The Danube Cup is an international network established nine years ago with the goal of advancing entrepreneurship education, supporting student startups, and promoting academic research in entrepreneurship. A key pillar of the association uniting the Danube countries is the Danube Cup conference, held every two years to foster international cooperation among researchers. The event showcases trends in entrepreneurship research, provides a forum for sharing experiences and best practices, and initiates forward-looking dialogues among higher education and academic stakeholders in the region. 

The 3rd International Danube Cup Conference was hosted recently by the Science Park of Széchenyi István University in Győr. Over the course of two days, 69 presentations were delivered across 13 sessions. Participants represented 30 universities and research institutes from 20 countries, including professors and researchers from nine Hungarian universities. 

The third Danube Cup Conference, held at the Science Park of Széchenyi István University in Győr, brought together researchers from twenty countries. (Photo: András Adorján) 

At the opening ceremony, Dr. Tibor Dőry, the main organizer and Associate Professor at Széchenyi István University, explained: the conference‘s goal is to foster new collaborative opportunities and meaningful professional discourse through inspiring presentations. Participants submitted 82 studies, including completed publications, ongoing research, and materials presenting best practices. 

Dr. Pál Danyi, co-founder of the Danube Cup, introduced the network. (Photo: András Andorján) 

One of the conference’s supporters, the Hungarian National Innovation Agency, was represented by Mátyás Kutni, Director of Educational Services, who welcomed the participants. „Supporting student innovation and developing entrepreneurial skills and mindsets is one of our most important and most challenging tasks. However, I am pleased to say that through our programs, we have already helped thousands of young people and researchers get acquainted with innovation and the entrepreneurial life,” he stated. He highlighted the Hungarian Startup University Program (HSUP) as one of their flagship initiatives: a cross-university online course that provides modern entrepreneurial knowledge and startup-oriented innovative thinking for higher education students. He expressed his delight that the agency could contribute to the success of the Danube Cup conference, noting that similar cross-border opportunities can quickly lead to valuable collaborations. 

Mátyás Kutni, Director for Educational Services, Hungarian National Innovation Agency (Photo: András Adorján) 

During the professional program, participants were introduced to the latest research on topics such as the situation of women entrepreneurs, the role of cutting-edge technologies, modern marketing challenges, the specificities of family businesses, and the significance of university-based entrepreneurship. The series of keynote speeches was opened by Professor Dr. Zoltán Ács, founder of the Vienna Institute of Global Studies (VIGS) and researcher of international repute, with his presentation titled „Digital Development in the Danube Valley: Myth or Reality?”. Professor Dr. Dimo Dimov from the University of Bath in the United Kingdom spoke about enabling, accelerating, and funding the entrepreneurial journey, while Professor Dr. Michael Dowling from the University of Regensburg in Germany reflected on the dichotomy of cooperation and competition through the lens of his thirty-year research career. On the second day of the event, Professor Dr. Reinhard Prügl from the Vienna University of Economics and Business spoke about the resilience and challenges of family businesses.  

Also on the second day, a „Meet the Editors” session was held with editors from six international academic journals (mostly Q1-ranked). The discussion was moderated by Dr. Loretta Huszák (Corvinus University of Budapest) and Dr. Anikó Kelemen-Erdős (BME GTK). According to the editors, the journals ‘ acceptance rates are extremely low. While the number of submitted manuscripts is continuously increasing, the number of “desk rejections” – rejections prior to peer review – is also rising. The most common reasons for rejection include a poor fit with the journal’s audience or scientific “conversation”, or an insufficiently relevant topic. 

The editors’ main advice to authors was to read the target journal carefully before submission to understand its specific profile and audience. A study is a “brick in the wall,” meaning it must align with the existing literature previously published in the journal.  

The conversation also touched upon the role of artificial intelligence (AI). The editors stated that while AI can be a good topic for research, it is not recommended as a tool for writing the article itself. If someone does use AI, they must declare it transparently, in accordance with the journal’s AI usage guidelines.  

A prediction was also made that in the future, AI will likely automate literature reviews, making review papers (based solely on literature analysis) less competitive.  

The next Danube Cup International Conference on Entrepreneurship Research will be hosted by the University of Economics in Bratislava in 2027.