The Lamfalussy Faculty of Economics “Sustainability Transitions: Challenges and Innovative Solutions” conference – held on November 23, 2023 – was a part of the Hungarian Science Festival, a Hungarian Academy of Sciences-initiated national series of program events.
The hybrid online/in-person conference was organized in cooperation with „For the Higher Education at Sopron Foundation”.
The conference focused on sustainability, in particular, the transition to sustainability. The focus emphasized the present and near-future rather than distant-future sustainability theories and practices.
Over 150 domestic and international participants and many of the faculty’s international PhD students also participated. The widely recognized and popular conference attracted attendees from Germany, Austria, Spain, Croatia, Romania, and Ghana. The event presented and discussed 112 scientific works.
Conference Chairperson Prof. Dr. Zsuzsanna SZÉLES, Dean of the Alexandre Lamfalussy Faculty of Economics, opened the event by welcoming participants and emphasizing the commitment to sustainable and environmentally friendly operations the University of Sopron and the Faculty of Economics have made, a commitment reflected in and supported by their teaching and research. The conference contributed to the vital tasks of disseminating sustainability principles and developing sustainability solutions.
Three plenary speeches in English followed the conference opening and welcome speech.
In his presentation “How to Make European Integration Fair and Sustainable?” Dr. István P. SZÉKELY – Principal Advisor in the Directorate‑General for Economic and Financial Affairs of the European Commission and Honorary Professor at the Corvinus University of Budapest – compared several countries from a specific point of view, focusing specifically on Hungary.
Our second plenary speaker was Dr. habil. Alexandra KÖVES – Associate Professor at the Corvinus University of Budapest and Vice-President of the European Society for Ecological Economics. In “Ecological Economics: The Green Solution to the Transition to Sustainability,” Dr. Köves provided a witty and passionate presentation about current environmental protection problems, particularly those in endangered areas.
In “The Multifaceted Nature of Sustainability: From Sustainability (Sustained) Development to Sustainability Transitions,” Dr. habil. Balázs István TÓTH – Associate Professor of the Alexandre Lamfalussy Faculty of Economics, University of Sopron, and Director of the Lamfalussy Research Centre – offered detailed insights into his scientific research and results.
Twelve parallel sessions followed the lunch break, including seven hybrid sessions involving in-person and online attendees participating through MS Teams, four exclusively online sessions, and one poster session. Sessions were in English, German, and Hungarian.
An opportunity for questions, comments, and professional debate followed the sessions. The conference also afforded an excellent opportunity to present the latest research results and exchange experiences, thus helping establish and implement new personal and institutional collaborations.
Presentation abstracts appeared in an electronic publication (abstract booklet) on conference day. Following peer review, submitted papers will appear in an electronic publication (conference proceedings) in March of next year.
The authors of the most outstanding papers will have the opportunity to be published in either the “Economy and Society” or “E-conom” journals following peer review. We thank our sponsors (ALTEO, BÉRES) for contributing to the organization of the conference.
We thank our plenary speakers and all participants for choosing our event as a venue to present their scientific work.
We also thank all interested parties who honored our conference with their personal or online participation.
Thank you to all the colleagues and students who contributed to the success of our conference.
We look forward to seeing everyone again at next year’s conference!
Prof. Dr. Zsuzsanna SZÉLES Dean,
Professor Conference Chairperson
Dr. Richárd RESPERGER Assistant Professor,
Chairman of the Organizing Committee
Pictures from the conference are available here: 20231123_MTU
