General Objectives

Discovery Center Nonprofit Ltd., as an employer, respects the human values, dignity, and individuality of those employed under an employment relationship or any other work-related legal arrangement. The employer condemns all forms of discrimination and upholds the principles of equal opportunity and fair treatment in all aspects of its operations.

The employer is committed to considering the interests of employees under all circumstances and to creating working conditions that contribute to the preservation and strengthening of fundamental values, in accordance with the provisions of the law on equal treatment and the promotion of equal opportunities.

Gender Equality Plan

VETPROFIT – Multidisciplinary, project-based digital learning content for VET

The project aims to reflect labour market needs in vocational training in IT and agriculture.

To achieve this, the consortium:
1. Assesses the curricula, textbooks and teaching methods used in basic IT and agricultural education in the partner countries (Hungary, Italy, Germany).
2. Train teachers in the two sectors in the use of the project-based method, innovative assessment methods and the development of digital teaching materials.
3. Develops, in cooperation with teachers and labour market actors, real-life projects for students in vocational education and training.
4. Develops an online database application for publishing project-oriented (micro) learning materials developed in a multidisciplinary approach.
5. Prepares students for successful project implementation through mini-courses.
6. Publishes the model built on experience in the form of a handbook for vocational teachers.

Discovery Center will have certain tasks in each phase, but our main responsibility is to design real project tasks for students. We will organize a multiplier event where several companies will be invited for consultation. We will contribute to the design of mini-courses, providing materials for digital content development where appropriate. We will also be responsible for the final evaluation of completed student projects.

Project information:
Acronym: VETPROFIT
Project ID: 2021-1-HU01-KA220-VET-000025350
Partner countries: Germany, Italy, Hungary
Project coordinator: iTStudy Hungary Kft.
Project duration: 2021. november 1. – 2024. október 31.
Project website: https://vetprofit.itstudy.hu/en

Partners:
iTStudy Hungary IT Education and Research Centre, Hungary
DEULA-Nienburg GmbH, Germany
Fondazione ITS – JobsAcademy, Italy
Association of Hungarian Horticultural Vocational Training Institutions, Hungary
Premontre Vocational High School, Technical School and College, Hungary
Discovery Center Nonprofit Ltd., Hungary

Development of a cost-optimized novel soil sampling methodology for precision agriculture

The project aims to develop a new soil sampling technology that enables the modeling of not only surface soil properties, but also subsurface properties and diagnostic properties which affect yield potential and might be addressed by agronomic actions. Survey sites are selected in five different across the country with varying geological, geomorphological and climatic conditions to develop a robust technology that performs under diverse conditions.

Precision agriculture technology is one of the main drivers of modern agriculture. Novel data collection equipment appears on a regular basis. Geostatistical methods and clustering algorithms remain constant despite the fact that new methodologies are also available due to higher computing capacities, and higher resolution data collection.

We develop a new sampling technology that enables the modeling of not only surface soil properties, but also subsurface properties and diagnostic properties that affect yield potential and can be addressed by agronomic actions. Survey sites are selected in five different locations of the country with varying geological, geomorphological and climatic conditions to develop a robust technology that performs under diverse conditions.

Cultivation development of dry beans

The cultivation area of dry beans in Hungary has shrunk during the last decades and currently stagnating at around 700 hectares annually. The reasons include highly variable yields, outdated agrotechnology and challenging cultivation conditions.

We are modernizing the cultivation technology of dry beans, by adapting and testing precision ag technologies and researching new solutions to optimize seeding, nutrient management and harvesting.

Development of field soil test method and rational cultivation techniques to reduce soil degradation

The aim of the project is to develop a soil survey methodology that provides farmers with necessary and relevant information to identify the best cultivation technologies to combat soil degradation. The main focus area of the project is Hajdú-Bihar county, where a wide variety of soils are found, such as different steppe soils (mainly Chernozems), salt affected soils (mainly Solonetz) and high clay content soils (Vertisols).

The project utilizes the newest soil survey methodologies and equipment such as aerial and space surveys, automated field surveys (RTK-based terrain models, VERIS, stationary EC sensors), GIS methods and many more. The final guideline will support soil scientists in performing a detailed, specific soil survey to help farmers achieve sustainable soil and land management.

