National Innovation Agency: 50 out of 115 PhD students receive scholarships in the Pathway to Business program

They wrote that Pathway to Business is not a simple training, but a springboard into the future. Knowledge transfer, mentors, financial support and real industry connections help participants turn their research ideas into successful startups. The program shows how a research result becomes intellectual property, a concept becomes a product, and a dream becomes market success. The goal is clear: for doctoral students to become not only excellent researchers, but also excellent innovative entrepreneurs who are able to build a bridge between scientific results and economic viability, the agency explained.

The program starts with online training, followed by three months of face-to-face teamwork with scholarships and mentoring. This is followed by a six-month intensive development phase, during which participants will also receive one million forints in project funding. The final stage is the spectacular Demo Day, where the best projects can present to investors and industry players what could be Hungary’s emerging new businesses.

The financial incentives of the program are also significant: in the first three-month phase, participants can receive a monthly scholarship of 50 thousand forints, and in the six-month development phase – depending on their student status – between 150 thousand and 400 thousand forints. This not only provides a solid background for the developments, but also sends a clear message: scientific knowledge has a place in the market, and Hungary seriously counts on the entrepreneurial knowledge and ambition of doctoral students – the NIÜ emphasized.

They added that the Pathway to Business fits perfectly with this year’s renewal of doctoral training. The three-tier system introduced this year and the increased doctoral student incomes all indicate that the government considers it a strategic goal to turn PhD students into not just scientists, but also the economic engines of the future. Pathway to Business is a flagship in this process – both a scientific and business revolution that could open a new chapter in the history of Hungarian innovation.