General Call

Spring 2027

General Call

The National Association for Student Research (OTDT), under the patronage of the Minister of Culture and Innovation, the President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and with the moral, professional and financial support of the ministries and institutions, organizations and foundations involved in higher education, announces the 38th National Student Research Conference (38th OTDK) for the spring of 2027.

The national tradition of associations for student research is the broadest and most comprehensive form of talent management in Hungarian higher education, a platform for self-education, elite training and education to become scientists. It is in the stimulating atmosphere of the different Associations for TDK circles around masters, supervisors and researchers that most talented students have their first scientific experience.

By announcing the 38th OTDK, OTDT invites university and college students, including non-Hungarian native speaker students studying within international programs in Hungary, to submit their high-quality TDK papers and creations to the qualifying TDK conferences, where they can earn the right to participate in the 38th OTDK, and thus present their results at the national conference in front of their fellow students and the most outstanding experts in their field. At the same time, OTDT calls on professors, researchers and developers in higher education, science and practice to help the new generation to develop as masters and reviewers.

The aim of the OTDK

The 38th OTDK is a national presentation and evaluation forum for the most outstanding scientific and artistic achievements of university and college students in the period between 2025 and 2027, already qualified at qualifying conferences.

Its aim is to encourage scientific and artistic TDK activities as well as support talented students and their masters. Also, it offers help for further research and career development and encourages applications for doctoral programs.

Sections of the national conference, system of evaluation and recognition

Traditionally, the 38th OTDK will be organized in 16 disciplinary sections. Sections are organized into sessions. The OTDK section organizers may, with the agreement of the OTDT Section Committees, plan sessions with a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 15 papers. An additional condition is that sessions can only be organized if several institutions are involved. A ranking and a special prize of the Session Panel can only be awarded in the session if at least 5 and no more than 15 of the 6 to 15 classified papers are presented. If the number of papers presented in a section is less than five, the session may be merged with another session at the discretion of the OTDT Section Committee Chair responsible for the OTDK section. To be eligible for merging, the merged session must include at least 5 and no more than 15 TDK papers, so that rankings and prizes can be awarded.

Details of the 38th OTDK Sections are given in Supplement 1 of the General Call.

The harmonized conditions for participation in the 38th OTDK (specified by OTDT) are set out in Supplement 2 of the General Call.

Additional rules for participation, which reflect the specificities of the sections and may vary from one section to another, will be jointly developed by the section committees representing the main higher education institutions in the fields and the organizing institutions and published in the Section Calls that will complement the General Call. The section-specific requirements for TDK papers are set out in the relevant supplements to the Section Calls.

All official documents of the OTDT and the section committees related to the 38th OTDK can be found at https://otdk.hu/.

OTDT operates an online system (OTDT online system) to ensure the quality of student research conferences and the OTDK, which can be accessed from the OTDT website.

Accepted applications for the conference must be presented at the sessions – after a written preliminary evaluation – in the manner and according to the rules specified in the Section Calls.

The language of the OTDK is Hungarian. For non-Hungarian native speaker students studying in Hungary through international programs, the language of the conference is English. Students from non-Hungarian-speaking cross-border higher education institutions can also submit their paper in English. Other rules for the acceptance and presentation of TDK papers in foreign languages are set out in detail in the Section Calls.

Study circles from cross-border universities and colleges can participate in the 38th OTDK under the same professional conditions as those in Hungary. For them, the student research conferences are exclusively the national conferences in the country where they study and the student research conferences mentioned in this call, namely the Transylvanian Student Research Conferences (ETDKs) in Romania, in the field of real sciences and humanities the student research conferences of Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania and Partium Christian University, the Hungarian Scientific Conference of Vojvodir Students (VMTDK) in Serbia, the Student Research Conference in the Highlands (FTDK) in Slovakia and the Student Research Conference in Transcarpathia (KTDK) in Ukraine. Students from other countries can apply to be accepted to any student research conferences in Hungary or across borders. In the field of military science and law enforcement, in addition to these conferences, students may also be eligible to participate in the student research conferences of their own Hungarian higher education institutions (only for TDK papers submitted to the Military Science and Law Enforcement Section). OTDT supports the participation of cross-border students and professors in the 38th OTDK through the TDK without Borders (HTDK) Program.

