In the service of science – The 20th Transcarpathian Scientific Students' Conference

The Transcarpathian Scientific Students’ Conference (KTDK) is held annually in May to mark the Day of Science in Ukraine. It is jointly organised by the Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University and the “GENIUS” Charity Foundation, in collaboration with the ‘TDK Without Borders’ (HTDK) programme of the National Council of Scientific Students’ Associations. The event is supported by the Hungarian Government, the Ministry of Culture and Innovation, the National Talent Programme, the State Secretariat for National Policy of the Prime Minister’s Office, and the Bethlen Gábor Fund Management Ltd.

“The strength of a nation lies in the multitude of its educated minds.” – István Széchenyi

The aim of the KTDK is to foster the professional development of students in Transcarpathian higher education, encourage networking, and deepen scientific collaborations.

Students enrolled in undivided (single-tier), undergraduate (bachelor’s), and postgraduate (master’s) programmes at any higher education institution within the Carpathian Basin are eligible to submit their research papers to the conference. Submissions must consist of research papers documenting student scientific activity, which may also include undergraduate dissertations. For participants from Transcarpathian higher education, the current event also serves as the first-round (institutional) qualifying conference delegating to the 38th National Scientific Students’ Associations Conference (OTDK), which is scheduled to take place in the spring of 2027.

Applications for the conference could be submitted between 28 August 2025 and 6 March 2026. During this period, 41 young scholars submitted 42 research papers from four higher education institutions: the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (1 participant), the Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University (39 participants, one of whom is simultaneously a student at Péter Pázmány Catholic University), and Uzhhorod National University (1 participant). One competitor presented on two distinct topics, one of which was delivered out of competition as a guest lecture.

The conference presentations took place on 15 May 2026, divided into eight sections:

Geography and Human Geography (7 participants)
Economics and Accounting (3 participants)
Linguistics and Literary Studies (5 participants)
Learning and Teaching Methodology (7 participants)
Natural Sciences – Biology, Ecology, and Agricultural Science (5 participants)
Historical Sciences I – Early Modern and 19th-Century Social and Cultural History (4 participants)
Historical Sciences II – 20th-Century Political and Local History (6 participants, 7 presentations)
Tourism and Regional Development (4 participants)

Every submitted research paper underwent an expert peer review. The papers were assessed by a minimum of two and a maximum of three expert reviewers; these panels included at least one academic from abroad and one from Transcarpathia, all holding doctoral degrees. The applicants received these professional written evaluations, allowing them the opportunity to make improvements prior to their oral presentations. Each student entered the scientific competition with a baseline score awarded by the reviewers (up to a maximum of 50 points).

The expert reviewers evaluated the competition papers based on the following criteria:

Editing, style, and structure (10 points)
Review of the relevant literature (10 points)
Quality of the methodology applied (10 points)
Evaluation of the results (10 points)
Contemporary relevance and significance of the paper (10 points)

At the conference itself, the jury awarded points based on the following criteria (up to a maximum of 50 points):

Presentation style (20 points)
Content of the presentation (15 points)
Debating skills and professional competence (15 points)

By combining the preliminary score and the points earned through the oral presentation, a competitor could achieve a maximum total of 100 points.

The submitted papers were reviewed by 54 experts (29 from abroad and 25 from Transcarpathia), representing a total of 20 higher education and scientific institutions. The work of the conference sections was overseen by 50 jury members. Among them were 24 experts from abroad and 26 from Transcarpathia, representing 17 higher education and scientific institutions in total. Thus, the 20th KTDK was realised through the extensive collaboration of 21 higher education and scientific institutions.

