Luca Koltai, colleague of HÉTFA, presented on the situation in Hungary and discussed HÉTFA’s Lost Millennials project, which specifically focuses on NEETs. The Lost Millennials project, funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway through the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Youth Employment, focuses on a commonly neglected target group of the generation of Millennials: young people aged between 25 and 29 years, who are out of employment or education and training (NEETs), live in small towns in rural areas and face multiple barriers to their inclusion in labour market.

The full version of the conference program, including detailed information about the presentations and other events, can be accessed here.

To learn more about HÉTFA’s Lost Millennials project, please visit the project website.

The Lost Millennials project is funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Youth Employment.

MESOC is a Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Action designed to propose, test and validate an innovative and original approach to measuring the societal value and impacts of culture and cultural policies and practices. MESOC is carried out by 10 partners from 7 European countries. The objectives of the MESOC Action are relevant to Profeedback COST Action, one of the flagship initiatives of HETFA in the field of policy evaluation, as well as to HETFA’s Creative Industries Lab.

During the MESOC final conference, we explored how the MESOC deliverables can be useful for HETFA, how we can create synergy between MESOC and Profeedback and how HETFA’s Creative Industries Lab can join similar initiatives in the future in the field of cultural policy evaluation and the impact assessment of cultural initiatives.

In HETFA’s Creative Industries Lab our purpose is to understand and analyse the Cultural and Creative Sectors. In the recent years we made a wide-ranging analysis about the development of the Hungarian creative industries and about the impact of its everyday operation. We have also conducted research in the film industry, studied the situation of dubbing workers and analysed the operation of media markets. With our expertise in direct EU funding programmes, our aim is to support and pursue the fundraising and internationalisation efforts of the sector in Hungary.

More info on HÉTFA’s Profeedback COST Action here.

More info on MESOC Action here.

Full programme of the MESOC final conference here.

For more information about HETFA’s Creative Industries Lab, please contact info@hetfa.hu.

Photo credit: Culture4health

During the conversation they discussed numerous interesting topics, such as the particularities of the Erasmus+ Programme, the methods of developing and implementing a research management training for higher education students and the joy and challenges of project implementation. In these two episodes listeners can find useful advice, information and suggestions about the pre-award and post-award phases of EU-funded educational and research projects.

The other episodes of the “The Grant” podcast series are highly recommended for those who are interested in research management and the Horizon Europe Programme and would like to learn new tips and insights in the field of European R&D funding.

The podcast is available here.

More information about the foRMAtion project can be found here.

The agenda of the event was very ambitious, including opening speeches, presentations and a roundtable discussion. Among other high-level speakers, the keynote speech was delivered by Stijn Delauré, Policy Officer at DG R&I of the European Commission. During the event, colleagues of HETFA intensely participated in the event and delivered presentations. Virág Zsár, Senior Grant Advisor and coordinator of the foRMAtion project, and Judit Fekete, Senior Project Manager from HÉTFA Research Institute introduced the speakers and moderated the event. Gábor Balás, Managing Director of HÉTFA Research Institute talked about past and present initiatives of HÉTFA to advance the RMA profession internationally. Krisztina Kovács from HÉTFA Research Institute outlined the foRMAtion Mentorship Programme and the experiences of the pilot testing with six students that graduated from the foRMAtion courses.

The project has been an intense journey through multiple highs and a few lows, due to the pandemic, but the consortium can be genuinely proud of its achievements in the field of research management training in higher education. Although the foRMAtion project is coming to its end, we do not stop! Join the Educational Module Alliance and the Mentorship Alliance and become part of a unique RMA community. To get support and access to training events and online gatherings, contact us at hetfa_formation@hetfa.hu.

Presentations of the event: https://tinyurl.com/52vnp2hw

Event recording: https://tinyurl.com/5yw9khcs

On 27 September 2022, the foRMAtion partnership has organised a public event in Rome, Italy. Almost 50 participants, including experts in research management and university representatives attended the event. The focus was on the Research Manager and Administrator (RMA) profession and its role and place in Europe, with a focus on Italy, as well as national and international RMA training opportunities in higher education. The event has been organised by ISINNOVA in collaboration with Tor Vergata University of Rome, Politecnico di Torino and APRE.

The event started with a welcome note introducing the current Italian RMA landscape. Session 1 focused on the role of Research Managers and Administrators in Europe, while Session 2 shed a light on creating awareness about the RMA profession in universities. The next sessions focused on the national RMA scene by exploring the Italian community of RMAs.  Speakers shared and reviewed the local activities and networks around RMA in Italy and identified the steps forward to be made in this field.

The final and largest stakeholder event of foRMAtion on “The Future of Research Management Training in Higher Education – Insights from foRMAtion’s Teaching and Mentoring Experience to Professionalize Research Management” will take place in Brussels on 30 November 2022, 9:00 – 15:00. Agenda is available here and the registration form here.

More information on the event can be found here.

More information on the foRMAtion project is available here.

