On October 1, the 9th Girls’ Day career orientation day was held, which was also attended by researchers from CER.
This year, the event moved to the online space, the advantage of which was that there were no territorial barriers to participation, so they could apply for the programs beyond the border – said Dr. Katalin Balázsi, President of the organizing Women in Science Association (Hungarian website) and ELKH Centre for Energy Research Thin Film Physics Department leader.
This year, 3 research centers of ELKH joined the interactive day; Centre for Energy Research, Wigner Research Centre for Physics and Alfréd Rényi Institute of Mathematics. The participating girls were able to get acquainted with the mysteries of space research with the guidance of Dr. Andrea Strádi, the developments of radioactive waste storage in the presentation of Dr. Margit Fábián, bone replacement in Dr. Katalin Balázsi’s presentation and why you should choose mathematics or informatics at university. In addition, they were able to talk to the successful researchers of ELKH about what it would be like to be a researcher, why it is worth choosing this profession.
Interactive programs are open not only to young people between the ages of 12 and 18 who have decided to pursue a career as engineers, programmers, computer scientists, or researchers, but also to those who do not yet know where to go.
With the initiative, the organizers want to get more women to appear in these fields, as the proportion of women in STEM professions is currently only around 10-15 percent, said Dr. Katalin Balázsi.
As a result of the nationwide initiative, in 2019, nearly 2,600 girls in 21 cities participated in the programs, and in eight years, 13,000 girls were able to gain insight into the practical applications of engineering and science.
