Institute of Rural Development and Sustainable Economy of the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences - MATE organised a two-day international conference, 10-11 April 2025, which was hosted by the MATE Károly Róbert Campus. The Sustainability and Resilience International Scientifc Conference (SRIS Conference) focused on economic and social sciences and related disciplines.

The English-language conference attracted over 230 participants from 20 countries around the world, from Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa. Speakers addressed sustainability and resilience from social, economic and environmental perspectives in more than 150 presentations and more than 50 posters.

​​​​​​The conference was designed to provide an opportunity for different generations to meet, as well as to engage in professional debate. Doctoral and master's students were able to exchange ideas with major university professors, and the conference also provided a good opportunity to build new professional relationships and to nurture existing ones. 

​​​​​​For MATE, this conference was of particular importance not only in terms of international visibility, but also in terms of cooperation between the institutes. The scientific event was attended by speakers and visitors from 10 institutes of the University.

Dr. Zoltán Bujdosó, Director of the MATE Institute of Rural Development and Sustainable Economy and Director General of the Károly Róbert Campus, said: "The recent drastic changes in the international and domestic economic environment have created new challenges for actors, which require new approaches in a domestic and international context designed for normal economic conditions. The aim of the conference was to provide a meeting place for national and international stakeholders across the broad spectrum of economic and social sciences, and to provide them with help and solutions to address the theoretical and practical issues of the multifaceted new challenges."

​​​​​​On the second day of the conference, sustainability was also the focus of the study tour, so today the participants will visit the Mátra Power Plant, where they will learn about the company's sustainability programme and renewable energy use.

Original article by Réka Nagy
Photos by Réka Nagy and Patrik Szklenár