastructures, in particular in the EU’s research framework programme for the next budget cycle (FP10), and the relationship of RIs with other European initiatives such as EOSC, EDICs, TIs.
László Bódis
As a closing event of the meeting, the delegates visited ELI ALPS, where László Bódis, Deputy State Secretary for Innovation of the Ministry of Culture and Innovation, greeted the participants. The research facilities offered by ELI ERIC were presented by Allen Weeks, Director General of ELI ERIC. His presentation was followed by a tour of the laboratories, where delegates were able to see the unique equipment of the research facility.
Caption:
The 89th meeting of the European Strategic Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI Forum), co-organized by the NRDIO, was hosted by the University of Szeged