Adaptation of crop mixes adapted to crops and soil types for use in ecological seedlings

Our target is to optimize the focal crops on the three largest fields in Hungary with the established cropmix. Winter wheat, maize, and sunflower cover more than half of all arable land in Hungary, so there is a significant need for optimal crop production of these crops. After the completion of the project, the selection of seeds for ecological seeding will be more purposeful and professional.

Alternative utilization of maize production in the mirror of livestock needs, with particular reference to sorghum cultivation

The aim of the rpoject is to identify grain and silage sorghum varieties that can be introduced into the crop rotation as an alternative to maize and to renew its production technology. The project includes the complete modernization of cultivation technology for grain and silage sorghum, optimization of machine linkage work from both a mechanical and operational point of view, adaptation to bound meadow soils, and development of site-specific input materials supported by satellite navigation.

Research of the efficiency of high-speed sowing with different cultivation methods and crop plants

With the help of several farmers, we are developing the high-speed sowing method for different cultivation technologies and the most important domestic arable crops (winter wheat, maize, sunflower, soybean, and winter rape) in the project.

The effect of basic cultivation methods on the quantity and quality of the secondary sweetcorn

The research targets the crop security of the companies, as it investigates the adopted methods for second-crop sweet corn fields and irrigation. It also monitors the pace of plant development and the yields achievable with different technologies that are realistically implementable.

Improving physical properties and watermanagement of boundary meadow soils with the help of water management and soil improvers

The main target of the project is the creation/application of new types of rotation-free tillage and cultivation systems on fixed meadow and casting soils, which can be cultivated gently with precision farming. The large amount of basic data to be collected during R&D will provide the opportunity to produce high-accuracy terrain models, collect agronomic and technical data, and develop an objective decision support system.

Improvement of physical properties of meadow bound soils by the use of organic soil improvers

Our target is to implement a more precise tillage technology and a more efficient nutrient management system using precision farming as part of the renewed maize cultivation technology in the project.

The effect of algae and bacterial preparations on the profitability of maize cultivation under different cultivation technologies

The effect of algae and bacterial preparations on the profitability of maize cultivation under different cultivation technologies.

Nowadays, the income-producing ability of arable crop production, including corn production, is increasingly diminishing. It is important to incorporate new technological variants into cultivation practices, both in terms of agro-technology and engineering. We can develop cultivation technologies that are more favorable in terms of environmental load and competitiveness than the technological variants based on current averaging methods.

Precision plant protection system development and efficiency testing

The goal of the project is to test new precision crop protection technologies on commonly grown crops. The project compares and analyzes conventional and precision plant protection methods and practices.

Development of precision, resource efficient harvesting system

Technologies for harvesting arable crops will be investigated in the project (mainly maize and other cereals). The purpose of our development is to test a new harvesting process. The main goal is to reduce harvest time and costs, and to achieve the highest possible quality of the harvested crops.

Development of precision cultivation technology of silage maize using site-specific technologies

The use of tillage systems adapted to the conditions of the area is of great importance for the cultivation of silage maize. In addition to the agro-ecological conditions of our country, we aim to apply moisture-saving systems that help reduce drought damage during the growing season.

The EU ILUC directive in 2015 introduced in the legislative framework a new concept for transport biofuels, the indirect land-use change (“ILUC”)

The recently issued RED II Directive introduces an exemption for biofuels, bioliquids, and biomass fuels certified as low ILUC-risk from the phasing-out requirement for high ILUC-risk feedstocks.

Establishing the basis of agricultural innovation on the HU-SRB border region to enhance the competitiveness of agri SMEs

Bringing agriculture-related innovations to the market (a space quantitatively dominated by SMEs) is challenging. The parties often lack business development skills and awareness of the latest technologies. Our consortium’s main assumption is that once we are able to identify a group of SMEs open to one type of innovation, this group will act as a catalyst in its environment. Building on this hypothesis, we have identified two main pillars that we aim to implement during the project.

Employment and new colleagues

Discovery Center Nonprofit Ltd conducts research on soil databases and their mathematical statistical analysis in their daily operations to support precision farming and to produce digital soil maps. We have considerable experience in correlating, harmonizing and then evaluating soil and environmental data from a variety of sources.

