With the traditional copper baton in hand, the National Conference on Educational Sciences returned to its original home at the University of Szeged. Launched in Szeged a quarter century ago, the event – known by its Hungarian acronym ONK – celebrated its 25th anniversary between November 13 and 15, 2025, marking a symbolic homecoming for the country’s most prominent gathering of education researchers.

With the grand auditorium of the University of Szeged’s József Attila Study and Information Center bathed in festive lights, the JATE Award made its debut on November 15, 2025, at an illustrious gala event. Established to honor tradition while also embracing a spirit of renewal, the new recognition was presented to three outstanding members of the university community: Márton Simon Czikkely, Ágota Tóth, and Mihály Ilia. Personal recollections and heartfelt tributes from the award’s founder, Nobel laureate Professor Katalin Karikó, transformed the evening into a celebration not only of individual excellence, but also of the shared values that unite the SZTE community.

At the University of Szeged, students can navigate every stage of the innovation process – a message highlighted at SZTE’s 13th Innovation Day, where Katalin Karikó addressed a large audience and reflected on the innovation pathway that ultimately led to her groundbreaking discovery. Held in the Ceremonial Hall of the University’s Main Building, the event also honored this year’s recipients of the SZTE Innovation Award.

In the first five months of 2025, Katalin Karikó delivered lectures at conferences and public events across Europe. During her working visit to Italy in May, she received the Mendel Award from the European Society of Human Genetics. Back in Hungary, she continued to share her latest findings and experiences related to messenger RNA at several conferences.

On May 19, 2025, Katalin Karikó was awarded an honorary doctorate and the Semmelweis Medal by the Medical University of Vienna. The Nobel Prize-winning professor from the University of Szeged delivered a lecture before an audience of nearly 900 people.

On Tuesday, May 20, 2025, Nobel Laureate Katalin Karikó spoke at the Collegium Hungaricum in Vienna, addressing Austrian high school students and their peers from Hungary. In her presentation, the renowned biochemist emphasized the importance of maintaining both physical and mental well-being. She shared personal reflections from her life, recalling how her fascination with nature – especially with plants – first took root in childhood, gradually growing to include chemistry, biology, and geography, and inspiring her to create detailed illustrations of living organisms.

A captivating exhibition titled Forever Forward, celebrating the life and work of Katalin Karikó, has opened at the Josephinum, Vienna’s Museum of Medical History.

On May 12, the University of Szeged held an official ceremony to inaugurate its new research unit: the Host–Pathogen Interaction Center. Located within the Institute of Biology, the Center features Hungary’s only in vivo experimental station of its kind, alongside five newly renovated laboratories. This state-of-the-art facility is designed to support the development of antimicrobial therapies, with a particular focus on antifungal treatments – addressing a pressing yet often overlooked public health concern. The project was made possible through both professional and financial support from Katalin Karikó, an SZTE alumna and recipient of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

The Foundation for Szeged hosted its 36th annual awards gala on March 8, 2025, at the Szeged National Theater. This year, the event carried an added sense of prestige with Nobel Laureate and University of Szeged professor Katalin Karikó attending as the guest of honor.

The “most fragile molecule” took center stage at the 2024 mRNA Conference in Szeged, one of the year’s most prestigious scientific gatherings. To reflect on the symposium and its impact, we spoke with Ernő Duda, retired professor from the University of Szeged’s Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School and senior session chair at the international event. This interview concludes our series, “Highlights from the Szeged mRNA Conference”.

“mRNA: More Applications than Limitations” was the headline of the article on the University of Szeged’s news portal, highlighting presentations by seven of the 15 researchers featured at the mRNA conference organized by the Novo Nordisk Foundation and the University of Szeged. For those who were unable to attend the event on November 7–8, 2024, this follow-up provides an overview of research insights shared by eight additional distinguished speakers: Rein Verbeke, Nicolas Manel, Zoltán Kis, Norbert Pardi, Katrien Remaut, Gerald Schwank, Zoltán Jakus, and Katalin Karikó.

The Szeged mRNA Conference, featuring the world’s leading experts in mRNA research, took place on November 7–8, 2024, at the József Attila Study and Information Centre of the University of Szeged. Sponsored by the Novo Nordisk Foundation and hosted by the University of Szeged, the event showcased the groundbreaking work of 15 scientists in the field of mRNA technology. For those unable to attend, this article offers key insights from engaging talks by Drew Weissman, Karin Loré, Antal Nógrádi, Uğur Şahin, Robin Shattock, Persephone Borrow, and Tamás Kiss. To ensure that each research topic is presented accurately, PhD students from the University of Szeged’s Institute of Biology assisted the university press team throughout the writing process.

Two Nobel Prize winners from Hungary and the University of Szeged have been awarded the world's most prestigious scientific prize. The mRNA researcher Katalin Karikó, Professor at the University of Szeged, is the first Hungarian woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine. Ferenc Krausz, who conducted his molecular fingerprinting research in Szeged, is a Nobel Prize winner in physics. Our coverage of the event, which took place at the Stockholm Concert Hall on 10 December 2023, is complemented by exclusive information from our correspondent on the ground.

The Stockholm Concert Hall has seen a lot and still has a lot more to see. Two days after the concert on 8 December 2023 organised in honour of the Nobel Prize winners, this fascinating building will host the world's most prestigious award ceremony on 10 December. Among the distinguished attendees of the concert were the Nobel laureates and the esteemed members of the Swedish royal family.

Referring Kuno Klebelsberg in relation to Katalin Karikó's Nobel Prize is more than a historical artifact of the University. According to Prof. Dr. Márta Széll, Vice-Rector for Strategic Planning at the University of Szeged, due to the network-like character of research, a clear scientific history can be traced between the major biochemical research laboratories at the University of Szeged and the new Nobel Prize.

Stockholm is adorned in pristine white and lights, eagerly awaiting the distinguished guests and honorees for the Nobel Weeks. Nobel laureate Katalin Karikó arrived on December 4, 2023. As an honoree guest, she is a research professor at the University of Szeged. Dániel Viczián, a first-year chemistry student at the University of Szeged, is attending the Nobel Prize award ceremony as a spectator. The official events celebrating personalities recognized with the world's most prestigious scientific award officially begin on December 6, 2023.

The "Nobel Weeks at the University of Szeged" awareness campaign is launched. "Where knowledge and intention meet" - a series of programmes organised under the motto of the University of Szeged extends beyond the borders of Szeged.