The conference is also open to secondary school students in Hungary and across borders who present their research results at conferences of higher education institutions or national high school science student conferences (see Supplement 4 of the 37th OTDK General Call) and are nominated for the OTDK. The presentations of high school students will be classified in the section corresponding to their topic, and will be evaluated and awarded according to the internal rules of the host sections, following the same rules as the presentations of university and college students.

A certificate of participation in the OTDK will be awarded to all authors and supervisors of each paper presented. In addition, a maximum of one third of the papers presented may be awarded one of the first, second and third places per section, taking into account that a maximum of one entry per session may be awarded first place. The Section Panel may award a special prize to those papers that do not achieve ranking but are judged by the Session Panel to be worthy of recognition on the basis of their professional merit, and which are judged to be immediately behind the winning applications. The authors of the winning papers and those of the papers receiving the Special Prize of the Session Panel will each receive a certificate for the ranking or the Special Prize of the Session Panel.

The total number of winning papers and papers awarded the Special Prize of the Session Panel may not exceed 50% of the total number of papers presented in a section. Further rules on prizes are set out in Supplement 3 to the General Call.

After the section meetings of the conference, first place winners of the 37th and 38th OTDK sessions (first place winners of the 37th OTDK if they also presented a paper at the 38th OTDK) can apply for the Pro Scientia Gold Medal, and institutions can nominate their professors who have been outstanding in talent development for the OTDK Gold Medal (Supplement 5). OTDT also contributes to the organization of innOtdk.

Student research conferences

OTDT calls on the heads of higher education institutions, the TDT chairs, TDK referents, professors, researchers and students to create the possibility of organizing qualifying student research conferences at their institutions prior to the OTDK. TDK papers by students from Hungarian institutions not organizing a student research conference, as well as by cross-border students from countries not organizing a conference of their own, should also be accepted on request.

Nomination for the national conference should be a sign of professional and moral appreciation. Our common goal is to ensure that the best TDK papers and the most talented applicants, measured by a single scientific yardstick, are presented at the national conference. We strive to ensure that the institutions and scientific schools participating in the 38th OTDK are not judged by the number of TDK papers submitted, but by their professional quality. The evaluation, ranking and awards at student research conferences should also help to achieve this.

OTDT considers it an important task to integrate the OTDK into the system of student research conferences organized by the institutions and to make it a national final. It therefore proposes that TDK papers nominated by the institutional student research conferences for the OTDK should be judged on the basis of an evaluation system developed by OTDT’s own scientific field-specific section committee.

The National Association for Student Research calls on the heads of higher education institutions, professors and researchers of universities and colleges, heads of doctoral schools, as well as student and doctoral student governments to contribute to the success of the institutional student research conferences and then the national conference by supporting the young generation of scientists, by supporting TDK activities, as well as by their helpful criticism and personal participation.

It also invites the relevant authorities, research institutes, foundations, financial institutions, companies, technical and scientific associations and individuals sponsoring scientific activities to support the 38th National Scientific Student Conference and the institutional student research conferences nominating for the OTDK, in accordance with the tradition of the past decades, by showing interest and providing professional and financial support to the sections, as well as by offering monetary prizes, professional community and material rewards.

Budapest, September 22, 2025

The present General Call of the 38th OTDK was adopted by the National Association for Student Research at its meeting on September 22, 2025, and entered into force on that date.

Sections

The 38th National Student Research Conference will be organized in the following sections:

1. AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES SECTION

2. LAW AND POLITICAL SCIENCE SECTION

3. BIOLOGY SECTION

4. PHYSICS, EARTH SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS SECTION

5. MILITARY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT SECTION

6. HUMAN SCIENCES SECTION

7. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY SECTION

8. CHEMICAL AND CHEMICAL INDUSTRY SECTION

 9. ECONOMICS SECTION

 10. TECHNICAL SCIENCES SECTION

11. ARTS AND ART THEORY SECTION

 12. EDUCATION AND LEARNING METHODOLOGY SECTION

13. MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES SECTION

 14. PSYCHOLOGY AND EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES SECTION

15. SOCIAL SCIENCES SECTION

16. PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND SPORT SCIENCE SECTION

Eligibility Criteria for the 38th National Student Research Conference

1. General Information

The General Call of the 38th OTDK aims to provide TDT chairs and participants preparing a TDK paper with the most relevant information on how to submit an entry. This document covers the main administrative tasks. In addition to the call, TDT chairs and applicants can also follow the latest additional information about the 38th OTDK on the OTDT website.

