Hungary: academy is not obsolete or discriminatory
György Fábri1
1. Communications and Science Policy, The Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Roosevelt sq. 9, H-1051 Budapest, Hungary
Sir:
We were puzzled by your News story "Hungary's science academy slammed as 'obsolete'" (Nature 441, 10341035; 2006), because we had previously provided you with information that contradicts it. Contrary to your story and the statements made by people cited in it, our academy does not discriminate against scientific achievement obtained outside Hungary.
To cite the relevant part of our byelaws when conferring a Doctor of Science (Doctor of the Academy) title, from the
http://www.mta.hu website: "When evaluating results arising from research done in an advanced industrial country, articles can be included fully in the impact factor total only if the applicant is the first or last mentioned co-author. If not, articles can be included in the impact factor or citation index total only to the effect of 25%. If the applicant competes for a Doctor of the Academy title on the basis of research done in a foreign country scientifically as advanced as Hungary, or less advanced than Hungary, reaching the domestic minimal measure is the minimal condition of allowing him/her to compete for the title."
By quoting people who call the Hungarian Academy of Sciences "obsolete" you are unjustly offending almost two-thirds of its members, and indeed three-quarters of our Doctors of the Academy, elected after 1990, not to mention more than half the academy's research staff, who started their scientific careers after that date.
We are troubled that you ignored the information we provided to your reporter before the article was published, and instead featured overwhelmingly the views of people who had previously denounced the academy and the scientific community in Hungary, and had met with rebuttals. We find your News story tendentious and partial, at odds with Nature's widely respected objectivity and editorial integrity.
Hungary: academy needs more than internal reform
Csaba Szabo1
1. Department of Surgery, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, New Jersey 07103, USA
Sir:
Your News story "Hungary's science academy slammed as 'obsolete'" (Nature 441, 10341035; 2006) describing some of the practices of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, with respect to the requirements for its doctoral degree, only touches the tip of the iceberg. There are many chronic problems with the academy (see Nature 427, 9495, 2004), such as the ageing leadership, lifelong tenure and funding allocations heavily favouring academy members and their institutions.
Although I did, as your News story reported, return to Hungary after 10 years of working in the United Kingdom and the United States, I stayed for only one year because of these outdated practices. I called for an internationally competitive science-management system and spoke out against the state-funded privileges and the lifelong compensation system the members of the academy enjoy. Two days later, I was told by the head of my department at Semmelweis University to look for another job.
A radical change in Hungarian science administration is overdue. The recent removal of the criticized sections from the academy's webpage is not going to change anything. I seriously doubt that the new 'internal reform committee' of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences is what the country needs.
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