The main theme of this year’s conference will be competitiveness in general, and that of the Carpathian Basin region in particular. The event will be kicked off at 2 p.m. on Friday, 27 October with a plenary meeting at the János Neumann University. The participants will be welcomed by Éva Hegedüs, HEA secretary general and chairman of the board and CEO of Granit Bank, as well as Zita Finta, chancellor of the János Neumann University and chairman of the Bács-Kiskun County Unit of HEA. These opening addresses will be followed by presentations by the following notable speakers: László Domokos, president of the State Audit Office, Kecskemét mayor Klaudia Szemerey Pataki, Dániel Palotai, chief economist of the National Bank of Hungary and vice president of HEA, as well as Richárd Végh, chairman and CEO of the Budapest Stock Exchange, and chairman of the Responsible Corporate Governance Unit of HEA.
This year’s meeting of young economists will continue in the morning of Saturday, 28 October with four sections: export competitiveness; fintech industry and the banking system; industrial digitalisation and robotization; and competitiveness of the region’s stock markets. The venue will be the House of Scientists in Kecskemét, with presentations by further prestigious speakers, such as the following. In the fintech section, Zoltán Illés, chairman and CEO of the Hungarian Post; Zsolt Selmeczi-Kovács, CEO of Giro Zrt; Lajos Bartha, director of the National Bank in charge of financial infrastructure; Endre Szőcs, founder of Negotio; Gergely Szabó, economic research expert at the National Bank’s Research Directorate; and János Pereczes, head of MKB Fintech Lab. Speakers in the section on the competitiveness of regional stock exchanges: István Máté-Tóth, Budapest Stock Exchange deputy CEO for business; Dániel Körmöczi, Budapest Stock Exchange deputy CEO for international relations; as well as economist and journalist Loránd István Králik, member of the Romanian National Securities Board.
The section dedicated to industrial digitalisation and robotics will feature, among others, Ferenc Pongrácz, IBM’s business development director in South and East Europe, chairman of HEA’s IT Unit. Finally, the presenters in the section on export competitiveness will include Ervin Szél, foreign trade attaché of the Embassy of Hungary in Skopje, member of the Presidium of HAE.
Speakers in Saturday’s plenary section: Ágnes Hornung, state secretary of the Ministry of National Economy in charge of finances; Piroska Ailer, rector of the János Neumann University; and university lecturer Erzsébet Czakó, head of the Competitiveness Research Centre of the Corvinus University of Budapest. The conference will be concluded with a closing speech by Gyula Pleschinger, President of the Hungarian Economic Association and member of the Monetary Council.
Those who pay the HUF 10,000 gross registration fee may listen to all presentations and get accommodation for two nights, dinner on Friday and Saturday, lunch on Saturday, as well as breakfast on Saturday and Sunday. The registration fee is HUF 5,000 without accommodation. The amount must be transferred onto the bank account of the Hungarian Economic Association. Register online for further payment details.