Spring 2025
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, organisations and foundations involved in higher education, announces the 37th National Student Research Conference (37th OTDK) for the spring of 2025.
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 37th OTDK, OTDT invites university and college students, including international students studying 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 37th 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 37th 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 2023 and 2025, 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.
Traditionally, the 37th OTDK will be organised in 16 disciplinary sections. Sections are organised into sessions. The OTDK section organisers 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 organised 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 37th OTDK Sections are given in Supplement 1 of the General Call.
The harmonised conditions for participation in the 37th 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 organising 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 37th 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 orally in person (with personal presence) at the session in the 37th OTDK sections, after a preliminary written evaluation. In exceptional and justified cases, online presentation is also acceptable. The decision to allow online presentation is made by the relevant OTDT Section Committee after consulting the Section’s Organising Committee, based on the request and justification submitted by the applicant. The language of the OTDK is Hungarian. For international students studying in Hungary, the language of the conference is English. Students from non-Hungarian-speaking cross-border higher education institutions can also submit their TDK papers 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 37th 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 37th OTDK through the TDK without Borders (HTDK) Program.
The conference is also open to high school students in Hungary and across borders who present their research results at student research conferences of higher education institutions or national high school science student conferences (see Supplement 4) 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 recognition will be awarded to all authors and supervisors attended in the OTDK and presented their TDK papers. In addition, a maximum of one third of the TDK papers presented may be awarded one of the first, second and third places per section, taking into account that a maximum of one TDK paper per session may be awarded first place. The Section Panel may award a special prize to those TDK 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 TDK papers. The authors of the winning TDK papers and those of the TDK papers receiving the Special Session Panel Prize will each receive a certificate for the ranking or the Special Session Panel Prize.
The total number of winning TDK papers and TDK papers awarded the Special Session Panel Prize may not exceed 50% of the total number of TDK 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 36th and 37th OTDK sessions (first place winners of the 36th OTDK if they also presented a paper at the 37th 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 calls on the heads of higher education institutions, the TDT chairs, TDK referents, professors, researchers and students to create the possibility of organising qualifying student research conferences at their institutions prior to the OTDK. TDK papers by students from Hungarian institutions not organising a student research conference, as well as by cross-border students from countries not organising a conference of their own, should also be accepted on request.
Nomination to 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 37th 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 organised 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 the 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 37th 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, 9 April 2024.
The present General Call of the 37th OTDK was adopted by the National Association for Student Research at its meeting on 9 April 2024 and has thus entered into force.
| (dr. Szabina Cziráki) | (Prof. Dr. Tamás Weiszburg) |
| Secretary of OTDT | President of OTDT |
Sections
The 37th National Student Research Conference will be organised in the following sections:
1. AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES SECTION
| Location: | Csíkszereda |
| Date: | 24–26 April 2025. |
