The first press release of the project is available here.

The project is funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, through the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Youth Employment.

Source of picture: www.unsplash.com

The main goal of the RESTART project is to develop innovative training solutions and tools to enhance and advance entrepreneurship education and training across the VET ecosystem by addressing the needs shaped by digitalization and climate change.

HETFA will be responsible for the preparation of the RESTART Position Paper & Mainstreaming Guidelines (policy recommendations). This project result aims to amplify and maximise impact of the project at systemic level while deepening and widening its range.

The press release of the project is available here, you can find more information.

For more information, please visit the website of the project or follow it on Facebook.

The webinar focused on ‘Strategies and tools for science communication’ and received increasing attention.

Our distinguished speakers shared their expertise about different areas of science communication:

• Jens Degett (EUSJA, ScienceStories.dk) presented the topic of ‘What do you need to know about science communication?’
• Thomas Deane (Trinity College Dublin) presented tips and tricks of successful science communication;
• Lorenzo Barabani (Horizon Results Booster services, META Group) talked about ‘Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation in Horizon Europe’, and presented the Horizon Results Booster Platform.

The recorded webinar, among others, will be available on the Learning Material Platform of the project. The Platform is open to anyone who have registered to the Online Expert Pool.

The forthcoming, 8th webinar will take place on 20 October 2021, at 10.00-12.00 CET. The webinar will focus on ‘Technology and Market Assessment for projects aiming at technology transfer’ where our distinguished speaker, Antonín Králík, Market-Potential Analyst and Patent Specialist at Charles University Centre for Knowledge and Technology Transfer, will give an overview of the topic based on his experiences at Charles University (CZ).

You can reach the agenda and registration details here. The webinar is free of charge; however, registration is required. Please reserve your place and save the date!

If you would like to receive more information and news about our project, please follow us on social media (Facebook and Twitter), and visit our website.

Achievements of the ifempower project

“This is a time of opportunity, especially for women, because it has been proven that when the number of women in employment increases, the economy grows. To meet this challenge, it is essential that all agents in the entrepreneurial ecosystem join forces, connect, collaborate, cooperate and build a community to make this world a better place.”

(Counsellor and mentor from Andalucía Emprende Foundation, Spain)

Our international project: “ifempower – Interactive and mentorship based FEMale emPOWERment in the field of entrepreneurship” has come to its end and is eager to share its results with the broader public – including economic and professional agents, stakeholders supporting women entrepreneurship, women considering launching their enterprises, and the media.

During its three years of implementation, ifempower aimed to empower young female students to become potential entrepreneurs by providing the necessary knowledge and skills (both soft and hard) to start their successful businesses. To reach this goal, the project developed innovative tools, educational & training methods and a mentoring system with the collaboration of 9 partners – mostly universities and consultancies.

Based on our preparatory research investigating the role of women in European SMEs (Study on Women Entrepreneurs in Europe), as well as gaps, obstacles and market needs, the project elaborated an International Curriculum for Higher Education in 5 languages for university students on entrepreneurship-related topics to support their engagement in self-employment. The accredited modules were launched and piloted at partner universities in Hungary, Iceland, Austria, Romania and Spain, and backed by our International Teaching Material for the participating teachers. More than 100 students have enrolled in the courses developed by ifempower to immerse in the world of female entrepreneurship.

In addition, the project applied an innovative and participatory approach by providing a Mentorship Scheme for interested students, connecting them to entrepreneurs. For those interested women who prefer to have a self-paced education, Ifempower also organised personal consultancy and developed a free Online Educational Toolkit in 7 languages, including mentors motivational videos. All mentioned outputs are available as Open Education Resources (OER).

Finally, the project results including policy recommendations expected to reach policymakers to fulfil the objective of making concrete progress in civil society regarding female entrepreneurship are collected in the Final ifempower Study.

“The atmosphere was magical. All the other women there, being aware that they have similar aims and objectives in life as I do, gave me energy. Listening to other females talking about their goals are so inspirational in terms of hearing the belief and wilfulness as they speak.”

