Introduction

About the IKU Innovation Research Centre

IKU was founded in 1991 by the Budapest University of Economic Sciences (Budapest Corvinus University as of September 2004) for the purpose of facilitating the formation of innovation policy through research and education, and more narrowly the improvement of international competitiveness. Within fifteen years, IKU has become internationally recognised as a research establishment, marked by the fact that since 2004 it has been a member of PRIME, "Polices for Research and Innovation in the Move towards the European Research Area", which is one of the European Union Networks of Excellence, supported by the 6^th EU R&D Framework Scheme. (www.prime-noe.org) In 2005, the Centre became a joint member of the ERAWATCH network, concerned with monitoring the European Research Area and facilitating its development. In addition, since its formation IKU has cooperated in a number of other national and international research projects.

At the beginning of 2007, the Centre parted company with the University and joined Financial Research Ltd. on the request of the Institute. FR Ltd. provides a favourable intellectual atmosphere for IKU to discuss its professional matters within an interdisciplinary research community.

The three major fields of activity dealt with by IKU are research, professional consultation and counselling, and training and education.

The research in the institute can be grouped succinctly into the following topic areas:
I. Innovation systems, theoretical and practical policy issues:
II. Developing tools for research and development and innovation policy, facilitating national application:

Besides its research activities, at the request of those who prepare and make policies for national and international organisations, IKU occasionally provides the expertise which serves to lay a foundation for S&T and innovation policy decisions. Among the activities of IKU, an important part is played by the dissemination both at home and abroad of the scientific research results obtained, and this is done in the worlds of academic, company-economic and state administration policy makers. This is well supplemented by the participation of IKU associates in university education, and in the training of PhD students through international cooperation. It is also involved in organising numerous national and international seminars in adult education.