On 3 February, the doors of the Szeged Community House were opened for families interested in the talent selection scheduled for March. Mentors and sponsored students prepared for the open day with great enthusiasm to give a taste of the work at the Community House.
The first interested families arrived before 10am and were shown around the house by our supportive high school and university students, and in no time our large room was filled with curious, interested children and their families. We welcomed nearly 100 guests to our Open Day. After the introduction of the mentors of the house, the Foundation’s professional advisor introduced the Foundation and the main guidelines of the Foundation’s Guidance Programme, talked about the application material, the selection process, the obligations and the opportunities offered by the Foundation. As a taster, photos and videos of our camps were also presented. It was also important to ensure that families could have all their questions answered in person before submitting their application, and that children arrived on the day of the selection in a familiar place with familiar faces, reducing any anxiety that a selection process might cause.
After the meeting, the children and their families were given a glimpse of life in Szeged’s Csányi at workstations located around the house. In the upstairs room, the students gave a presentation with pictures about their experiences at the Foundation, in the dining room they could talk to the “Csányi” parents about their experiences from their parents’ point of view, and in the IT room the youngsters demonstrated a microcontroller through a memory game, In the basement room, the children were able to admire physics experiments and try their hand at layer photography, from which they could take the printed photo with them, and in the research lab, they could also test algae and chemical water analysis. Our sponsored students were on hand at each workstation, while parents kept directing further questions to mentors and helpers. Our guests showed great curiosity and openness about our work, and the children were fascinated by the possibilities of the workstations. A friendly atmosphere prevailed during the programme, while frank conversations helped to achieve the goal of the day.
We are confident that we were able to showcase some of our work, and the insight was a source of enthusiasm for the students and their families who applied. See you on selection day!
Piroska Szabóné André