(University student on the Intensive Course)

Partners:

• HÉTFA Research Institute (HU) | Coordinator
• Andalucía Emprende Foundation (ES)
• ONECO Consulting (ES)
• Sigmund Freud University (AT)
• Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação (PT)
• Bifröst University (IS)
• Corvinus University of Budapest (HU)
• Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania (RO)
• Steinbeis GmbH (DE)

Associated Partners:

• Lean in FEMSpace (AT)
• Icelandic Directorate of Labour – IdoL (IS)
• PONT Group (RO)

Duration: 1 September 2018 – 31 August 2021

Website: https://ifempower.eu/

This project received funding from the European Union’s ERASMUS+ programme under the reg. number 2018-1-HU01-KA203-047766.

Urban public systems and infrastructure

The cityscape and the operation of cities are largely determined by the responses to previous shocks in the past. Even the reaction to classical epidemics has left widespread traces in cities, e.g. they have played a significant role in building drinking water and sanitation. These defence mechanisms have been around for a long time and worked so well, we don’t even realize they exist.

In the current situation caused by COVID-19, the main focus should be put on how a city can effectively prepare for another wave of the epidemic or any other natural disaster that may bring similar problems and challenges. Hence it is important to extend the analysis of the problems and to think in general about increasing the resilience of cities to external shocks, in a concise and uniform way covering all segments of urban life.

In general, diversity, i.e. the diversification of operational possibilities, can be a universal answer. However, reviewing these opportunities for the life of the city as a whole is an extremely complex task, which is why it is important to ensure that diversification and resilience appear as a principle in each of the various sectoral and general urban strategies of the future.

Some examples of concrete measures that can make public infrastructure more resilient:

• Making public spaces adaptable to sudden changes in transport preferences (e.g. converting bus lines into sidewalks for pedestrians)
• Ensuring the smooth and unobstructed operation of pedestrian traffic as much as possible.
• Increasing the number of areas for leisure activities, in a more decentralized way.
• Significant development of the urban cargo system (including home deliveries), both in terms of capacity and management.

Read the original article for a more detailed analysis here (only in Hungarian).

Traffic jams

Another area where the impact of epidemic has been tangible is transportation and mobility. A general and radical decline in transport and mobility needs could be witnessed worldwide in cities. This decline however is not sustainable in the long run – once schools and kindergartens reopen and trade and tourism & hospitality restrictions are lifted, there will suddenly be a resurgence of mobility needs, hence traffic jams in peak times will reappear, too.

The cause of traffic jams and peak times is evident: citizens tend to do certain things at the same time and not evenly distributed throughout the day, e.g. school starts at the exact same time, workplaces tend to be organized based on the same fixed shift times. In addition, since shopping and running errands are done typically after work, we also use these services in similar waves. However, peak hours are expensive, as public transport fleets, road capacity, the number of supermarket cash registers need to be scaled accordingly that results in that they remain unused or underused for most of the day.

In the aftermath of the epidemiological emergency, the seemingly inevitable break of the popularity of public transport raises a fundamental concern, namely that we will not be able to manage the peak load in larger cities. Getting on a bus, with others, especially during peak hours is risky and will remain stigmatised even later on, when real risks will decrease, resulting in an increased number of people opting for using their cars instead. Therefore flattening peak times in all areas of life possible must be a top priority as well as actively supporting the use of smaller vehicles that are closer to the human scale (bikes, e-scooters etc.) as viable alternatives of public transport.