Following the success of the first event in Portugal, the second public event has been held in Ljubljana, Slovenia under the title “Learning RMA by doing RMA – Empowering Tomorrow’s Research Managers and Administrators through foRMAtion’s Mentorship Programme”. The Slovenian Forestry Institute hosted the event on their premises. More than 50 participants joined in person and online from more than 12 countries – including experts in the field of research management, policy makers and the National Contact Points’ Coordinator for Horizon Europe in Slovenia. The goal was to deliberate about various RMA mentorship programs around the world, including foRMAtion’s newly tested programme, as well as to discuss their possible implementation in the local institutional context. The event offered a great networking opportunity for those interested in incorporating mentorship into their institutional practice.

During the event, two colleagues from HETFA have delivered presentations. Virág Zsár, Senior Grant Advisor at HÉTFA, gave an overview of the foRMAtion project, including its goals and achievements so far. Judit Fekete, Senior Project Manager at HÉTFA, explained the novelty of the foRMAtion Mentorship Programme piloted this summer in 6 European research support offices with the participation of university students who have successfully completed the foRMAtion modules.

The public event in Slovenia has been a great success! The partnership is looking forward to the next events. The final and largest stakeholder event of foRMAtion on “The Future of Research Management Training in Higher Education – Insights from foRMAtion’s Teaching and Mentoring Experience to Professionalize Research Management” will take place in Brussels on 30 November 2022, 9:00 – 15:00. Agenda is available here and the registration form here.

HETFA GEP was developed according to the existing EU-level and national policies and frameworks concerning gender-based discrimination and tools for improving gender equality. First and foremost, HETFA GEP is aligned with the principles and recommendations set out by the European Commission’s Horizon Europe Programme (Horizon Europe General Annexes, Horizon Europe Guidance on Gender Equality Plans, September 27, 2021) for fulfilling the eligibility requirements for financial funding, while it also follows the guide issued by the European Institute for Gender Equality (GEAR Tool) for assuring quality design, implementation and monitoring of initiatives for increased gender equality.

Developing HETFA’s first Gender Equality Plan (HETFA GEP) was an excellent opportunity to introduce the concept and the benefits of having an evidence-based gender equality plan at the institute. As research performing organisation, it is of the utmost importance to ensure that gender and gender equality is a foundational value in research activities and international project management. With the implementation of this Gender Equality Plan, HETFA also intends to advance its scientific interest and potential, while establishing its role in covering gender-related research and international cooperation projects.

Based on the thorough evaluation of the complied data and qualitative results, the Plan features the implementation of 11 objectives within 5 priority areas of intervention. The following three aims have been defined to identify the key areas and objectives for the Equality Plan at HETFA: 1) changes on the organisational level to support equal and safe work conditions for everyone, 2) support to achieve excellence in research and in international project implementation by integrating the gender dimension and 3) awareness-raising activities for individuals to increase the understanding of the importance of equality issues and strengthen positive attitudes towards diversity.

The five key objectives for the period of 2022-2024 are as follows:
1) Driving Institutional change toward increased gender equality
2) Gender Equality in employment, career advancement and leadership
3) Reconciliation of work and life
4) Gender dimension in research and innovation
5) Gender dimension in international projects

HETFA also provides expertise to other public institutions in preparing their Gender Equality Plans (GEP) and facilitating its implementation to meet the requirements of Horizon Europe 2021-2027. Furthermore, HETFA Research Institute has relevant expertise for coordinating or joining international EU funded projects as a partner organisation dealing with any of the following topics related to gender equality:

• gender equality in the labour market, labour supply of young mothers and gender pay gaps;
• empowerment of women entrepreneurs, women business angels, start-uppers;
• gender equality in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), structural processes and mechanisms behind gender inequality in STEM education;
• involvement and empowerment of young girls interested in STEM education, innovation and entrepreneurship;
• promoting gender equality at HEIs (Higher Education Institutions), supporting the implementation and monitoring of GEPs at HEIs;
• gender responsive budgeting.

In case of interest in making partnership, please contact: 

Katalin Oborni, senior project manager and gender expert, obornikatalin@hetfa.hu

Judit Fekete, senior project manager, responsible for coordinating Horizon Europe projects, feketejudit@hetfa.hu

Luca Koltai, senior researcher, gender expert, Head of the Division for Public Policy and Impact Assessment, internationaloffice@hetfa.hu

Source of picture: www.unsplash.com

Since 2016, it is the fifth consecutive year that HETFA prepares the Music Industry Report commissioned by ProArt. The creators of ProArt support the research with relevant information about the industry, which is complemented by the data collection of HETFA that covers the last closed calendar year of the industry. By processing and analysing the data, the HETFA report can present results and show trends that are relevant to the whole industry, including for instance the physical and digital sales of sound recordings and the live music sector

See the English summaries of previous reports by clicking here.

This year (and every second year) as part of the collaboration, a major, more comprehensive music report is prepared. This report includes a representative population survey on music consumption habits. Also, the last chapter of the 2020 report focuses on the COVID-19 crisis based on a data collection from this year. The COVID-19 chapter used a questionnaire survey of music performers and authors for the assessment. The report is expected to be available online in December 2020.

