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Despite her interest in the humanities, Erzsébet Varró opted for more technical subjects and studied industrial product and design at the Technical University. Read here what attracted her to this course and what motivated her to enter the industrial job world.
Was there any family motivation to choose a career in engineering?
Erzsébet Varró: Even as a child, I didn't take the easy way out when faced with crossroads. In other words, my decision to pursue a technical career may have been influenced by the fact that I wanted to show that I could do it. My mother is a nursery nurse, my father is a car mechanic and one of my grandparents worked in the construction industry as a civil engineer, so there was some family inspiration. I was free to go into my father's workshop and help with small repairs, oil changes, handing out tools. I didn't go to my grandfather's workplace, obviously, but he told me a lot about his work, so I slowly developed a technical mindset.
Why did you choose the Industrial Product and Design major at the university?
E.V.: As a graduate, I attended the regular Open Day of the University of Technology and Economics, where I was introduced to the courses on offer. I watched the lectures on industrial design engineering and the other - so to speak - compulsory subjects, but what really impressed me was that the designers did everything they planned to do. There were the models, there were the tried and tested schemes, and I said to myself, well, yes, that's what I really like, that we don't just design something on paper and then it becomes something like that, but that tangible things are made. I also felt that the industrial designer was putting a bit of his own personality into the technical content; in other words, the uniqueness, the personalisation of the thing, also struck me at the time.
Were there any particular challenges for you as a woman in a rather male-dominated profession?
E.V.: I never noticed any specific challenges related to that. I really enjoy working with people in production. Every person and every situation is different. Having to work through the difficulties together brings us closer and makes me feel even more part of the process of making a product happen. We always support each other.
What is your job at KUKA?
E.V.: At the beginning I only dealt with the products of the third-party business, but a few years ago my responsibilities were extended to all KUKA products manufactured in Hungary. As a production technologist engineer, I have to prepare quotations for the production cost of a product, process technical documentation and support production - whether it's problem solving or writing work instructions.
Would you like to learn more about Erzsébet? Read her full interview here (only available in Hungarian).