TraCoReF | Transboundary Collaboration on Regional Foods in Visegrad Countries

Objective 1: Identification of opportunities for local product development and re-establishing the path to obtain geographical identification, with the help of external experts.
Objective 2: Identification of potential short-term and long-term collaborations for the promotion of local food and regions, which may contribute to regional development.
Objective 3: Development of gastro-tourism through the implementation and linkage of local products to gastronomy.

grAvITAS | Establishing the basis of agricultural innovation on the HU-SRB border region to enhance the competitiveness of agri SMEs

Bringing agriculture-related innovations to the market (a field largely dominated by SMEs) is challenging. The parties often lack business development skills and awareness of how to apply the latest technologies. Our consortium’s main assumption is that once we are able to identify a group of SMEs open to one type of innovation, this group will act as a catalyst within its environment. Building on this hypothesis, we have identified two main pillars that we aim to implement during the project.

BioInnovation4V4: V4 cooperation

This project aims to develop synergies and enhance cooperation between research, and the public and private sectors, in order to stimulate agricultural innovation in the Visegrad countries.

In all industries, innovation is the driving force of economic growth and development, and agriculture and agricultural enterprises are no exception. There is a large gap between research institutes and potential end-users of research results (e.g., farmers, the food industry). We believe that in order to make further progress in the sustainable growth of the bioeconomy, we need to focus on research, innovation, and international cooperation in knowledge-based development.

We organized a workshop in early 2017 to help researchers, policymakers, and their stakeholders establish and strengthen an appropriate network, thus enabling them to submit joint applications for larger projects and increase innovation capacity in the future.

CATAlySt: European Capacity Enhancement

In every industry, innovation is the driving force of development and progress, and agriculture is certainly no exception. However, innovation and innovative results do not always reach the end-users who could benefit from them; there is a significant gap between research institutes and the potential end-users of research results. For this reason, agricultural innovation services have emerged on the market with the aim of providing agricultural innovation advice, and the EC’s Standing Committee on Agricultural Research introduced the concept of the innovation broker, whose role is to act as an intermediary between the demand and supply of agricultural research and extension services.

RAPIDINF: Disaster management

The main objective of the project is to provide a powerful tool to authorities and bodies responsible for disaster management to quickly and effectively address social and natural challenges. Our goal is to empower public authorities and public bodies responsible for disaster management with not only soft, but also “hard” (e.g., technical) capacity-building tools, in order to tackle the challenges of our region more effectively—specifically in natural and social post-disaster situations.

We also seek to assist and support public authorities in improving their organizational and functional capacity, in order to build sustainable livelihoods. We aim to enable authorities to provide the necessary infrastructure in a cost-effective way and within a very short time after a calamity has occurred. We want to provide them with proven solutions and methods so that they can rebuild their communities affected by disasters and guarantee the civil safety of those communities.

One of the specific objectives is to understand the needs of different communities affected by disasters. We believe that any post-disaster intervention must address the real needs of the communities, and that recovery planning must follow the results of a thorough needs assessment. This is the main driver behind our aim to conduct socio-cultural research among the affected communities and to prepare the design basis for a modular, complex infrastructure system that can be rapidly deployed.

HORIZONT2020: Research Center

Our R&D Center is currently seeking partners to implement a Horizon 2020 research project that aims to design and implement a clinical decision support system to improve cardiovascular diagnosis and care processes.

The developed cardiovascular therapeutic model will be supported by adaptive, workflow-based processes that are modeled and developed based on existing and measured data.

AgriICT – Regional Summer School

Discovery Center is organizing a two-week training program centered around activities related to ICT in agriculture. The attendees’ first task during the Regional Summer School will be to carry out an inventory of all relevant research programs in Europe and to identify overlaps and gaps in existing research agendas in the Western Balkans. They will also compare the research agendas of different programs and explore existing and potential linkages among them and with the agro-industry. The ultimate goal will be to create a strategic research agenda for ICTs in agriculture. It will feature a list of future priorities, as agreed upon by all partners within the Regional Summer School.

Partners will work to improve the quality of research and development activities on ICTs in agriculture in the Western Balkans. The program may also help to level up Central and Southeastern Europe’s position in the development of novel ICTs and applications. It may encourage V4 and WB youth to become more competitive, without compromising on quality or environmental protection in agriculture.

