What kind of opportunities does HUMDA’s cooperation with the Széchenyi István University’s Vehicle Industry Research Center provide?
The Vehicle Industry Research Center and HUMDA can work together through similar interests. The Research Center’s main focus is on Research & Innovations, bringing students into the industry, educating engineers, and the growing expansion of the research base. At the Research Center several of our colleagues work as motorsport competition engineers and event organisers thus we can provide HUMDA with dedicated professionals with loads of work experience and also provide motivated students who want to take part in the industry. Aside from this, the Vehicle Industry Research Center has a strong role in the university’s vehicle and engine development programs and its various student competition teams, this in turn needs an organiser and connections, which HUMDA can provide.
What are the cooperation’s main goals?
I could say there are shared goals and the main one is developing Hungarian motorsport to the best it can be. Reaching this will need a wider professional expertise and research base as this is the key for a dynamic motorsport development. The goal is to connect more and more people together within and bring from outside into motorsport thus gaining students and overall growing its youth base and therefore providing a future for the industry. The secondary effect of this is to motivate and guide students towards studies and a career in information technology, engineering, and natural science professions as these all have labour shortages.
In one or five years, what could be a satisfactory achievement?
We want to make the Széchenyi István University even more appealing. With the engagement of motorsport all professions will get more advanced and more interesting, not only the vehicle engineer, mechanical engineer, electrical engineer, and computer engineer, but also the profession’s management and economics models and methods. It’s clear that there is a need in industry for professionals to be able to cover the full spectrum of activity, like in a small company, that are developed in our active and successful student teams here at the university and it is these skills that can be immediately transferred to industry.
What’s the current situation with domestic engineering education?
There are two main dynamic aspects of the needs. Technological development is huge if we just take a look at the vehicle powertrainor the autonomous control development. In the vehicle industry, besides vehicle engineer and mechanical engineer professions, there is a shortage in electrical engineers and informatics scientists too. Secondly, we have to reach the youth differently compared to 10 years ago and therefore need new education methodology tools and career guidance approaches. Therefore we as a university have taken the step in the right direction by developing student teams. The key point is to engage or connect students with several projects. The best students take part in the competition teams and related work. It is here where they are motivated, reinforce their academic knowledge and develop hands-on knowledge and skills for their future career.
How does the work at HUMDA and HUMDA Lab interconnect with the university?
The main goals of HUMDA Lab concern motorsport technological development and innovation. There are several areas which connect the Széchenyi István University and HUMDA Lab, for example electric powertrains, autonomous systems for race vehicles, alternative fuels, development of all types of powertrains in general, and attending competitions where these new technologies are showcased. Cooperation and collaboration are needed as we are more efficient together and can reach better motorsport competition results by doing this. The student teams are essential by providing both the basis platform for this methodology approach as well as an indicator of its success where all teams, the Arrabona Racing Team, SZEngine, and the SZEnergy Team reached first place and set a world record last year.
How do you see future mobility’s development over the next 10 or 30 years in cities that are the size of Győr or Budapest?
It’s certain that a huge degree of automatization will occur, but we cannot say exactly the size of it at this current time. Within 10 years it’s certain that several types of technologies will be realised, which include a large percentage of vehicles used on the road being autonomous, especially on specified road routes and various applicable and viable environments. If we go further into time, within 30 years as we picture it, a lot of service companies will be created by the use of autonomous vehicles, for example the transportation or movement of parcels and passengers. However, it is not expected that all mobility applications will be completely ready or able to use autonomous systems.
How did your professional career develop after you took leadership of the JKK (Vehicle Industry Research Center)?
The Vehicle Industry Research Center was established in 2012. At its genesis, I took part in the projects that were running during that time. Firstly, as a sub-project leader and then later as a leader for complete projects. Currently I’m leading and managing the JKK’s operative functions with the presidency of Prof. Bokor.
What could we know about your private life?
Fortunately, there are always a lot of active projects ongoing at the Vehicle Industry Research Center and you would think this limits my private life, however this is not true. Let me explain, I have two sons, who both love cars and are quite enthusiastic and excited about the vehicle industry and all its interesting aspects, so for them it’s not a problem if I speak about the topic even at home. Also, .my wife works in the automotive sector as an engineer helping to create a common understanding and bond with everything on the home front working in harmony.
Is there a hobby of yours that you could mention in this interview?
As my work is very intensive, I would say my job is my hobby, but other than the exciting tasks undertaken at the university I love all sports, especially motorsports.