This year, National Girls’ Day, the interactive career orientation open day will take place on April 23. Rényi Institute will host three talks for girls interested in mathematics and natural sciences. They will explore topics that go beyond strictly mathematical curiosities: topics that may capture not only the girls’ interest, but also that of their family members, friends, and even the boys who study, party, or fall in love with them. You can register for the program HERE. (Sorry, programmes at Rényi are only in Hungarian this time.)
For the 8th year in a row, Rényi Institute has joined the series of events organized by the Association of Hungarian Women in Science for National Girls’ Day (Lányok Napja in Hungarian as it says on this article's cover).
From 9 a.m. on April 23, girls will meet our colleague Ágnes Backhausz, a research fellow in the Artificial Intelligence Department of Alfréd Rényi Institute of Mathematics. An experienced researcher in talent development as well, she will present what a “math environment” looks like from high school through university to a research career. What is a girl like if she is a mathematician? Why are there fewer women than men in mathematics? What causes extreme gender imbalances? These and similar questions will be addressed during the session.
After a short break, from 10 a.m., Nóra Almási, a researcher at Alfréd Rényi Institute of Mathematics working in combinatorial geometry and graph theory, will guide girls through the mysteries of friendships, networks, and inevitable relationship triangles. Nóra will also briefly connect to the first talk by sharing her personal journey of becoming a researcher. During the interactive session, participants will explore their own friendship networks in small groups. Both friendship and romantic triangles will be examined, as each offers its own lessons and interesting insights.
After lunch, at noon, a true star researcher will arrive whose book "What Color is Probability?" has already gone through multiple editions. In her talk “Women in Statistics – Statistical Biases, or What Is the Gender Data Gap?”, Gabriella Keszthelyi will raise questions such as: how probabilities permeate our everyday lives, and how mathematical and critical thinking are connected. Answers can be understood without deep prior knowledge of natural sciences. The themes of her popular book are also linked to everyday phenomena that affect many people and frequently appear in the media (e.g. the COVID pandemic, conspiracy theories etc.).
All three researchers will be happy to answer questions from the participants.
Overall, Rényi's speakers aim to equip girls aged 12–18 with knowledge that can help them shape their future in a positive way and (further) develop their interest in natural sciences, including mathematics which is a very diverse field that surrounds us every day, often without us even noticing how much is built upon it.
A short image film on National Girls' Day can be watched HERE.