The NRDI Office considers it a priority to provide young people with hands-on experience in science and research, thus arousing their interest in a research career which is increasingly attractive among university students, even in their first year. This is why the Office has an own stand at the trade show for the second time, presenting its major initiatives to support the training of the next generations of researchers and researcher-entrepreneurs: the National Conference of Scientific Students Associations (OTDK), the New National Excellence Programme and the HSUP university startup programme. “We consider it important to provide exhaustive information to everyone interested, and this event is a perfect place for that as it represents the full range of Hungarian higher education institutions and attracts tens of thousands of visitors. Our goal is to grab the attention of the young generation in a fun way, support them with professional advice and inspire their career choices, while providing them an insight into the abundance of scientific career opportunities,” said Dr Zoltán Birkner, President of the NRDI Office in his opening speech.
The OTDK, widely recognised by both researchers and the government as the anteroom to a research career, have been a prestigious opportunity for creative young people to make a debut in one of the 16 scientific fields for more than six decades now. “By today, scientific student associations have become close-knit communities of talented, creative students interested in a research career, and their mentors, and play a decisive role in raising the next generation of scientists in the entire Carpathian Basin,” highlighted Prof. Dr Péter Szendrő, President of the OTDT which coordinates the OTDK student movement.
At the NRDI Office’s stand, visitors can meet again students who have already achieved international success through OTDK participation; find out how good of a researcher they would be; join a jam session; and see how many things can be created from household or recycled things. They can even take a selfie with the OTDT mascot, a tame owl. As a new feature, a bridge connects the exhibition space with the neighbouring stand of the Ministry for Innovation and Technology. The bridge is open to anyone to “stand out from the crowd.”
Budapest, 09 January 2020