Therefore it is essential that proper incentives and diversionary interventions take place in cities. Here are eight recommendations for flattening peak time, which could also prevent another wave or outbreak of the epidemic and/or the grave road congestions in cities:

• Encouraging the widest possible application of remote work (home office) – either full-time or a few days a week.
• Coordinating the start times of workplaces and schools in a way that the traffic load is more evenly distributed not only in some neighbourhoods of the city but also in the transport network as a whole.
• The fullest possible digitization of business and office administration, thus minimizing the number of errands handled in person.
• Promoting online shopping while providing proper logistics and infrastructure for deliveries.
• Keeping time-band shopping restrictions for the elderly for a longer term to flatten the morning peak (according to the current Hungarian rules, people 65 and above can go shopping between 9 AM and 12 PM only).
• Significant development of the cycling infrastructure, expansion of cycling capacities and walking surfaces, offering an alternative for new and less advanced cyclists as well
• Supporting the spread of other micromobility devices (e.g. e-scooter, e-moped), resolving anomalies in related regulations.
• Maintaining public transport services despite lower user needs, even at the cost of significant losses.

Read the original article for a more detailed analysis here (only in Hungarian).

The paper examines which guarantees companies use in their contractual relationships. It assumes that parties must make their business promises credible to each other. In favour of credibility they should always rely on a number of guarantees: legal order, morality, incentives arising from the continuation of relationship, personal and corporate reputation and community standards. Typical combinations of these guarantees can be identified based on surveys conducted among heads of SMEs. The first type is “bilateral governance”, when the parties make their promises credible without using third parties, relying solely on morality and the long-term nature of relationship. The second type is “external management”, where law, personal and market reputation and social standards are emphasized. At the same time, most contacts are characterized by “comprehensive management”, where all mechanisms are strongly presented. An important lesson from the study is that the successful entrepreneurial economy requires both a legal order and a variety of informal mechanisms.

Réka Juhász, former student of Klára Major and Balázs Szepesi, who graduated earlier from the Corvinus University of Budapest as a macroeconomic analyst and forecaster is currently finishing her PhD in the London School of Economics. At the workshop she presented her job-market paper about her findings of an empirical analysis on the historical example of the Napoleonic blockade. The research aimed at measuring the extent to which the retreat of the foreign trade meant protection to an infant industry. In her example, she examined the mechanised cotton spinning in this period in France. The technology of the mechanised cotton spinning was already known in France by that time, but it was widespread only in England to produce worsted. As a result of the mechanised technology the English cotton was of a better quality and cheaper product than those that were handmade, therefore it was favourable to use in the cotton waving sectors – apart from England, in France, too. Due to the Napoleonic blockade, however the import of British into certain part of France became so expensive that meant a significant incentive for the adoption of the more developed mechanised technology.

In her research Réka collected data from documents and registers of that period in order to estimate the impact of the Napoleonic blockade. The results of her research refer to the fact that the trade schock caused by the blockade had a significant short term and long term impact on the development of cotton spinning industry in France. Her paper is accessible here.

The cooperation agreement launching the initiative was signed by the representatives of 19 organisation, including András Csite, the director of HÉTFA, on 19 March, in Kecskemét. The goal of creating the Cluster is to increase the effectiveness and competitiveness of the Hungarian-language vocational education inside and beyond the borders of Hungary and to create in this way the conditions of settling for youth in their homeland.

The Cluster, prepared in the expert workshop of HÉTFA, in order to achieve the common goals, supports career orientation services, helps the innovation processes in the field of Hungarian-language vocational education and strengthens the exchanges among the vocation educational institutions inside and outside of Hungary. Besides, it develops professional materials that help the systemic reform of the vocational education beyond the Hungarian borders.

Detailed report of the event and the report (in Hungarian) from the news.

The aim of the workshop of 24 February was that more and more actor of the district could express their opinion on the developmental document in preparation. Representatives of the District’s municipality, employees of the municipality, chief architects of the neighbouring districts and towns and representatives of civil and religious organisations of the district participated at the event.

Integrated Sustainable Urban Development Strategies are being prepared all over Hungary. In the creation of the strategy of Rakosmente, beside HÉTFA, the Urbanitás Ltd. takes part with engineering tasks. Gábor Balás, director of HÉTFA highlighted at the workshop that the standard of living of the Rakosmente’s people can be improved by protecting the district’s values and with better transport opportunities. The increase in the number of workplaces in the district is an important aim of the developments, which would help people to commute less.

A detailed report on the workshop (Hungarian).