Agricultural Sciences Section

Call for Papers
38th National Student Research Conference
Agricultural Sciences Section

1. General Information, Organizers

Organizer of the event:
University of Nyíregyháza

The Section’s website address: otdk2027.nye.hu
Section e-mail address: 38agrarotdk@nye.hu
Date of the event: April 1–3, 2027

The National Association for Student Research, the Agricultural Sciences Section Committee and the organizing University of Nyíregyháza hereby announce the Agricultural Sciences Section of the 38th National Student Research Conference under the terms set out in this call.

The conditions for participation and registration in the Agricultural Sciences Section of the 38th OTDK are set out in the General Call of the 38th OTDK and in this Call of the OTDT Agricultural Sciences Committee.

2. Eligibility Criteria

2.1 Who is eligible to participate

Only TDK papers and their authors that meet all the requirements set out in Section 2 of Supplement 2 to the General Call of the 38th OTDK may be submitted (for details, see Supplement 2 to the General Call of the 38th OTDK).

Study circle students from cross-border universities and colleges can participate in the 38th OTDK under the same professional conditions as those in Hungary. Details are available in the General Call of the 38th OTDK.

The conference is also open to secondary school students in Hungary and across borders who document their research results at conferences of higher education institutions or national high school science student conferences (for details see Supplement 4 of the General Call for the 38th OTDK) and are nominated for the 38th OTDK. A detailed description of the participation of secondary school students is available in the General Call of the 38th OTDK.

2.2. Presentation of TDK papers, requirements for TDK papers, and evaluation

A TDK paper may have a maximum of two authors and two supervisors. TDK papers submitted to and accepted for the conference must be presented orally in person at the session, following the preliminary written review. Exemption from this requirement may be requested only on medical grounds through a separate equitable procedure. The leadership of the Agricultural Sciences Section Committee decides on permitting online presentation based on a request and justification (medical certificate) submitted by the applicant.

Supplement 1 to the Section Call includes:

• Rules for the presentation of TDK papers in foreign languages
• The content and format requirements for TDK papers and abstracts
• Evaluation criteria of the TDK paper and the presentation
• Details of plagiarism screening and information on the use of artificial intelligence

3. Sessions/topics

3.1. Planned sessions/topics

1. Agricultural economics
2. Agricultural informatics, digitalization, robot and drone technologies
3. Agricultural marketing
4. Agricultural engineering
5. Agrobotany and plant biology
6. Animal physiology and veterinary medicine
7. Animal genetics and biotechnology
8. Animal husbandry
9. Food safety
10. Food technology
11. Food science
12. Forestry and wood industry
13. Horticulture
14. Environmental management
15. Environmental science
16. Environmental technology
17. Plant protection
18. Animal genetics and biotechnology
19. Crop production
20. Animal nutrition
21. Landscape and garden architecture
22. Conservation zoology
23. Conservation botany
24. Wildlife management
25. Enterprise management
26. Rural and regional development

During the application process, students must indicate at least two panels: the most suitable one and an alternative suitable panel in which they wish to present their TDK paper.

3.2. Rules for the establishment of the final session assignment

The fundamental rules for the establishment of the final session assignment are included in the General Call of the 38th OTDK. The Agricultural Sciences Section Committee may, based on the number of TDK papers received and their topic, merge some of the planned sessions/topics or create additional ones (so that the TDK paper may be assigned to a different session than the one indicated by the author(s) during registration). A minimum of six TDK papers submitted in a given topic area is required to establish a separate panel. A panel may be established only if at least five of the six TDK papers assigned to it are presented at the 38th OTDK. If the number of TDK papers to be presented in a given session is fewer than 5, that session must be merged with another session at the discretion of the Chair of the Agricultural Section Committee. The organizing institution, with the agreement of the Agricultural Sciences Section Committee, reserves the right to redirect submissions with content that does not align with the Agricultural Sciences Section’s field of study to another session of the National Student Research Conference that is more appropriate for the topic, with thanks for the application.

The final decision on the sessions and the classification of the TDK papers will be made by the OTDK Agricultural Sciences Section. Students will be informed of this decision via the OTDT online system by February 28, 2027, at the latest.

4. Application procedure

4.1. Steps of registration for applicants

1. Pre-registration of TDK papers

Following the institutional student research conference, the upload of the TDK paper and selection of the section must be completed within 30 days of the email specified in point 4 of Supplement 2 of the General Call for the 38th OTDK.

ATTENTION! Uploading a TDK paper does not constitute an entry to the 38th OTDK, applications must be submitted during the registration period, following the steps described in the next section.

2. The application

Registration period: November 16, 2026 – January 13, 2027 (Wednesday), 16:00 (CET)

Students’ tasks during this period are:

• Filling in the information related to the uploaded application.
• Uploading the abstract.
• On the abstract upload page, providing five keywords that do not appear in the title of the paper.
• Students who obtained a pre-degree certificate between the qualifying institutional TDK conference and the 38th OTDK must declare the date of obtaining their pre-degree certificate in the OTDT online system during the application process (those who are expected to obtain their pre-degree certificate in the semester of application, after the application deadline, must indicate that they are expected to obtain it in the semester of application).
• Finalizing the application in the OTDT online system.