No.	Institutions represented by jury members and reviewers	Country	Number of jury members	Number of reviewers
1.	Zrínyi Ilona Lyceum of Berehove	UA	1	1
2.	University of Debrecen	HU	5	9
3.	Eötvös József College, Baja	HU	1	1
4.	Eötvös Loránd Research Network	HU	–	1
5.	Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest	HU	4	3
6.	Gulag Foundation	HU	–	1
7.	Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University	UA	19	16
8.	Transcarpathian Academy of Arts	UA	–	1
9.	Kodolányi János University	UA	2	2
10.	University of Miskolc	HU	2	2
11.	Committee of National Remembrance, Budapest	HU	1	1
12.	University of Public Service	HU	1	1
13.	University of Nyíregyháza	HU	2	2
14.	Pázmány Péter Catholic University	HU	1	–
15.	University of Pécs	HU	1	1
16.	Research Institute and Archives for the History of Regime Change	HU	1	1
17.	University of Szeged	HU	2	3
18.	Szolnoki Varga Katalin Gimnázium	HU	1	1
19.	Svaliava Memorial Park Committee, International Society of Gulag and GUPVI Researchers	UA	–	1
20.	National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Institute of Electron Physics, Uzhhorod	UA	1	1
21.	Uzhhorod National University	UA	5	5

No.	Section	No.	Jury	Position	Institution
1.	Geography and Human Geography	1.	Prof. Dr Károly Kocsis	Professor, Head of Department	University of Miskolc
		2.	Dr Tibor Pécz	associate professor, senior research fellow	University of Pécs
		3.	Dr János Pénzes	Associate Professor	University of Debrecen
		4.	Dr Péter Rózsa	Associate Professor	University of Debrecen
		5.	Prof. Dr Tamás Weiszburg	Professor	Eötvös Loránd University
2.	Economics and Accounting	6.	Prof. Dr Róbert Bacsó	Head of Department, Professor	Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University
		7.	Dr Dóra Kárpáti Barabásné	Associate Professor	University of Nyíregyháza
		8.	Dr János Csizmár	Vice-Chancellor, Associate Professor	Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University
		9.	Dr Gabriella Loszkorih	Deputy Head of Department, Associate Professor	Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University
		10.	Dr Andor Pajrok	Senior Lecturer	Eötvös József College, Baja
3.	Department of Linguistics and Literary Studies	11.	Dr. habil. Anikó Beregszászi	Head of Department, Professor	Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University
		12.	Dr Eleonóra Berta	Associate Professor	Uzhhorod National University
		13.	Dr Vilmos Gazdag	Deputy Head of Department, Associate Professor	Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University
		14.	Dr Andrea Pősze	Associate Professor	Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University
		15.	Dr László Szilágyi	Associate Professor	Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University
4.	Department of Learning and Teaching Methodology	16.	Dr Mária Bartos	Associate Professor	Uzhhorod National University
		17.	Dr Gábor Erdei	Associate Professor	University of Debrecen
		18.	Dr Magdolna Györke	Emeritus Associate Professor	Uzhhorod National University
		19.	Dr Katalin Hnatik	Associate Professor	Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University
		20.	Dr Katalin Pallay	Associate Professor	Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University
		21.	Dr Miroszláv Sztojka	Head of Department, Associate Professor	Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University
		22.	Dr Zoltán Tarics	Senior Research Fellow	Institute of Electron Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Uzhhorod
5.	Natural Sciences (Biology, Ecology, Agricultural Sciences)	23.	Prof. Dr Zoltán Fábry	University Professor	Uzhhorod National University
		24.	Dr. habil. Béla Fiser	Associate Professor	University of Miskolc
		25.	Dr István Hadnagy	Associate Professor	Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University
		26.	Dr. habil. Oguz Kelemen	Associate Professor	University of Szeged
		27.	Dr Pál Kiss	Associate Professor	Uzhhorod National University
		28.	Dr Erzsébet Kohut	Head of Department, Associate Professor	Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University
		29.	Dr Béla Nagy	Master Teacher and Researcher	Katalin Varga Grammar School, Szolnok
		30.	Dr Marján Szabó	associate professor	Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University
6	History I (Early modern and 19th-century social and cultural history)	31.	Dr György Dancs	Associate Professor	Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University
		32.	Prof. Dr Gábor Erdődy	Professor	Eötvös Loránd University
		33.	Dr Ferenc Molnár	Deputy Head of Department, Associate Professor	Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University
		34.	Dr László Pallai	Lecturer	University of Debrecen
		35.	Prof. Dr Klára Papp	Professor	University of Debrecen
		36.	Dr József Sallai	Emeritus Associate Professor	University of Nyíregyháza
		37.	Prof. Dr Ferenc Tóth	Scientific Advisor	ELTE Research Centre for the Humanities, Institute of History
7.	Department of History II (20th-century political and local history)	38.	Prof. Dr. Attila Badó	Professor	University of Szeged
		39.	Dr Barbara Bank	Associate Professor	Pázmány Péter Catholic University
		40.	Dr Réka Kiss Földváryné	Head of Department, Associate Professor, Chair	Károli Gáspár Reformed University, National Remembrance Committee
		41.	Dr Zoltán Nagymihály	Research Fellow	Institute and Archive for the History of the System Change
		42.	Dr Éva Remek	Associate Professor	National University of Public Service
		43.	Dr Ibolya Nagy Szamborvszky	Associate Professor	Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University
		44.	Prof. Dr Zsuzsanna Varga	Professor	Eötvös Loránd University
		45.	Prof. Dr Natália Váradi	Associate Professor	Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University
8	Tourism and Regional Development	46	Dr Sándor Berghauer	Vice-Rector, Associate Professor	Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University
		47.	Dr Ildikó Kampó	Headteacher, Teacher	Ilona Zrínyi Lyceum, Berehove
		48.	Dr Katalin Szalai	Associate Professor	János Kodolányi University
		49.	Dr Attila Tóth	Lecturer	Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University
		50.	Dr Tímea Zsófia Tóth	Dean, Associate Professor	János Kodolányi University