| Organising institution: | Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania
Faculty of Economics, Socio-Human Sciences and Engineering |
| Chair of the Section Committee: | Dr. Attila Hegedűs, University Professor |
| Chair of the Organising Committee: | Dr. Ede Lázár, Associate Professor, Dean |
| Co-Chair of the Organising Committee: | Prof. Adalbert Balog, PhD, University Professor, Vice-Rector, ETDT Chair |
2. LAW AND POLITICAL SCIENCE SECTION
| Location: | Budapest |
| Date: | 24–26 March 2025. |
| Organising institution: | Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary
Faculty of Law |
| Chair of the Section Committee: | Dr. Judit Balogh, Associate Professor |
| Chair of the Organising Committee: | Dr. Zoltán J. Tóth, University Professor, Head of Department, Dean |
| Chair of the Organising Committee: | Dr. Ádám Boóc, University Professor, Head of the Department, Vice Dean for International and Scientific Affairs, Faculty TDT Chair |
3. BIOLOGY SECTION
| Location: | Szeged |
| Date: | 15–17 April 2025. |
| Organising institution: | University of Szeged
Faculty of Science and Informatics |
| Chair of the Section Committee: | Dr. Viktor Müller, Habil. Associate Professor, Vice Dean for Educational Affairs |
| Chair of the Organising Committee: | Dr. Attila Fehér, University Professor, Head of Department |
| Co-Chair of the Organising Committee: | Dr. Péter Poór, Associate Professor |
| Co-Chair of the Organising Committee: | Zsuzsanna Dr. Kolbert Ördögné, Associate Professor |
4. PHYSICS, EARTH SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS SECTION
| Location: | Pécs |
| Date: | 22–25 April 2025. |
| Organising institution: | University of Pécs
Faculty of Sciences |
| Chair of the Section Committee: | Dr. László Sütő, Associate Professor |
| Chair of the Organising Committee: | Dr. András Trócsányi, Associate Professor, Dean |
5. MILITARY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT SECTION
| Location: | Budapest |
| Date: | 22–24 April 2025. |
| Organising institution: | National University of Public Service
Faculty of Military Science and Officer Training |
| Chair of the Section Committee: | Dr. József Padányi Major General, University Professor |
| Chair of the Organising Committee: | Dr. Zoltán Krajnc, Colonel, University Professor |
| Co-Chair of the Organising Committee: | Dr. Tamás Berek, Colonel, University Professor, Vice-Dean for Science |
| Co-Chair of the Organising Committee: | Dr. Mónika Szente-Varga, Associate Professor, Vice-Dean for Education |
6. HUMAN SCIENCES SECTION
| Location: | Szeged |
| Date: | 15–17 April 2025. |
| Organising institution: | University of Szeged
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Chair of the Section Committee: | Dr. László Pete, University Professor, Head of Department |
| Chair of the Organising Committee: | Dr. Zsófia Szilágyi, University Professor, Head of Department |
7. INFORMATION SCIENCE SECTION
| Location: | Budapest |
| Date: | 23–25 April 2025. |
| Organising institution: | Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics |
| Chair of the Section Committee: | Dr. Tamás Kozsik, Associate Professor, Dean |
| Chair of the Organising Committee: | Dr. Géza Németh, University Professor |
| Co-Chair of the Organising Committee: | Dr. Charaf Hassan, University Professor, Head of Department, Dean |
8. CHEMICAL AND CHEMICAL INDUSTRY SECTION
| Location: | Debrecen |
| Date: | 9–11 April 2025. |
| Organising institution: | University of Debrecen
Faculty of Science and Technology |
| Chair of the Section Committee: | Dr. Rita Földes Skodáné, University Professor |
| Chair of the Organising Committee: | Dr. Katalin Várnagy, University Professor, Head of the Institute |
| Co-Chair of the Organising Committee: | Dr. Sándor Kéki, University Professor, Head of Department, Deputy Dean for Research and Applications |
9. ECONOMICS SECTION
| Location: | Miskolc |
| Date: | 28–30 April 2025. |
| Organising institution: | University of Miskolc
Faculty of Economics |
| Chair of the Section Committee: | Dr. Takácsné Dr. Katalin György, University Professor |
| Chair of the Organising Committee: | Dr. Mariann Somosi Veresné, University Professor, Dean |
| Co-Chair of the Organising Committee: | Dr. Zoltán Musinszki, Associate Professor, Vice-Dean for Academic Affairs and Accreditation |
| Co-Chair of the Organising Committee: | Dr. Katalin Lipták, Associate Professor, Vice-Dean for Academic Affairs |
10. TECHNICAL SCIENCES SECTION
| Location: | Debrecen |
| Date: | 23–25 April 2025. |
| Organising institution: | University of Debrecen
