152 oral presentations at the PhD Scientific Days

The PhD Scientific Days are one of the key forums where students can practice their presentation skills, learn about each other’s research results, and network with peers. This year, 596 participants and referees attended the conference, 22 of whom came to Budapest in the framework of the European University for Well-Being Alliance (EUniWell).

“It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness,” quoted Dr. Béla Merkely the words of Seneca, the ancient Roman philosopher, which sound equally true two thousand years later, as today’s researchers share their research results, draw inspiration from each other’s work, and shape the future scientific directions together and are striving for excellence while overcoming difficulties, like their predecessors.

The rector noted that, in addition to the university’s namesake and prominent personalities, the success of recent Hungarian Nobel laureates also made it tangible for us how important perseverance, diligence, and steadfastness were.  “If all this is combined with the right talent, then nothing is impossible,” he added.

He reminded the audience that a researcher’s performance was not just a matter of individual ability, it required the right institutional background, support, and infrastructure. For that reason, the Doctoral College of Semmelweis University was unified last year. The college pays special attention to supporting PhD students and has a dedicated working group on programs to facilitate students in obtaining their PhD degrees, but the rector also highlighted the one-on-one coaching sessions, which were recently introduced to assist students in overcoming difficulties. As Dr. Béla Merkely emphasized, PhD training was not only a crucial stage in an academic career but also a unique opportunity for the outstanding talents. “You, who have reached this stage, are the cream of the crop,” he said in acknowledgment of the participants, adding that their work also contributed to the university’s performance in international rankings.

The lecture sessions were opened by Dr. Zoltán Benyó, President of the Doctoral Council. He recommended using the conference’s official application, which, in addition to the detailed program, the venue map, the presenters’ profile, and additional convenience features, also offered abstracts of the presentations to help participants navigate through the diverse programs. As he underlined, students attending the conference as a PhD course were to give an account of the knowledge acquired in the plenary lectures by filling in a test sheet.

The four plenary lectures were delivered by Dr. Henriette Farkas, Professor at the Department of Internal Medicine and Hematology; Dr. István Katona, Head of the Molecular Neurobiology Research Group of the HUN-REN Institute of Experimental Medicine; Dr. Hajnalka Vágó, Professor at the Városmajor Heart and Vascular Center; and Dr. Balázs Hangya, Head of the Systems Neuroscience Research Group at the HUN-REN Institute of Experimental Medicine.

Gallery

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Judit Szabados-Dőtsch
Photos by Bálint Barta – Semmelweis University