After a week of intense work, the ifempower Winter School – an activity in the frame of ifempower coordinated by HETFA Research Institute – has successfully ended on 6 February 2021. ifempower Winter School is a study program for female students selected by the partner universities: Corvinus University of Budapest (Hungary), Sapientia Hungarian University of Transilvania (Romania), Sigmund Freud University (Austria) and Andalucía Emprende (ES).
Originally the training should have been in Stuttgart hosted by the German partner Steinbeis GmbH, but due to COVID-19, it had to be turned online. Nevertheless, the organizers tried to make the most out of the online surfaces: redesigned methodology, adjusted seminars to the screens, and refreshing online programmes as concerts, yoga and international culinary experiences.
This intensive training consisted of five thematic days, each one with a specific theme presented by an invited speaker, a group discussion about self-awareness and a special group work to support the development of business ideas of the students. Besides, the training was based on the Design Thinking toolkit, a user-centred approach for practical and creative problem solving. By using this method, participants were focusing on the users’ needs and found effective solutions to meet these needs during the discussions.
Day 4 of the Winter School was a special day for the students, since in the frame of the 3rd ifempower multiplier event, they pitched their business ideas to the jury and the audience.
Hereby we would like to congratulate to the winners of the pitch competition!
Audience Award – Anabella Bagoly
Best Innovative Idea Award – Ana Rodríguez
Best Pitch Award – Sara Mariottini
Best Business Plan Award – Petra Böhm
The event was also dedicated to showcase the relevant activities of the project: Fanni Bobák, senior international expert at HETFA presented the research studies prepared in the frame of the project, and Virág Zsár, Head of Division for International Cooperation at HETFA talked about the research on female entrepreneurs in the time of COVID-19. Afterwards the ifempower online toolkit was presented, which is now available and ready to be used. You can check it out here!
The ifempower partnership is already preparing for the Spring School and the next multiplier event coming up in mid-April. Stay tuned for more information on Facebook, LinkedIn or our website.