The National Scientific Students’ Associations Council (OTDT) established the Antal Máriás Memorial Medal in 2001 to commemorate the renowned and tireless professor who led the student research movement. The OTDT awards the medal biennially, in the years of the national conferences, to great senior scholars who have built influential academic schools — including, each time, one economist. 

This year, Zoltán Oszkár Szántó (PhD, economist–sociologist), professor at Corvinus University and dean of the Corvinus Institute for Advanced Studies (CIAS), received the prestigious award. 

Szántó has previously held several leadership positions at Corvinus University: he served as dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences (2000–2004), vice-rector for education (2012–2017), then as general vice-rector (2018–2019), and later as vice president responsible for international relations and accreditation (2020–2022). 

As an academic, his main fields of interest are social theory and economic sociology. He has written numerous books and articles on issues in analytical social theory. His studies in both English and Hungarian often focus on social capital, networks, trust, and organizational culture. He also examines the conceptual and methodological questions of future preparedness at the levels of countries, organizations, and families. 

He has previously received numerous professional honours, including the Officer’s Cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit in 2024, the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary, and the OTDK Master Teacher Gold Medal. 

We warmly congratulate him on receiving the Antal Máriás Memorial Medal and wish him continued success in his work!