Faculty of Engineering |
| Chair of the Section Committee: | Dr. Árpád Bence Palotás, University Professor, Head of the Institute, Dean |
| Chair of the Organising Committee: | Dr. Géza Husi, University Professor, Dean |
| Co-Chair of the Organising Committee: | Dr. Imre Kocsis, University Professor, Vice-Dean of Science |
| Co-Chair of the Organising Committee: | Dr. Ákos Lakatos, University Professor, Head of Department |
11. ARTS AND ART THEORY SECTION
| Location: | Eger |
| Date: | 23–25 April 2025. |
| Organising institution: | Eszterházy Károly Catholic University |
| Chair of the Section Committee: | Dr. Erzsébet Bachmann, Associate Professor |
| Chair of the Organising Committee: | Dr. Bence Asztalos, Associate Professor, Head of the Institute |
12. MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES SECTION
| Location: | Pécs |
| Date: | 22–25 April 2025. |
| Organising institution: | University of Pécs
Medical School |
| Chair of the Section Committee: | Dr. László Mátyus, University Professor, Head of Department, Dean |
| Chair of the Organising Committee: | Dr. Erika Pintér, University Professor, Director of the Institute |
| Co-Chair of the Organising Committee: | Dr. Mária Figler, University Professor |
| Co-Chair of the Organising Committee: | Dr. Györgyi Horváth, Associate Professor |
13. PEDAGOGY, PSYCHOLOGY, ANDRAGOGY AND LIBRARY SCIENCE SECTION
| Location: | Szombathely |
| Date: | 22–24 April 2025. |
| Organising institution: | Eötvös Loránd University
Faculty of Education and Psychology |
| Chair of the Section Committee: | Dr. Anna Veres-Székely, University Professor |
| Chair of the Organising Committee: | Dr. Anikó Zsolnai, University Professor |
| Co-Chair of the Organising Committee: | Dr. Orsolya Pachner, Assistant Professor |
14. LEARNING AND TEACHING METHODOLOGY – KNOWLEDGE TECHNOLOGY SECTION
| Location: | Nagykőrös |
| Date: | 14–16 April 2025. |
| Organising institution: | Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary
Faculty of Pedagogy |
| Chair of the Section Committee: | Dr. József Kaposi, Associate Professor |
| Chair of the Organising Committee: | Dr. Ferenc Pap, University Professor, Head of Department, Dean |
| Co-Chair of the Organising Committee: | Dr. Etelka Tóth, Associate Professor, Head of Department, Vice-Dean |
15. SOCIAL SCIENCES SECTION
| Location: | Miskolc |
| Date: | 24–26 April 2025. |
| Organising institution: | University of Miskolc
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Chair of the Section Committee: | Dr. Tamás Bartus, University Professor, Head of the Institute |
| Chair of the Organising Committee: | Dr. Kinga Szabó-Tóth, Associate Professor, Head of the Institute |
16. PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND SPORT SCIENCE SECTION
| Location: | Budapest |
| Date: | 10–12 April 2025. |
| Organising institution: | Hungarian University of Sports Science |
| Chair of the Section Committee: | Dr. József Tihanyi, Rector Emeritus |
| Chair of the Organising Committee:
Chair of the Organising Committee: |
Dr. Zsolt Radák, University Professor, Vice-Rector for Science and Innovation
Dr. Zsuzsanna Kneffel, Associate Professor |
| Co-Chair of the Organising Committee: | Dr. Szilvia Perényi, Associate Professor |
The General Call of the 37th 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 37th 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.
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 37th 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 36th OTDK and preceding the registration period of the 37th OTDK attended
and meet all the requirements of the General Call and the Section Call they are applying for. Further, high school students who meet the criteria set out in the General Call and its supplements are also eligible to apply for the 37th OTDK.
2.1. Content Requirements
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 37th OTDK.
A thesis produced in the course of continuous TDK activity during BA and BSc education, can be entered to the 37th 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.
Term papers or essays that are compulsory in the course of university or college studies, seminar papers that are required by the curriculum, theses that have already been defended by students in integrated master’s and MA/MSc programs, and scientific works prepared and/or presented by students in doctoral programs after they have completed their university studies are not allowed to be submitted to the National Student Research Conference, as they do not fall within the scope of higher education self-study.
