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As part of the MTA200 bicentenary programme series, the Molecular Frontiers Symposium was held in Budapest on 24–25 September 2026, organised in collaboration with HUN-REN, ELTE and the Hungarian Young Academy. At the event, themed ‘In a World Without Science’, more than a thousand young participants had the opportunity to meet world-renowned scientists from the fields of chemistry, materials science, molecular and cell biology, immunology, structural biology and evolutionary biology. We were captivated by the inspiring talks given by Nobel laureates Omar Yaghi, Jack Szostak and Tim Hunt, as well as Daniela Rhodes, Csaba Pál, Reiko Kuroda, Edit Buzás, Robert Langer and Dinshaw Patel.

At the event, which was aimed primarily at secondary school students, participants had the opportunity to take part in interactive sessions and engage in informal discussions with the researchers about science and their personal experiences of a career in research.

The main organiser of the event was HYA alumnus Tamás Beke-Somfai. At the opening of the event, HYA Co-Chair Tamás Ruppert delivered a welcome address on behalf of the organisation, briefly outlining the mission of the Hungarian Young Academy and encouraging students to explore a career in research through one-to-one discussions. Current and alumni HYA members – Zsuzsa Bagoly, Dávid Bajusz, Erika Bálint, István Gábor Hatvani, Dávid Havasi, Kata Horváti, Karolina Kovács, Balázs Ligeti, Bence Kutus, László Koók and Imola Wilhelm – were also been involved as hosts and partners to the guest speakers during the round-table discussions.

The aim of the Molecular Frontiers symposium is to make research careers attractive to future generations and to improve the public perception of chemical sciences. Through their own career paths and research topics, the invited speakers demonstrated that it is worth maintaining our curiosity and always having the courage to ask questions.

(Photo: Molecular Frontiers / HUN-REN TTK)