Contact details of the OTDT Office:

Website:  https://otdk.hu/
E-mail: otdk@otdt.hu
Postal address: National Association for Student Research
1095 Budapest, Mester utca 36.

2. Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible, the TDK paper and all its authors must meet the conditions set out in the General Call and its supplements.

For the 38th OTDK, students are eligible who at the time of the first round of the qualifying science/art field, faculty or institutional student research conference (hereinafter referred to as student research conference) following the registration period of the 37th OTDK and preceding the registration period of the 38th OTDK attended

• an integrated master’s program,
• a BA/BSc program,
• an MA/MSc,
• a BProf (Bachelor of Profession) program;
• higher education vocational training,

and meet all the requirements of the General Call and the Section Call they are applying for.[1] Further, high school students who meet the criteria set out in the General Call and its supplements are also eligible to apply for the 38th OTDK.

2.1. Content requirements

• A TDK paper (written work or artistic creation) documenting scholarly/artistic activity carried out during the period of study for the purpose of independent academic development,
• containing the academic achievements of their undergraduate training,
• personally presented by the applicant(s) at the student research conference
• between spring 2025 and February 2027 at the latest in the semester of the final degree for BA/BSc/MA/MSc/integrated master’s[2] program students in Hungary; for students who have qualified in cross-border trainings at the student research conferences of the 37th National Student Research Conference (ETDK, EMTE and PKE conferences, FTDK, KTDK, VMTDK); for participants in higher education vocational programs, before the final exam,
• presented in person by the participant(s),
• and there its presentation was recommended by the Session Panel to apply for the 38th National Student Research Conference.

Only those TDK papers that and for which all the authors meet all the requirements set out in point 2 of this Supplement, shall be eligible for the 38th OTDK.

Students (authors) must, at the time of submitting their paper, provide a written declaration in the online system confirming compliance with the rules of research ethics. The Declaration: “I hereby declare that in my TDK paper I have fully complied with the research ethics requirements set out in the OTDT Code of Ethics, and that I will continue to observe them during my participation in the OTDK.”

The Section Committees operate ad hoc ethics panels of 3–5 members, in accordance with the OTDT Code of Ethics, to assess conduct that may be in breach of the Code.

A thesis produced in the course of continuous TDK activity during BA and BSc education, can be entered to the 38th OTDK, if it meets the requirements of the Call and its Supplements and has been presented at a student research conference either during the BA/BSc or the subsequent MA/MSc training and has there been delegated to the OTDK.

Compulsory assignments prescribed in the curriculum during university or college studies, seminar papers, as well as – in the case of students in integrated master’s or MA/MSc programs – theses already defended by the time of the institutional TDK conference, and scientific works prepared and/or presented by doctoral students after obtaining their university degree may not be submitted to the National Student Research Conference, as they do not fall within the scope of higher education self-study.

Furthermore:

a) students who already hold a previously obtained PhD/DLA degree at the time of the student research conference are not eligible for the 38th OTDK;

b) the participation of students who, at the time of the student research conference, are enrolled in one of the program types listed in point 2 but already hold a diploma obtained in one of these programs (with the exception of participation in a master’s program following the first BA/BSc degree, which cannot be excluded) may be regulated by the disciplinary sections in their own calls;

c) students who already hold a degree obtained in a master’s program or an integrated master’s program and who were also enrolled in doctoral program at the time of the institutional TDK conference may not participate in the 38th OTDK with a TDK paper on the same topic as their doctoral research. These students must declare the topic of their doctoral research during the application to the 38th OTDK.

The content of the TDK paper submitted to the 38th OTDK must be identical to the paper with which the author(s) of the paper has (have) qualified for participation in the OTDK at student research conference. (Changes required by the formal requirements set out in the section calls shall not be considered as substantive modifications.)