ShareMyGarden: Personal Gardening Assistant

ShareMyGarden is an ICT platform designed for elderly people that approaches gardening from a therapeutic perspective. It helps older adults remain active members of society by facilitating everyday communication.

The program consists of several elements:

• A Personal Gardening Assistant (PGA) with an age-friendly interface that simplifies interaction for elderly users, helping them stay active, independently manage their environment, feel valuable to society, and improve the functionality of their home gardens.
• A User-Friendly Environment (UFE) that allows older people to interact with an open network of semantic tools and sensors, offering real-time user interface adaptation with a focus on environmental awareness.
• A user profile, forum, and marketplace, where elderly users can communicate with one another and participate in shaping social awareness.
• An Age-Appropriate Services Framework (SCE) that supports fast and easy application development, allowing various services to be added or removed as needed.

Through sensor interactions, the system connects different tools based on user preferences and the needs of individual plants. ShareMyGarden is not simply a collection of existing technologies—it also develops new tools, reinforces the social engagement of active ageing, and improves everyday quality of life.

Preparing interdisciplinary research teams in Kaposvár University for the participation in international programmes in the field of applied ecology, mathematics and environment-technology

The aim of the project was to support the creation of knowledge-intensive, value-added products and services at Kaposvár University. The project fostered Hungary’s growth into a prominent knowledge region, accumulating R&D capacity and attracting entrepreneurship, while exerting a multiplier effect on the region to increase its economic competitiveness.

The direct goal of the project was to prepare complex research initiatives with the participation of research teams and to develop research management capacities within Kaposvár University.

Focus areas included:

• Exploring the application possibilities of collective intelligence through crowdsourcing in environmental technology,
• Developing complex ecological solutions using remote sensing technologies,
• Applying multivariate mathematical models to determine viability limits in precision farming.

Our aim was to establish connections between higher education institutions and internationally acclaimed research institutes in specific fields, in order to enhance the universities’ future contribution to various EU programs, such as Horizon 2020.

YIBROVIC 2: Young innovation brokers for Visegrad countries – Summer School

YIBROVIC Summer School primarily aims to connect new generations of agriculture experts to exchange their knowledge and ideas. These new agricultural innovation brokers will develop innovative solutions for V4 and other partnering countries, formulating an innovation incubator, also establishing a network for sharing knowledge, ideas and best practices in the field of agricultural innovation brokerage.

AgENT – Agricultural Entrepreneurial Training for Young Community Leaders in Kenya

The AgENT Project offers skills development and intensive coaching for young community leaders aiming to promote and develop agricultural ideas and foster the growth of innovative agribusiness enterprises in Kenya.

Agriculture is a dominant economic activity in the developing country of Kenya. The rural economy and the ever-growing population depend heavily on agricultural activities and farm production. Despite the sector’s importance, farming remains a less attractive career path among Kenyan youth.

Discovery R&D Center’s Agricultural Entrepreneurial Training (AgENT) for Young Community Leaders in Kenya project offers intensive coaching for young community leaders who are eager to promote agro-entrepreneurial ideas and support the growth of innovative agribusiness enterprises in Kenya.

Discovery Center’s collaboration partners are the Kenya National Farmers’ Federation (KENAFF) and Life Dace International (LDI). These organizations help us promote the opportunity locally, and KENAFF also provides the venue for the training. According to our plans, four agricultural researchers from Discovery R&D and six Kenya-based experts will contribute to the training, helping to adapt the introduced technologies to local conditions. The consortium will prepare detailed study materials for the young community leaders, which will be shared during the skills development phase of the AgENT project.

After completing the specialized coaching, these AgENTs will be capable of reaching an estimated 500 young agro-entrepreneurs and supporting them in launching their own agricultural businesses—assisting with business plan preparation, fundraising, use of ICT tools, marketing strategy development, and connecting with peri-urban areas.

YIBROVIC: Young innovation brokers for Visegrad countries – Summer School

YIBROVIC Summer School primarily aims to connect new generations of agriculture experts to exchange their knowledge and ideas. These new agricultural innovation brokers will develop innovative solutions for V4 and other partnering countries, formulating an innovation incubator, also establishing a network for sharing knowledge, ideas and best practices in the field of agricultural innovation brokerage.