The Music Hungary Conference which was held in Veszprém and online on 9-10 November 2020, also focused on the challenges of this year caused by the pandemic. The Music Hungary Conference is organized every year since 2012, with the aim of bringing together various actors in the music industry, thus generating cooperation in the sector. This cooperation aim to represent their interest to the decision-makers and support relevant policy-making as well.

’The music industry in Hungary has suffered an 80% economic loss in this year.’ The summary of the first day of the Conference prepared by Világgazdaság is available here (only in Hungarian).

In addition to presenting the Music Industry Report, Zsolt Főző also took part in a roundtable discussion on the career possibilities in the music industry. A recording of the presentation and the discussion is available here (presentation of Zsolt Főző from 25:45, in Hungarian).

Photo: MTI/Tamás Vasvári

Creative Industries Lab

In HETFA’s Creative Industries Lab our purpose is to understand and analyse the Hungarian cultural and creative industries – so far little is known about these segments of the country’s economy. Nonetheless, creative industries are getting more important in markets such as Hungary since they help to create high added value local jobs, high-return intellectual property, and easily exportable services. Thus, in HETFA we think that it is highly important to produce accurate analytical knowledge of the operations of creative industries. Moreover, we are committed to creating this knowledge with the help of cutting-edge methods of economics and social science approaches.

]]> https://hetfa.eu/2020/11/one-step-closer-to-strengthen-the-network-of-research-managers-and-administrators/ Mon, 09 Nov 2020 16:24:35 +0000 https://hetfa.eu/?p=8036 The 18-months-long project called Visegrad Four and Western Balkan Network of Research Managers and Administrators (V4+WB Network of RMAs) granted by the International Visegrad Fund was successfully kicked-off on 5-6 November 2020. During this online kick-off meeting the partnership got to know each other and the programme rules, and outlined the most important deadlines and milestones for the implementation period. Although the partnership will personally meet only at the end of the project in Bratislava, they will have online meetings in every three months.

The partnership consists of:

• HETFA Research Institute (Hungary) – as coordinator
• Centre for Knowledge and Technology Transfer, Charles University (Czechia)
• Silesian University of Technology (Poland)
• Slovak University of Technology (Slovakia)
• Center for the Promotion of Science (Serbia)
• University of Banja Luka (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
• INTER-EDU – Association for Internationalization of Education and Science (North Macedonia)

As the first step, the partnership works on launching the social media platforms for sharing first-hand information about the project events and initiatives. Besides, the preparation for the 12-month-long webinar series has already started. The full list of webinars with the topics and dates will be available on the website soon. Stay tuned if you are open to hear and learn about the main changes and frames of Horizon Europe!

Another output, the Online Expert Pool connected with the Learning Material Platform aims not only to strengthen the cooperation of RMAs, but support their skill development. All of these outputs will be available online and free of charge.

HETFA is proud to be the coordinator of the project, which is not alone on the list of ongoing RMA-related projects. foRMAtion also focuses on this profession, but with the aim of creating an innovative and smart module for potential RMAs in higher education. You can also follow what they are doing here. As another possibility, here is the chance to join the first BESTPRAC-EARMA meeting on 25-26 November 2020 for further skill development.

Are you interested in how to stay in touch with V4+WB Network of RMAs project and getting first-hand information about the webinars and the launch of the Expert Pool? Follow the website for news and updates!

The study focused on the dubbing process of movies, series and other television programs, thus excluding the voice-over of advertisements, computer programs and digital games. The research was based on different qualitative and quantitative methods, and more than 40 interviews and background conversations were conducted with important stakeholders and professionals. Dubbing workers were also included in the research via an online survey, in order to get a closer look on their professional circumstances and their everyday working environment. To know more about the situation of the dubbing studios, the annual financial reports of such companies were also analyzed.

Below we present you the main findings of the research:

• The size of the dubbing studio market in 2018 was 3.16 billion HUF (approx. 8.7 million EUR) based on official revenue statistics. The three biggest dubbing studios in the market are accounted for 70% of this revenue, while the five largest dubbing studios represent more than 85% of the overall revenues. Therefore, the role of dubbing studios is extremely important in this industry.
• Studios’ central role is further emphasized by the fact that the infrastructure needed for dubbing is created and owned by these companies. They organize the work of dubbing workers and they are those who are in contact with potential clients (mainly film studios, distributors and broadcasting companies). At the individual level, incomes often do not reflect the level of expertise, experience and the invested energy of dubbing workers.
• Many actors reported that the price of dubbing has hardly changed over the past decade. This constitutes the biggest problem in the industry as it is difficult for actors to create the appropriate and necessary market conditions for high quality work and profitability.This is highly relevant at the level of the average dubbing workers whose situation is mostly dependent on the clients’ needs and interests. And though dubbing studios are stronger and more established than dubbing workers, clients define earnings and the rules of the game.

The report concluded that dubbing actors and workers have to renegotiate the aspects of working conditions with the dubbing studios. Studios have to ensure the health and social security of their employees, contractual relations should be clarified and improvement is needed in the flow of information between the parties; moreover a minimum criteria concerning quality has to be also secured.

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