After the registration deadline (January 13, 2027, 16:00, CET) it will no longer be possible to upload application documents in the OTDT online system.

4.2. Additional registration tasks for students who have obtained a pre-degree certificate

Students who obtained a pre-degree certificate between the qualifying institutional TDK conference and the 38th OTDK must declare the date of obtaining their pre-degree certificate in the OTDT online system during the application process (those who are expected to obtain their pre-degree certificate in the semester of application, after the application deadline, must indicate that they are expected to obtain it in the semester of application). In the case of students who qualified at ETDK, FTDK, KTDK, or VMTDK conferences, in accordance with Section 2.1 of Supplement 2 to the General Call of the 38th OTDK, the expected date of finalizing the application to the 38th OTDK must be indicated as the date of the pre-degree certificate, as this has already been verified upon their acceptance to the qualifying conference.

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 student self-directed research in higher education.

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

5.1. Following the institutional TDK-conference:

Uploading and electronic submission of the documents of the institutional TDK conference to the OTDT Secretariat by email, in accordance with Section 3 of Supplement 2 to the General Call of the 38th OTDK.

5.2. Following the participants’ registration deadline:

a) Approval of participant registrations in the OTDT online system (all registrations are automatically approved in the system, so action is only required if the institution/faculty/institute does not wish to delegate a submitted TDK paper to the OTDK).

b) Approval in the OTDT online system of the consolidated list containing the approved applications of TDK papers and their authors submitted to the Agricultural Sciences Section, and/or its generation from the online system and signature with a qualified electronic signature, or printing and signing, followed by electronic upload to the OTDT online system. By approving/signing the consolidated list, the TDT Chairs also declare that all TDK papers and their authors included therein meet the requirements set out in Supplement 2 to the General Call of the 38th OTDK.

Deadline for the institutional and faculty/institution TDT Chair to upload documents to the OTDT online system: January 18, 2027 (Monday) 16:00 (CET). After the deadline it will no longer be possible to upload application documents to the OTDT online system.

We are unable to accept TDK papers that do not meet the requirements outlined in the Section Call of the Agricultural Sciences Section; such applications will be rejected without review due to formal errors.

Submissions of the TDK paper is only possible through the OTDT online system; submission by post or in person is not possible. The OTDT Office and the Organizing institution do not request or accept any paper-based documents.

6. Registration fee

The registration fees for the 38th OTDK will be determined at a later stage, subject to the availability of funding.

7. The awards that can be granted at the OTDK and the Special Prize of the Session Panel

At the OTDK, ranked awards (1st, 2nd, 3rd place) based on the written reviews and oral performance, as well as a Session Panel special award following these in rank, may be granted in proportion to the number of TDK papers presented in the panel. At most one 1st place may be awarded per panel, and the total number of ranked awards may not exceed one third of the number of TDK papers presented in the Agricultural Sciences Section. 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 total number of TDK papers awarded a ranked place, or a special award may not exceed 50% of the number of papers presented, both per panel and overall.

8. Submission of Pro Scientia Gold Medal application

The authors of TDK papers that have been awarded first place at the OTDK may apply for the Pro Scientia Gold Medal, provided they meet the additional criteria set out in the call. Details are given in Supplement 5 of the 38th OTDK General Call.

We invite and welcome all interested students and their masters!

Budapest, April 21, 2026

SUPPLEMENT 1 TO THE CALL FOR PAPERS
38TH OTDK
AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES SECTION

1. The language of the TDK paper and the presentation

The Agricultural Sciences Section primarily prefers TDK papers written in Hungarian and their presentation in Hungarian. However, an English-language paper and its presentation in English are acceptable in the cases specified in the General Call of the 38th OTDK, as well as for Hungarian native speakers enrolled in English-language programs and for those studying in Hungarian-language programs who have (also) a foreign, non-Hungarian-speaking supervisor. In the case of participants with Hungarian mother tongue, the presentation of the English-language TDK paper may be in the language that had been used at the qualifying student research conference. Please note that the classification of TDK papers into sessions is based solely on professional criteria.

2. Content requirements for the TDK paper

All TDK papers submitted to the 38th OTDK will be subject to a plagiarism check, the results of which will be reviewed and evaluated by a three-member special committee set up by the Agricultural Sciences Section Committee. Please note that plagiarism in any form is not allowed, including self-plagiarism (citating your own work without references). TDK papers that are proven to infringe copyright will be excluded from the 38th OTDK by the OTDT, with simultaneous notification to the nominating institution. Any TDK papers with a plagiarism test result showing a 50% or greater match will be automatically excluded. In cases of text similarity between 20% and 50%, the Chair of the Agricultural Sciences Section Committee of the OTDT decides on the eligibility of the paper for presentation, in consultation with the Executive Board. The results of the plagiarism check are sent to the chairs of the relevant review committees.