The OTDT Board issues general guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence (AI), which are included in Supplement 6 of present General Call; further specific guidance on the use of AI may be provided in the calls of the individual scientific field sections. The author(s) must declare the use of AI in the OTDT online system during the application of the TDK paper to the 38th OTDK. OTDT also reminds students who wish to apply that the TDK papers will be checked by plagiarism detection software. Applications that are proven to infringe copyright will be excluded from the 38th OTDK by the OTDT, with simultaneous notification to the nominating institution.

A paper can be entered for the OTDK only once and in one section. If a participant submits more than one paper, they must declare at the time of application that there is no substantive and significant overlap between the TDK papers; the section committees and the organizing committees will also examine any overlap between the submitted TDK papers when verifying the applications. The section committee may decide that the extent of overlap is not permissible; in this case, the participant must choose which TDK paper to present, and the other applications will be deleted. If a section concerned does not require a TDK paper, the decision must be based on whether substantive and significant overlap can be excluded on the basis of the abstracts. If the participant fails to make the statement at the time of application, all of their papers will be disqualified.

TDK papers with restricted access are not eligible for the 38th OTDK!

Attention is drawn to the OTDT Code of Ethics, which sets out the ethical principles of the TDKs and the OTDK and the ethical procedures to be followed by participants engaged in scientific and artistic student research, by professors and researchers undertaking tasks, as well as by the various bodies of the OTDT at different levels. The current Code of Ethics is available on the OTDT website.

3. Documentation of student research conferences

OTDT operates an electronic data management system (hereinafter: online system) for managing student research conferences, as well as OTDK, and Pro Scientia Gold Medal applications. The online system is available on the OTDT website: https://otdk.hu.

The documents of the student research conferences must be recorded in the OTDT online system/submitted to the OTDT Office by the institution/faculty TDT chair, secretary or referent (hereinafter: TDT chair) no later than two weeks after the conference, in the manner set out below:

• A record in the format specified by the OTDT is required for the student research conference. The record entry interface and the related completion guide are available on the OTDK website: https://tdkjegyzokonyv.otdk.hu.
• The completed records, duly filled in with all the required data and saved in XML format, must be uploaded to the OTDT online system.
• The completed records, signed by the Session Panel members, must be scanned and uploaded to the online system or sent to the OTDT Office by e-mail.

Upon receipt of the documentation, the OTDT Office will check the signed document against the data contained in the XML file uploaded in the OTDT online system and, if the content is identical, approve the record. If there is a discrepancy between the signed record and XML version, the OTDT Office will request a correction from the TDT Chair concerned and, upon receipt of the correction, will approve the record if it clearly contains the requested information and data.

4. Students’ tasks in connection with participation in the 38th OTDK

Upon receipt of the record of the student research conference by the OTDT Office, students will receive automatic notification to the e-mail address given in the record that their TDK paper has been proposed for the 38th OTDK (for students who became eligible in the second semester of the academic year 2024–2025 or the first semester of the academic year 2025–2026, the letters will be sent after the publication of the 38th OTDK Section Calls). Students have 30 days from the date of sending the e-mail to upload their TDK paper, which is identical in content to the one presented at the student research conference and proposed for the 38th OTDK, in PDF format to the OTDT online system and to select the section in which they would later like to enter the TDK paper. Students who qualify with their TDK papers at a student research conference held within 30 days before the registration deadline for the relevant section of the 38th OTDK must upload their TDK papers to the online system by the registration deadline at the latest.

The formal and content requirements of the TDK papers by section are set out in the relevant supplements to each Section Call. A short summary of the student’s self-assessed achievements must be included in the abstract uploaded during the registration process, up to a maximum of 2,500 characters (see the relevant supplements to the Section Calls for more detailed information on abstracts). TDT chairs are invited to organize the student research conferences in accordance with the OTDK Sections’ guidelines, and to set the formal requirements for the TDK papers in accordance with the Sections’ specifications and the evaluation should also be based on the criteria of the Sections.

4.1. Steps of registration for applicants

4.1.1. Pre-registration of TDK papers

Following the student research conference, the TDK paper must be uploaded and the section must be selected within 30 days of sending the e-mail indicated in point 4. TDK papers must be uploaded to OTDT’s online system in PDF format. The maximum file size is 10 megabytes.

ATTENTION! Uploading a TDK paper does not constitute an entry to the OTDK, applications must be submitted during the registration period, following the steps described in the next section.

