The role of universities in regional and urban development

 Debrecen, 21-22 October 2026

University of Debrecen

HUNGARIAN REGIONAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION 24^th ANNUAL MEETING

The 24^th Annual Meeting of the Hungarian Regional Science Association (HRSA) will be held in Debrecen on 21 and 22 October 2026. The conference will be co-organized by the Faculty of Economics and Business, and the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Debrecen. We are planning three plenary sessions and around 200 presentations in 26 sections. One plenary and three parallel sessions will be English-speaking ones.

For the complete program please visit the Hungarian site of the conference.

♦ DRAFT PROGRAMME ♦ 21 October ♦ Wednesday ♦

08.30-16.30 Registration

09.00-10.00 General meeting (for HRSA members, in Hungarian)

10.00-10.10 Annual meeting, Opening ceremony                                                         

10.10-12.00 Plenary session 1. (in English)                                                                 

• Gabriela Carmen Pascariu Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Iași, Romania
• Štefan Rehák Bratislava University of Economics and Business & ERSA Slovakia, Slovak Republic
• Pavel Ptáček Associate Professor, Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic

12.00-13.30 Lunch

13.30-16.00 Parallel sessions

16.00-16.30 Coffee break

16.30-18.00 Plenary session 2. (in Hungarian)

18.00-18.30 Prize award ceremonies  (in Hungarian)

19.00-22.00 Gala dinner                                               

♦ DRAFT PROGRAMME ♦ 22 October ♦ Thursday ♦

09.00–12.00 Parallel sessions

12.00-13.30 Lunch

13.30–15.00 Plenary session 3. (in Hungarian)

15.00-15.30 Coffee break

15.30–18.00 Parallel sessions

SESSIONS IN ENGLISH

23 thematic sessions are organized in Hungarian, 3 parallel sessions are in English. For the detailed program please visit the Hungarian site of the conference.

Abstracts (max. 2000 characters) should be submitted by e-mail to the convenors of the sessions.

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION Deadline: 15 September 2026

SESSION 1   Innovation and new regional development paths   Call for papers (pdf)
Session organizers: Zsófia Vas University of Szeged Institute of Economics and Economic Development –
Zoltán Elekes ANETI Lab at ELTE KRTK; CERUM, Umeå University
vas.zsofia@eco.u-szeged.hu

SESSION 2   Path dependency in industrial development and policy   Call for papers (pdf)
Session organizer: Andrea Éltető senior research fellow, KRTK VGI
elteto.andrea@krtk.hu

SESSION 3   The role of energy communities in regional development   Call for papers (pdf)
Session organizers: Orsolya Farkas PhD, research fellow, Eötvös Loránd University, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies, Institute for Regional Studies, West Hungarian Research Department –
András Molnár PhD, Community Energy Coordinator, Solidarity Economy Centre
farkas.orsolya@krtk.elte.hu

REGISTRATION

Registration period: From 1 to 30 September 2026.

Participation fee includes up to 2 presentations. Payment is required after abstract acceptance and registration.

REGISTRATION FEES (for non-domestic participants and organisations)

• 120 EUR for Non-members of RSAI/ERSA
• 100 EUR for RSAI/ERSA members
• 90 EUR for Accompanying persons / Attendee without presentation

REGISTRATION FEES (for Hungarian participants and organisations) 

• Details in Hungarian website.

PUBLISHING OPPORTUNITY

Details in Hungarian website.

CONTACT

Szilárd Rácz, HRSA secretary general szracz@rkk.hu

VENUE

Debreceni Egyetem Gazdaságtudományi Kar
(Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Debrecen)
4032 Debrecen, Böszörményi út 138.
MAP

CO-ORGANISERS

University of Debrecen Faculty of Economics and Business

University of Debrecen Faculty of Science and Technology

We reserve the right to change the program.

We are looking forward to meeting you at the Annual Conference of HRSA in Debrecen.

Kind regards,
Ilona Pálné Kovács, President of HRSA