Summary

Number of entries	Number of sections	Number of presenters		Institutions represented by speakers		Jury members		Institutions represented by jury members		Opponents		Institutions represented by the external examiners
42	8	41		4		50		17		54		20
		Of which competitors	Of which guest Performers	Abroad	Transcarpathian	Abroad	Transcarpathian	Abroad	Transcarpathian	Abroad	Transcarpathian	Abroad	Transcarpathian
		41	1 (who is also a competitor from two different institutions)	2	2	24	26	13	4	29	25	14	6

Awards

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Transcarpathian Student Scientific Conference, the Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University and the “GENIUS” Charity Foundation expressed their deepest respect and gratitude to those distinguished experts and colleagues who have supported the conference since its inception, continually elevating its academic excellence. Honorary diplomas, certificates of recognition, certificates of appreciation, and silver medals were formally presented to them during the event.

Certificates of appreciation were awarded to the following professional supporters:

No.	Name	Institution	Reason for the award
1.	Prof. Dr Károly Kocsis	the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, University of Miskolc	for his professional work and valuable contributions over recent years
2.	Prof. Dr Tamás Weiszburg	Eötvös Loránd University, HTDK programme	for his professional work and valuable contributions over the past 20 years

The following founders received certificates of recognition:

No.	Name	Institution	Reason for the award
1.	Dr Ildikó Orosz	Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University	for her outstanding, dedicated work over many years
2.	Prof. Dr István Csernicskó	Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University	for his outstanding, dedicated and long-standing work

The following individuals, who have consistently supported the work of the conference every year since its inception, were awarded a certificate of honour and a certificate of appreciation:

S.sz.	Name	Institution	Reason for the award
1.	Dr József Sallai	University of Nyíregyháza	for his unwavering commitment demonstrated over several decades, right from the very beginning
2.	Dr Magdolna Györke	Uzhhorod National University	for her unwavering commitment over several decades, from the very beginning
3.	Dr Zoltán Tarics	Institute of Electron Physics, Uzhhorod, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine	for his unwavering commitment over several decades, from the very beginning
4.	Prof. Dr Róbert Bacsó	Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University	for his dedicated participation and work in recent years, and for his valuable contributions
5.	Dr. habil. Barbara Bank	Péter Pázmány Catholic University	for her dedicated participation and work over the past years, and for her valuable contributions
6.	Prof. Dr Gábor Erdődy	Loránd Eötvös University	for his dedicated participation and work over the past years, and for his valuable contributions
7.	Prof. Dr Péter Forisek	University of Debrecen	for his dedicated participation and work over the past few years, and for his valuable contributions
8.	Dr Réka Kiss Földváryné	National Remembrance Committee	for her dedicated participation and work over the past few years, and for her valuable contributions
9.	Dr. habil. Oguz Kelemen	University of Szeged	for his dedicated participation and work over the past years, and for his valuable contributions
10.	Dr László Pallai	University of Debrecen	for his dedicated participation and work over the past few years, and for his valuable contributions
11.	Dr Gábor Szalkai	Loránd Eötvös University	for his dedicated participation and work over the past years, and for his valuable contributions
12.	Prof. Dr Zsuzsanna Varga	Loránd Eötvös University	for her dedicated participation and work over the past few years, and for her valuable contributions