4.1.2. The application

The registration period will start on 16 November 2026 and will end on the registration deadline indicated in the Section Calls (see point 4.3).

All students wishing to apply for the 38th OTDK are requested to submit their applications responsibly, that is, to finalize their application in the OTDT online system only if they genuinely intend to participate in the event. If you have finalized your application but are unable to attend the conference, please inform the organizers of the section concerned as soon as possible.

Students’ tasks during this period are:

• Filling in the information related to the uploaded application.
• Uploading the abstract as specified in the Section Calls.
• Entering five keywords not included in the title of the TDK paper in the upload area of the abstract.
• Finalizing the application in the OTDT online system.
• Uploading of any additional documents requested by the section (if applicable, details are provided in the Section Calls).

4.1.3. Supplementation of the application

Following the participants’ registration deadline:

The TDT Chair of the institution must be provided with the documentation and TDK papers related to the application in the format requested by each section, as specified in the Section Calls.

4.2. Additional tasks for students who have obtained a pre-degree certificate or are expected to obtain a pre-degree certificate in the semester of registration

Students who have obtained a pre-degree certificate between the student research conference and the 38th OTDK must declare the date of obtaining their pre-degree certificate in the OTDT online system during the registration (those who expect to obtain their pre-degree certificate in the semester of registration after the registration deadline, must indicate that they expect to obtain their pre-degree certificate in the semester of registration).

For students qualified at the ETDK, FTDK, KTDK and VMTDK, the expected finalization date of their application to the 38th OTDK must be given as the date of the pre-degree certificate, since in their case this was already verified upon admission to the qualifying conference.

4.3. Registration deadlines for participants for the 38th OTDK

Section Calls will include a specific date chosen by the organizing institutions from the following options:

• December 9, 2026 (Wednesday)
• January 8, 2027 (Friday)
• January 11, 2027 (Monday)
• January 13, 2027 (Wednesday)
• January 20, 2027 (Wednesday)
• January 27, 2027 (Wednesday)
• February 22, 2027 (Monday) – Medical and Health Sciences Section

5. Tasks of the TDT Chairs in relation to the 38th OTDK

5.1. Following the student research conference:

Uploading the documents of the student research conference as detailed in point 3 above. TDK papers proposed for the OTDK and included in the records of student research conferences and their authors must comply with the requirements set out in the General Call of the current OTDK, in particular the student status clause.

5.2. Following the participants’ registration deadline:

• Approval of applications in the OTDT online system. (Applications are automatically approved, the TDT Chair only has to deal with this if they do not approve an entry.)
• Approval of the summary list of the approved submissions by section in the OTDT online system and/or its generation from the online system and signature with a qualified electronic signature/printing and signing/, subsequent electronic upload to the OTDT online system. By approving/signing the summary list, TDT Chairs also declare that all the applications and their authors comply with the requirements of this call.
• In the case of sections where their own call stipulates it, sending the applications (TDK papers) and the requested additional documents to the institutions organizing the section in the copy and format specified in their call.

The deadlines for the uploading of the necessary documents into the OTDT online system by the institutional and faculty TDT Chairs and, if requested by the section, for their submission:

• December 14, 2026 (Monday)
• January 14, 2027 (Thursday)
• January 18, 2027 (Monday)
• January 25, 2027 (Monday)
• February 1, 2027 (Monday)
• 26 February, 2027 (Friday) – Medical and Health Sciences Section

6. Acceptance of applications

Sessions of the 38th OTDK may only be attended having a formal application submitted to and accepted by the OTDT Office and the institution organizing the section in due time. The OTDT, the relevant section committee and the institution organizing the section decide jointly on the acceptance of the application, of which the applicants are notified via the OTDT online system. The TDT Chairs/Referents of the sending institutions can follow up the acceptance, rejection and submission of the applications through the OTDT online system.

Once the application has been accepted, applicants must submit their presentation to the organizing institution in the manner published by the sections.

7. Written and oral evaluation of TDK papers

TDK papers submitted to the 38th OTDK (in the case of the Art and Art Theory Section, only the theoretical papers, not the written description of the creative process) are evaluated in writing by at least two reviewers. The purpose of the written evaluation is to examine the applicant’s independent achievements, which meet the criteria of academic rigor in the field, and to provide feedback in the form of a written assessment that elaborates on the content. The criteria for the written evaluation are set by the OTDT section committees of the relevant scientific fields and are part of their Section Calls. In all cases, the written evaluation will be recorded by the reviewers in OTDT’s online system and published by the Sections in the manner and at the time specified in their Section Calls.

