Issues such as supporting the career of women in the fields of science and stimulating the researcher career of girls were discussed at a round table conference organized by the Ministry for National Economy, the National Innovation Office and the Association of Hungarian Women in Science.

Minister of State for Economic Strategy Zoltán Cséfalvay, the host of the event, said that the European Union’s objective is to increase the number of researchers within the EU by 1 million until 2020, which they believe is achievable through, among others, programmes aiming to facilitate the employment of women in this field.

At the round table conference, a partnership agreement between the Association of Hungarian Women in Science and the National Innovation Office was signed in which the two parties agree that in the period 2014-2020 they will cooperate on launching and facilitating social innovation processes which promote the equal opportunity of women with regard to research and development as well as innovation.

Participants of the event expressed their common standpoint that establishing and supporting the career of woman researchers is a multi-layered task.

Zoltán Cséfalvay stressed that it is important to present positive examples, as they may serve as role model for young people and show how along with having a family a successful researcher career is viable.

(Ministry for National Economy)