Summary of the activities of the Hungarian Regional Science Association

September 2014 – September 2015

August 27, 2015

Membership

Currently the HRSA has 104 active members from Hungary and 93 registered members from neighbouring countries. HRSA operates 12 regional sections (in all the 7 regions of Hungary and in 5 regions abroad where Hungarian speaking regional specialists are working). The half of sections operates on a regular basis.

Past events

The HRSA organized the 18^th and 19^th semesters (academic year 2014/2015) of the Free University on Local Development as a series of 6 events, specialized in  actual issues and the introduction of  development possibilities of two cross-border regions. The events were organized in collaboration with renowned partners. These events attracted on average 180 participants, the majority of them being university students.

The HRSA organized the 9^th Conference of Young Regionalists on June 19-20, in co-operation with Széchenyi István University and Institute for Regional Studies of HAS. The conference focused on the regional processes, structures and institutions of the last 25 years in Hungary. 8 sessions hosted 80 presentations.

On November 27-28, 2014, the 12^th annual conference of the HRSA was held in Veszprém, Hungary. 157 participants attended the conference, among others 15 experts from abroad and 41 PhD students. Prof. Roberta Capello was the invited international keynote speaker of the conference. On the first day two plenary sessions were organized: the first in English, the second in Hungarian. The second day of the conference was focused on different aspects of local development. 12 parallel sessions (one in English) hosted more than 100 presentations with the participation of several invited speakers. The 'Pro Regional Science Award' and the traditional 'Young Regional Scientist' prize were delivered.

Upcoming events

The HRSA is going to hold its 13^th annual conference in November 19-20, 2015 in Eger with the focus on the Regional Processes of Central and Eastern Europe. The keynote speaker will be Prof. Jouke van Dijk. On the second day of the conference parallel sessions will be organized, one session in English (Regional Processes of Central and Eastern Europe, 1990–2015). Presentations of 20 minutes are welcomed. Registration is free of charge for the speakers from Central and Eastern Europe (excluding Hungary). The call for papers and program will available in the website of the HRSA in September.

Following previous activities, HRSA continues to organize the Regional Science Evenings (every second month). Among other programs, the Free University on Local Development will celebrate its 20^th semester in early October, 2015.

Contact

Attila Varga, professor, ERSAC representative vargaa@ktk.pte.hu

Szilárd Rácz, secretary szracz@rkk.hu