The first meeting of the Academy of Young Researchers (FKA) – a scientific body organized from below, which works in line with the MTA’s public tasks – took place on 7 May 2019. The FKA’s primary objectives are to work in cooperation with the Academy’s bodies and to represent young Hungarian researchers both in Hungary and at the international level. The new organization wishes to promote young researcher’s professional development and strengthen the links between scientists and society.

The EGU General Assembly was held between the 4th and 8th of April 2019 in Vienna, where a commemorative exhibition was displayed on the occasion of the Eötvös anniversary. At the exhibition booth posters were shown about the life and works of Loránd Eötvös, illustrated by a selection of the greatest stereoscopic photographs made by Eötvös. The highlight of the exhibition was undoubtedly the original double torsion balance that was transported to the venue from the Geodetic and Geophysical Institute, Sopron.

Delegations from the MTA and the ITM last convened on 12 April 2019. As a result of detailed discussions starting on 1 April, a proposal package was completed. This package was discussed by the Presidium of the Academy on 16 April.

The delegations of the MTA and the ITM met on 12 April 2019 for the last time. As a result of detailed discussions starting on 1 April, a proposal package was completed. This package will be discussed by the Presidium of the Academy, and the General Assembly will decide on it on 6 May 2019.

MTA’s research institute network ranks as one of the best in Europe. The performance of the network is excellent and includes several research institutes that are on the cutting edge of science and should be regarded as national treasures. There is no need for a fundamental restructuring of the research network, but as is the case for every system, there are opportunities for development, for example, by including young researchers more intensively. These are the most important conclusions drawn from a professional comprehensive audit carried out by Hungarian and international experts delegated by the MTA and the Ministry for Innovation and Technology (ITM) along international standards. The Academy ordered this audit at the request of the ITM.

Academic freedom and institutional autonomy: commitments must be followed by action

Social norms in general, and norms of cooperation in particular, are the cement of all human societies. For the difficult problems of the maintenance and enforcement of social norms and of cooperation, humans have developed surprisingly complex solutions. Reputation mechanisms and gossip are certainly among the compound informal solutions. According to common wisdom, gossip channels mainly negative and often fictitious information.

One of the most debated subjects in city development in Budapest right now is the problem of so-called ’overtourism’ in the central districts VI and VII. Overtourism was defined by the Responsible Tourism Partnership (2018) as “destinations where hosts or guests, locals or visitors, feel that there are too many visitors and that the quality of life in the area or the quality of the experience has deteriorated unacceptably”. A Daily News Hungary report (2015) suggested that tourism is growing year on year in Budapest (e.g. 5.2% growth from 2013-2014) but that tourists spend significantly less than in Prague. The low spending is attributed to the popularity of “low-budget party tourism” based on the “age of ruin pubs” and a “flourishing” Airbnb market.

Mushroom-forming fungi have the greatest morphological diversity and complexity of any group of fungi. They have radiated into most niches and fulfil diverse roles in the ecosystem, including wood decomposers, pathogens or mycorrhizal mutualists. Despite the importance of mushroom-forming fungi, large-scale patterns of their evolutionary history are poorly known, in part due to the lack of a comprehensive and dated molecular phylogeny.

The Presidium of the Academy (the main decision-making body of the Academy between two general assemblies) met on 21 March 2019. The directors of the MTA research centres and independent research institutes were also invited to the meeting.