Lecturers who have tutored the most students at KTDK over the past 20 years:

No.	Lecturer	Number of students tutored	Department
1.	Dr József Molnár	31	Department of Geography and Tourism
2.	Dr György Csatáry	19	Department of History and Social Sciences
3.	Dr Sándor Gönczy	18	Department of Geography and Tourism
4.	Dr Anikó Beregszászi	15	Department of Philology Hungarian Language and Literature Section
5.	Dr Zoltán Csoma	15	Department of Biology and Chemistry
6.	Dr Erzsébet D. Molnár	15	Department of History and Social Sciences
7.	Dr Natália Váradi	15	History and Social Sciences
8.	Dr Ibolya Nagy Szamborovszky	14	History and Social Sciences
9	Dr Ilona Huszti	13	Department of Philology Departmental Group for English Language and Literature
10.	Dr István D. Molnár	13	Department of Geography and Tourism
11.	Dr Margit Kész	12	Department of Philology Hungarian Language and Literature Section
12	Dr Miroszláv Sztojka	12	Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
13.	Dr Erzsébet Kohut	11	Department of Biology and Chemistry
14.	Dr Imre Szakál	11	Department of History and Social Sciences

Number of participants in the KTDK in recent years:

No.	Year	Competitors	Judges
1	2006	20	No data
2.	2007	29	no data
3.	2008	38	no data
4.	2009	34	no data
5.	2010	36	no data
6.	2011	24	9
7.	2012	22	7
8	2013	29	11
9	2014	25	13
10	2016	39	39
11	2017	39	30
12	2018	39	27
13	2019	19	20
14	2020	36	31
15	2021	36	45
16	2022	34	32
17.	2023	35	35
18	2024	41	38
19.	2025	49	50
20.	2026	41	50
	Total	425 (665 papers)	157 (437 entries judged)

The winners of the sections are as follows:

Geography and Human Geography Section:

1st place: Barbara Brigitta Nagy

Supervisor: Dr István D. Molnár

2nd place: Sándor Hidi

Supervisor: Dr József Molnár

3rd place: Alexandra Jakab

Supervisor: Dr Tibor Izsák

KMAT Special Award: Sándor Hidi

Supervisor: Dr József Molnár

Pro Talentis Universitatis Special Prize: Barbara Brigitta Nagy

Supervisor: Dr István D. Molnár

Economics and Accounting Section:

1st place: Anna-Mária Lőrinc

Supervisor: Dr Gabriella Loszkorih

2nd place: Alexandra Lőrinc

Supervisor: Dr Natália Sztojka

3rd place: Szintia Barta

Supervisor: Dr Viktor Németh

KMAT Special Award: Szintia Barta

Supervisor: Dr Viktor Németh

Pro Talentis Universitatis Special Prize: Anna-Mária Lőrinc

Supervisor: Dr Gabriella Loszkorih

Linguistics and Literary Studies Section:

1st place: Dorina Bacskai

Supervisor: Dr. habil. Anikó Beregszászi

2nd place: Júlia Nagy

Supervisor: Dr Erzsébet Bárány

3rd place: Éva Komári

Supervisor: Dr Natália Libák

KMAT Special Award: Júlia Nagy

Supervisor: Dr Erzsébet Bárány

Pro Talentis Universitatis Special Prize: Dorina Bacskai

Supervisor: Dr. habil. Anikó Beregszászi

Learning and Teaching Methodology Section:

1st place: Boglárka Gerő

Supervisor: Dr László Szilágyi

2nd place: Ádám Temető

Supervisor: Dr Miroszláv Sztojka

3rd place: Gyöngyi Kovács

Supervisor: Ágnes Kulin

KMAT Special Prize: Vivien Tóth

Supervisor: Dr Miroszláv Sztojka

Recipient of the Pro Talentis Universitatis Special Award: Alexandra Szabó

Supervisor: Dr Enikő Nagy-Kolozsvári

Natural Sciences Section (Biology, Ecology, Agricultural Sciences)

1st place: Renáta Biró

Supervisor: Dr Irén Pólin

2nd place: Bence Molnár

Supervisor: Dr Éva Andrik

3rd place: Henrietta Barta

Supervisor: István Kolozsvári

KMAT Special Prize: Annamária Józan

Supervisor: Dr Erzsébet Kohut

Pro Talentis Universitatis Special Prize: Renáta Biró

Supervisor: Dr Irén Pólin

Section I: History (Early Modern and 19th-century social and cultural history)

1st place: Milán Horváth

Supervisor: Dr György Csatáry

2nd place: Eliza Hidi

Supervisor: Dr György Dancs

3rd place: Alexandra Kornicki

Supervisor: Dr Ferenc Molnár

KMAT Special Award: Alexandra Kornicki

Supervisor: Dr Ferenc Molnár

Pro Talentis Universitatis Special Prize: Milán Horváth

Supervisor: Dr György Csatáry

Section II: History (20th-century political and local history)

1st place: János Máté Bán

Supervisor: Dr Imre Szakál

2nd place: Nikoletta Kornicki

Supervisor: Dr Erzsébet D. Molnár

3rd place: Annabella Horváth

Supervisor: Dr Imre Szakál

KMAT Special Prize: Szilveszter Izsák

Supervisor: Prof. Dr Natália Váradi

Pro Talentis Universitatis Special Prize: Norbert Benkő and Dóra Karmacsi-Jana (shared prize)

Supervisors: Dr Ibolya Szamborovszky-Nagy and Dr Katalin Pallay

Tourism and Regional Development Section

1st place: Dzsenifer Nagy

Supervisor: Dr Enikő Sass

2nd place: Szabina Vince

Supervisor: Dr Orsolya Nagy

3rd palce: Petronella Szeles

Supervisor: Dr Attila Tóth

KMAT Special Prize: Tímea Major

Supervisor: Natália Oláh

Pro Talentis Universitatis Special Prize: Petronella Szeles

Supervisor: Dr Attila Tóth

The winners of the sections were rewarded with valuable experience, recognition and scholarships. The President of the Hungarian Academic Council of Transcarpathia, Prof. Dr. István Csernicskó, presented special awards to the most outstanding competitors from the eight sections.

In addition, Prof. Dr Attila Badó, President of the Pro Talentis Universitas Foundation, also presented special awards to the most outstanding participants from the eight sections.

List of candidates recommended for participation in the National Student Research Conference to be held in spring 2027:

Geography and Human Geography Section:

Sándor Hidi

Alexandra Jakab

Katalin Kovács

Barbara Brigitta Nagy

Kamilla Nagy

Economics and Accounting Section:

Anna-Mária Lőrinc

Linguistics and Literary Studies Section:

Dorina Bacskai

Krisztina Berekszászi

Eszter Huzina

Learning and Teaching Methodology Section:

Boglárka Gerő

Ádám Temető

Natural Sciences Section (Biology, Ecology, Agricultural Sciences):

Henrietta Barta

Renáta Biró

Bence Molnár

Section I History (Early Modern and 19th-century social and cultural history):

Eliza Hidi

Milán Horváth

Section II History (20th-century political and local history):

János Máté Bán

Norbert Benkő

Annabella Horváth

Alexandra Kornicki

Tourism and Regional Development Section:

Dzsenifer Nagy

Petronella Szeles

Szabina Vince

We would like to take this opportunity to offer our heartfelt congratulations on the results achieved, and we wish the students and supervisors every success in the future!