TDK, Student Research Conference

Its origins date back to a time when several students in higher education institutions gathered around a single senior lecturer to carry out scientific research. Today, in most cases, there is no longer a real "student circle", but the essence - guided work of an academic nature that goes beyond the routine practice of the taught curriculum - remains. In most cases, the topic of the research is defined by the teacher, who invites the student(s) interested in the topic, either indirectly (e.g. departmental announcement) or directly (by addressing the students), to work on the task for a shorter or longer period.

There is no specific domain or topic for inverstigation. The only requirement is to go beyond the curriculum of the undergraduate courses. You can even widen your porject laboratory topic or submit your own idea tot he appropriate supervisor. The closer the topic is to your heart, the more deeply and seriously you can deal with it and the greater success you will achieve.

To showcase the results of the TDK work, BME organises a TDK Conference every year, usually in the middle of November. Participation in the conference requires the preparation and submission of a thesis summarizing the work carried out and the delivery of an oral presentation. The submission of the thesis is usually preceded by six months of research work, but a successful summer internship or work done abroad may also provide the basis for a thesis. The most successful papers may also be submitted to the biennial national conference (OTDK).

There are many advantages to writing a TDK thesis. The first is the moral - and partly financial - success of winning a place at the home - or especially the national - conference. This is an extra credit when applying for post-graduate (doctoral) studies and, in many cases, for a job. As the TDK thesis often continues in a thesis/diploma project, the thesis can also be seen as a precursor to this, whose experience and the opinion of the supervisor or referee can be used. The experience of preparing for the presentation and the presentation itself is also not negligible. With fewer and fewer oral examinations, there is little opportunity to practise the skills of a professional speaker. The job is usually preceded by an oral interview, where much depends on the candidate's performance and debating skills. Needless to say, those who choose a career in science have to present regularly at various professional conferences. A TDK conference is also a good opportunity to prepare and practice for this.

If you are interested in the TDK, please contact your tutor or the TDK coordinator of the department in which you are interested (a list of departments coordinators: https://www.vik.bme.hu/page/202/ ). You may also want to visit the University's TDK web page https://tdk.bme.hu/