Students who have already obtained a Master’s/integrated master’s degree and who are also in doctoral studies at the time of the student research conference or who have already obtained a doctoral degree, are not allowed to participate in the 37th OTDK with a TDK paper on the same topic as their doctoral research. These students must declare the topic of their doctoral research when they enter their paper for the 37th OTDK.
The content of the TDK paper submitted to the 37th 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.
The use of AI in research and in the writing of the TDK paper is covered in the specific calls of each disciplinary section. 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 37th 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. When checking the applications, the section committees and the organising committees will examine the differences between multiple applications submitted by the same author and, if they find a substantial and significant match, all applications by the same author will be disqualified.
TDK papers with restricted access are not eligible for the 37th OTDK!
OTDT operates an online system for managing student research conference, 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 student research conferences must be submitted by the institution/faculty TDT chair, secretary or referent (hereinafter referred to as: TDT chair) to the OTDT Office no later than two weeks after the conference as described below:
Upon receipt of the documentation, the OTDT Office will check it against the data uploaded in the OTDT online system and, if the content is identical, approve the record. If there is a discrepancy between the paper and the electronic minutes, 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.
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 37th OTDK (for students who became eligible in the second semester of the academic year 2022–2023 or the first semester of the academic year 2023–2024, the letters will be sent after the publication of the 37th 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 37th 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 37th 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 2500 characters (see the relevant supplements to the Section Calls for more detailed information on abstracts). TDT chairs are invited to organise 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 15 November 2024 and will end on the registration deadline indicated in the Section Calls (see point 4.3).
Students’ tasks during this period are:
4.1.3. Completion of the application
Following the 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 37th 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).
4.3. Registrationdeadlines for the 37th OTDK
Section Calls will include a specific date chosen by the organising institutions from the following options:
5.1. Following the student research conference:
Uploading the documents of the student research conference and sending them to the OTDT Office 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 registration deadline:
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:
Applications submitted individually are invalid.
Sessions of the 37th OTDK may only be attended having a formal application submitted to and accepted by the OTDT Office and the institution organising the section in due time. The OTDT, the relevant section committee and the institution organising the section decide jointly on the acceptance of the application, of which the applicants are notified electronically 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 organising institution in the manner published by the sections.
TDK papers submitted to the 37th OTDK will be 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 rigour 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 organisers 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 organisers 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 organisers 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.
The registration fees for the 37th OTDK will be decided 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 37th OTDK can be obtained at a student research conference in the second semester of the academic year 2022–2023, in the first and second semesters of the academic year 2023–2024 and in the first and second semesters of the academic year 2024–2025.
[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 curriculumin 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.
A common expectation for handwritten or electronically signed documents:
(a) a document authenticated using the Authentication Verification Service (AVDH, at https://magyarorszag.hu/avdh), using the Client Gateway or any other document authenticated using an enhanced security qualified electronic signature service
OR
[4] As described in footnote 3.
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.
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.
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 Organising 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 Organising 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.
High school student research conferences eligible to delegate papers to the 37th OTDK (the list may be extended at the discretion of the President of National Association for Student Research):
The awarding of the PRO SCIENTIA GOLD MEDAL will take place after the 37th National Student Research Conference. In line with the previous practice of the National Association for Student Research, in 2025, a maximum of 48 Pro Scientia Gold Medals, two Pro Arte Gold Medals and one Junior Pro Scientia Gold Medalwill 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 2025 national conference and first place at the 2023 or 2025 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 the autumn of 2025, at the closing ceremony of the 37th 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: Wednesday, 14 May 2025.
Based on the decade-long success of the recognition of the outstanding work as supervisors and TDK-circle organisers 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 organisation 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 2025, at the closing ceremony of the 37th 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: Wednesday, 7 May 2025.