The invitation of reviewers and panel members is made by the section organizers with the approval of the section committees. The professional criteria for the appointment of the reviewers/panel members are set by the section committees.

The oral evaluation is carried out by the Session Panels. The number of panel members in each session shall consist of at least three voting members and one non-voting secretary responsible for administration. The oral evaluation will always consist of two parts: a presentation by the author(s) and a subsequent discussion with questions from the panel members. The time slots for each session are indicated in the Section Calls, along with the evaluation criteria.

The organizers will pay particular attention to avoiding any conflict of interest in the selection of both reviewers and panel members.

In both the written and oral evaluation, care should be taken to ensure that the professional feedback given to the participants relates to the scientific/professional merits of the TDK paper and the presentation, serves the participants’ further development, provides useful inspiration for them to continue their scientific research and is in no way offensive or insulting. OTDT reminds the organizers and the section committees to make these criteria known to the reviewers/panel members when they are invited and to provide training for reviewers and panel members to ensure that the authors of TDK papers receive high quality feedback.

8. Registration fee for the 38th OTDK

The registration fees for the 38th OTDK will be determined at a later stage, subject to the availability of funding. Information on registration fees will be provided in the supplement to the General Call, on the OTDT website and by e-mail to the TDT Chairs.

[1] Eligibility for the 38th OTDK may be obtained at an institutional TDK conference in the second semester of the 2024–2025 academic year, in the first and second semesters of the 2025–2026 academic year, and in the first and second semesters of the 2026–2027 academic year.

[2] Certificate of completion (pre-degree certificate): certifies the successful completion of the examinations prescribed in the curriculum and, with the exception of the thesis, the fulfilment of other study requirements and the acquisition of the credits prescribed in the training and outcome requirements, which certifies, without qualification and evaluation, that the applicant has fully met the study and examination requirements prescribed in the curriculum in the degree program covering the subject of the TDK paper. The date of the pre-degree certificate can be found in the electronic study system.

Framework for professional recognition at the OTDK

Awards

1) The forms of professional recognition in the OTDK Sections are rankings and special prizes of the Section Panel. The General Call of the OTDK sets the maximum proportion of these in relation to the number of TDK papers presented.

2) Rankings and special prizes of the Section Panel are purely professional awards, based on the professional content of the awarded TDK papers, and not dependent on the possibility of a prize being attached to them.

3) In the sections of the OTDK, only the Section Panel of the respective section is entitled to award rankings and special prizes.

4) The Chair of the Section Panel is the President of the OTDT Field Chair of the Section Committee.

5) In the OTDK Sections, only the Session Panels will in their submitted minutes propose rankings and special prizes to the Section Panel.[1]

6) The OTDT and the OTDK certificate of recognition, which includes the visual elements of the OTDT and the OTDK, will be awarded only together with rankings and special prizes of the Section Panel.

Rewards

1) Rewards may be attached to the rankings and the special prizes of the Session Panel, subject to the prior statement of the Section Committee, with respect to the tradition, and the decision of the Section Panel.

2) This reward can be either of no direct material value (e.g. a publishing opportunity) or of material value (e.g. a reward in cash, goods or services).

3) In the case of a reward offered by an external sponsor at the section level, the admissibility of the offer will be decided jointly by the Chair of the Section Committee and the Chair of the Organizing Committee, after considering any restrictions attached to the offer, before the meeting of the Section Panel.

4) The Secretary of OTDT shall inform the Chair of the Section Committee and the Chair of the Organizing Committee in writing in advance of any specific procedures concerning rewards offered by an external sponsor at OTDT level and accepted by the President of OTDT. In this case, too, the decision is in the hands of the Section Panel.

5) When accepting and granting rewards, the rank of the OTDK and proportionality shall be taken into account.

6) Information on sponsorships accepted and rewards offered in relation to specific sessions may be provided by the Chair of the Session Panel at section meetings where appropriate, and sponsors’ information sheets may be placed at sessions.

