In-house doctoral defence of Dr. Tamás Stipkovits
The in-house defence of Dr. Tamás Stipkovits's doctoral dissertation was held on 17 June 2025, organised by our sister department in private law, the Department of Commercial and Agricultural Law. The preliminary review was conducted by Dr. habil. Anett Pogácsás, Associate Professor (Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Faculty of Law and Political Sciences), and Dr. Péter Szalai, Associate Professor from our own department. The defence was chaired by Dr. András Szegedi, Head of Department and Associate Professor, while Dr. Gergely Horváth, Associate Professor, acted as secretary. The supervisor of the doctoral candidate is Dr. Attila Vermes, Associate Professor. As a result of the high-quality academic discussion, the dissertation was recommended for public defence.
Dr. Tamás Stipkovits submitted his dissertation entitled “The Legal Regulation of Institutional Innovation in Higher Education.” The research focuses on the legal framework governing innovation activities in the Hungarian higher education system, with particular attention to research and development agreements, intellectual property management, and the role of universities in market-oriented activities.
The dissertation provides a detailed analysis of anomalies in the domestic legal system, especially those stemming from the lack of normative clarity, and examines how these issues affect research collaborations and the practical utilisation of scientific results. The author applies a comparative legal methodology, exploring elements of the German model, with particular emphasis on the regulatory frameworks of the federal states of Berlin and Bavaria. His proposals include the legal reconsideration of research contracts, the protection of employees’ intellectual property rights, and the promotion of university–industry cooperation.
The dissertation represents a significant contribution to the development of Hungarian science policy and higher education regulation.