The use of artificial intelligence-based tools is permitted in the preparation of TDK papers, but students must declare whether they have used such tools in accordance with Supplement 2 to the General Call of the 38th OTDK, and must also provide the information necessary to ensure transparency of their use. The applicant acknowledges that the professional and scientific content of the TDK paper reflects the author’s own professional position, and that they accept as their own all statements, assertions, findings, opinions, and conclusions contained therein that are not taken from other works with proper citation. Furthermore, the author of the paper assumes responsibility for the text as a whole and for all its elements, and acknowledges this responsibility upon finalizing the application.

3. Formal requirements for the TDK paper

General requirements:

Deadline for uploading the TDK paper to the OTDT online system: within 30 days after the acceptance of the record of the student research conference, as described in Supplement 2, point 4 of the 38th OTDK General Call. Participants who will be eligible to submit a TDK paper at a student research conference held within 30 days before the application deadline for the 38th OTDK Agricultural Sciences Section must upload their TDK paper to the OTDT online system by the application deadline.

All TDK papers must include the closing date (year).

The TDK paper must be uploaded in PDF format. The maximum file size is 10 megabytes (MB).

TDK papers that do not meet the minimum page limit set by the Agricultural Sciences Section or exceed the maximum number of pages cannot be uploaded to the OTDT online system. The number of pages of the TDK papers are checked by the OTDT online system when they are uploaded.

General formal requirements:

Font: Times New Roman
Font size: 12 pt
Line spacing: 1.5
Margin: 2.5 cm

Section-specific requirements:

Minimum number of pages for the TDK paper: 30 pages
Maximum number of pages for the TDK paper: 50 pages
It is not possible to upload a supplementary document.
Method of referencing: see below.

Additional section-specific rules for the TDK paper:

Papers must follow the following internal structuring: Title page, Table of contents, Introduction, Objective, Literature review, Materials and methods, Results and their evaluation, Summary, Bibliography, Acknowledgements (if any). Figures and tables should be numbered and referred to accordingly in the text. Titles and captions of figures and tables, as well as literature references, should be in the format accepted by scientific journals. This format can follow any style, but must be consistent throughout the TDK paper. Content of the Title page: Institution, Faculty/Institute, title of the TDK paper, subtitle “TDK paper”, author(s), consultant(s), location (e.g. Pécs) and year.

The OTDT online system does not accept printed TDK papers; therefore, it is not necessary to prepare a printed copy.

4. Rules for the abstract

Only the main text of the abstract must be uploaded to the OTDT online system. Other data (names of the co-authors, name of the institution, name of the supervisor(s), position, etc.) are generated by the system.

The language of the abstract is Hungarian. If the language of the TDK paper is English, the abstract must also be uploaded in English.

The abstract should be at least 500 and no more than 2,500 characters.

The abstract should include a brief description of the background and purpose of the work, a description of the methodology used and a clear statement of the student’s own results.

5. Evaluation rules for the TDK paper:

Submitted and accepted TDK papers will be evaluated in writing by two reviewers, based on the following criteria:

• editing, style and professionalism of the language used in the TDK paper (4 points);
• the extent to which the literature on the subject has been elaborated (8 points);
• quality and methodology of the subject research (5 points);
• presentation and evaluation of the results (20 points);
• applicability, usefulness, scientific value and potential for further development of the results (3 points).

The maximum score that can be obtained in the written evaluation and the method of calculating the score of the TDK paper:

The maximum score that can be obtained in the written evaluation is 40, which is as a general rule the arithmetic average of the scores obtained from two different reviewers.

If there is a significant difference of opinion (8 points or more), the chair of the review committee must ask a third reviewer to decide on the scientific value of the TDK paper.

If a third reviewer is involved, the weighted average is used for scoring, with the two closest scores being weighted by 0.4-0.4 points and the third assessment by 0.2 points.

If the average score of the two written evaluations is less than 60% of the points available (24 points), the TDK paper must not be presented. This decision must be communicated to the applicant at least 10 days before the conference, with simultaneous notification to the nominating Institution/Faculty/Institute. The organizers of the Agricultural Sciences Section will strive to have the written evaluations ready by the 10th day before the conference, but if this is not the case, the TDK paper will not be excluded from the 38th OTDK for this reason.

The finalized evaluations (scores and written evaluations) will be published by the organizers of the Agricultural Science Section in the OTDT online system in the third week after the conference closes.

6. Rules for evaluating the presentation and the debate

At the conference, participants will have 15 minutes to present their TDK paper (presentation), followed by a 10-minute discussion as a general rule.

The presentation and the debate will be evaluated by a Session Panel of recognized members of the field.

Evaluation criteria for the presentation and the available scores (maximum 35 points):

• mode of presentation, use of visual aids, and language (5 points);
• structure, organization and timing of the presentation (5 points);
• content and professional quality of the presentation (25 points);

Evaluation criteria for the discussion (responses to the Session Panel’s questions) and the available scores (maximum 25 points):

• the presenter’s professional preparedness and debating skills (25 points).

The maximum score for the presentation evaluation is 60 points.

• 38th OTDK Agricultural Sciences Section Call
• Supplement 1