7) At the closing ceremony of the Sections, the name of the sponsor may be displayed when presenting the rewards accepted along with the prizes, taking into account proportionality and without compromising the smooth running of the event. In exceptionally justified cases, a representative of the sponsor may be involved in the award ceremony.

[1] Traditionally, the only exception to this is the PSAT Special Prize, which is proposed by the PSAT representative present at the Section Panel, after the first place winners in the section selected at the Section Panel have been announced.

High school student research conferences eligible to delegate papers to the 38th OTDK (the list may be extended at the discretion of the President of National Association for Student Research):

• TUDOK (Carpathian Basin Conference organized by the National Association of Student Researchers),
• Országos Diákvegyész Napok (National Student Chemists Days),
• Országos Középiskolai Földtudományi Diákkonferencia (National High School Earth Science Student Conference),
• Hlavay József Országos Környezettudományi és Műszaki Diákkonferencia (József Hlavay National Environmental Science and Technology Student Conference),
• National Science and Innovation Olympiad,

• MCC Középiskolás Ösztöndíjprogram Zárókonferencia (MCC High School Scholarship Program Closing Conference, conference organised by the Mathias Corvinus Collegium Foundation’s High School Scholarship Program),
• Tudományról Diákoknak Kíváncsiságból (TDK) – Tehetségútlevél a felsőoktatásba (About Science for Students Out of Curiosity (TDK) – Talent Passport to Higher Education, a program of the Eszterházy Károly Catholic University).
• Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary

Awards and recognitions of OTDT in connection with the 38th OTDK

Pro Scientia Gold Medal

The awarding of the PRO SCIENTIA GOLD MEDAL will take place after the 38th National Student Research Conference. In line with the previous practice of the National Association for Student Research, in 2027, a maximum of 48 Pro Scientia Gold Medals, two Pro Arte Gold Medals and one Junior Pro Scientia Gold Medal[1] will be awarded.

The Pro Scientia Gold Medal is awarded by the National Association for Student Research on the basis of the conference participants’ TDK papers, upon the recommendation of the section committees. Conditions for submitting an application are the participation in the 2027 national conference and first place at the 2025 or 2027 conference. As a general aspect, the Gold Medal is not only a recognition of an outstanding work (paper, presentation, artwork, etc.) delivered at one or two conferences, but also an award for the overall outstanding performance of a student at university or college. Accordingly, in addition to the high quality of the TDK paper, the overall student “lifework” (publications published or accepted during student life, lectures, language skills, academic achievements, study trips, trainings) is also taken into account. The Pro Scientia Gold Medal is traditionally awarded at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in autumn 2027, at the closing and evaluation ceremony of the 38th National Student Research Conference.

The regulations for the Pro Scientia Gold Medal award are available on the OTDT website (https://otdk.hu/otdt/kituntetesek-es-kituntetettek/kituntetesek/pro-scientia-aranyerem/)

Deadline for submission of applications: May 14, 2027 (Wednesday)

OTDK Gold Medal award

Based on the decade-long success of the recognition of the outstanding work as supervisors and TDK-circle organizers the National Association for Student Research founded the OTDK GOLD MEDAL award in 1998 in recognition of the work done in the field of quality higher education. The OTDK Gold Medal can be proposed by the associations for student research of higher education institutions and their faculties, up to two per section. The award is intended to better appreciate and encourage all those professors and researchers who, over the years, have done outstanding and dedicated work in the field of scientific organization and as supervisors, for the promotion, development and recognition of scientific activities of university and college students in the form of Associations for Student Research, special colleges or other forms of self-study, going beyond the compulsory curriculum.

The OTDK Gold Medal awards will be presented in autumn 2027, at the closing ceremony of the 38th National Student Research Conference at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

The regulations for the OTDK Gold Medal award are available on the OTDT website (https://otdk.hu/otdt/kituntetesek-es-kituntetettek/kituntetesek/mestertanar-aranyerem/)

Deadline for institutional nomination: May 7, 2027 (Wednesday)

[1] The Junior Pro Scientia Gold Medal may be awarded only if at least 30 high school TDK papers are presented at the OTDK.

