This year, on 27 April 2023, the International Day of Girl (Girl's Day/Mädchen-Zukunftstag) will be celebrated at home and abroad. The aim of the event is to encourage young women's communities - families, schools, media, and employers - to change their collective attitude towards career guidance: to encourage more girls and women to pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) careers that require knowledge in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics. In support of this, we would like to introduce some of the DUE-HSUP women who are entering the startup world as project managers.
At the University of Dunaújváros, in the second semester of 2022/23, 19 students will complete the Hungarian Startup University Program (HSUP) course, which will introduce the structure and functioning of the innovation and startup ecosystem and offer them the opportunity to try themselves as startuppers. Of the 19 students, 12 are on scholarship: 6 are project idea owners and 6 are working on development ideas running at UOD while joining them. Half of the students on scholarship are women.
Three female project owners responded to our survey questions:
Anita Éva Kovács, majoring in Business Administration. Her project is "RaktáRos", a warehouse software with photo-based search.
Nikolett Szalai, Business Administration and Management BA student. Her idea is "Simpleco", which is a metering app: it measures your electricity consumption by placing it in the socket.
And Viktória Szabó, Computer Science Engineering BSc student. Her idea of "RefillBag" is a system for the subscription and delivery of hygiene products for mothers with small children.
Why did you start the HSUP project?
Most people get involved because they want to learn about the startup world, which is not surprising as you hear about it everywhere. In my case it was a bit different because I already had the idea, and I was looking for additional knowledge, support, and enthusiastic team members. – Anita Éva Kovács
What knowledge and skills are essential to work there?
The main skill I would say is creativity, as you have to come up with ideas and then use them to create and build a startup (one-pager, pitch). (For example: market and market entry strategy, business and financial planning, idea validation, etc.) - Nikolett Szalai
Who are your female professional role models at home and abroad?
Anita Kurunczi, because she was not afraid to change and went from a super marketing professional to the founder of a stylish designer clothing brand. Ellen Pompeo, who stood up for herself and her female colleagues despite the difficulties, so that not only male actors were paid. – Viktória Szabó
What STEM qualification/training would you choose in the future or recommend to your peers?
There is an incredible need for computer engineers and those who can develop and design applications. During HSUP, it was also clear that almost all idea generators are looking for people with such skills and that there are simply not enough of them. – Anita Éva Kovács
As a female project manager, what challenges do you face and what are the solutions?
We are still very much at the beginning of the project. But the fact that female team members attend a meeting sooner than men might mean something. – Viktória Szabó
I feel I need to assert my opinion, my reason, more. – Nikolett Szalai
I didn't really face any extra challenges because I am a woman. Being a mother, more so. With a 3 and a 1-year-old at home, multitasking is an important skill, as well as really loving and wanting to do the project. Of course, kids and family come first, so it's very important to have the right time schedule. – Anita Éva Kovács