OTDT Board
GENERAL GUIDELINES
on the Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence

1. The TDKs and the OTDK constitute a community of researchers in Hungarian higher education who set an example in the ethical practice of science and take responsibility for it. The primary purpose of this guidance is to interpret and support the ethical use of artificial intelligence in the preparation and evaluation of TDK papers.
2. Generative applications of artificial intelligence (AI) are capable – through machine learning – of producing and processing new content; accordingly, AI is increasingly used in scientific research and in the field of artistic creation as well.
3. A fundamental requirement of a TDK and an OTDK paper is that they constitute the intellectual work of the author(s). If the use of AI determines the quality of the TDK paper to such an extent that it can no longer be regarded as the author’s intellectual work, the paper does not meet the fundamental professional and ethical requirements of the TDK.
4. An author’s intellectual work is a human creation, the result of the author’s intellectual effort and thinking. At the same time, content generated by AI may form part of a human intellectual work or otherwise support it. The clear delineation and distinction between human intellectual work and AI-generated content is a prerequisite for ethical AI use and also serves to protect the integrity of human intellectual creation.
5. The fundamental condition of ethical AI use is transparency. Accordingly, the author must clearly indicate within the intellectual work (paper, presentation, slides) which parts were generated by AI, and in which parts AI was used as a supporting tool or function, as well as specify the exact purpose of the AI use.
6. At the 38th OTDK, any AI used must be declared in a separate statement during the application process in the OTDT online system, in a manner that allows for subsequent identification (this statement will be accessible to reviewers and jury members in connection with the paper). The statement must include the relevant content sections, the purpose of use, a brief description of the prompt (AI query), the name of the AI application used (model and version), and the date of access. In the OTDK presentation, the use of AI must also be referenced in the ppt slides.
7. The purpose of use may include, for example (this list is illustrative and not exhaustive):

• literature search or analysis,
• preparation of content summaries of publications,
• structuring of research topics,
• data cleaning and data processing,
• pattern recognition,
• support for statistical analysis,
• support for text generation,
• language editing (grammar, style, coherence),
• translation,
• generation of tables and figures,
• image creation and retouching,
• generation of research questions,
• other.

8. If the author did not indicate the use of AI because they were unaware that a given computational operation involved AI software, this fact must be taken into account during evaluation, and it must be assessed – based on all circumstances of the case – to what extent identification of AI use could reasonably have been expected from the author.
9. The OTDT Presidium issues this guidance in the awareness that technological tools and software intended to detect or verify AI use ex post (AI detectors) do not yet provide reliable results and may at most raise suspicion of AI use. Their use is not required in the evaluation (review) of papers, but it is not excluded either.
10. Reviewers and Session Panles must take into account the content of the AI Declaration when evaluating the paper; however, they are under no obligation to verify it. The Session Panel is entitled, with proper justification, to contest the content of the Declaration.
11. The AI Declaration submitted by the author regarding the use of AI may not be evaluated negatively (as a disadvantage) compared to papers that do not use AI.
12. If, in the opinion of the reviewer or the jury, the use of AI determines the quality of the paper to such an extent that it can no longer be regarded as the author’s intellectual work, the Chair of the Section Committee is entitled to decide – based on the Session Panel’s recommendation and the submission of the ethics body of the Section Committee – whether the paper meets the fundamental professional and ethical requirements of the TDK. The same procedure applies if, in the opinion of the reviewer or the Session Panel, the author has made a false AI declaration.
13. The above rules also apply to the author’s presentation. In the presentation, AI use must be precisely referenced in the slides, and the contestant must also declare orally whether the presentation was produced (generated) entirely or predominantly by an AI application. If the presentation was produced entirely or predominantly by an AI application, this must be considered acceptable and may not be treated as a disadvantage.
14. This guidance also applies to the review of papers, with the proviso that it is considered unethical for reviewers if the substantive findings of the professional evaluation originate from AI. If a reviewer or jury member uses an AI application in evaluating a paper and shares (uploads) copyright-protected parts of the paper with the AI application, they must take into account that such sharing constitutes disclosure (use) of the author’s intellectual work (or part thereof), which may infringe copyright.
15. The application of this guidance may be further supported by additional specific provisions in the calls of the disciplinary sections.

• 38th National Student Research Conference General Call
• Supplement 1
• Supplement 2
• Supplement 3
• Supplement 4
• Supplement 5
• Supplement 6