Generation Z has a place in the construction industry

Civil engineering is a profession that creates value, because it is where truly lasting results are made: buildings, utilities, roads and bridges are all works that shape our environment for the long term and serve the community for generations. It is a profession in which young engineers can not only put their professional skills to good use, but also leave a real mark on the world.

A strategic issue

"Our aim is to be as active as possible in the life of universities and to support students in their professional development"

- informed SZABADICS, adding that "as a major construction company, we feel a responsibility to support the education of civil engineers and in the long term we want to develop partnerships that benefit both students and the industry."

So the most important aspect of the programme was to keep the interest of the students with as diverse and varied an offer as possible. The aim was to complement their academic education with practical knowledge and experience that they could use in their future careers. The programmes included

• visits to completed and ongoing projects,
• site-show with professional programmes and demonstrations,
• presentation of the head office, company presentation,
• Technical presentations on ESG, digitalisation and BIM,
• Generation Z lecture with Tamás Trunk,
• solving a project task and lots of informal discussions.

A full house in the first year

"It was very surprising and gratifying for us that the applications filled up in just two and a half days and we had to increase the number of participants. In the end we had to create a waiting list because there was a huge interest from young people," they said.

"And the participants were a super team: curious, interested and all talented young people. This contributed greatly to the high quality and good atmosphere of the camp," said Luca Izabella Varga Izabella, the company's Marketing and Communications Officer. "It was an interesting experience," she added, "that almost every student had a different programme as their favourite. There was not a lecture or presentation that they did not mention as positive feedback. We consider this a particular success."

Already preparing for next year's programme

"We strived to create situations where students felt free to ask us questions, which led to very inspiring conversations. The results of the satisfaction survey were also outstanding; the success of the camp exceeded all our expectations, for which we are very grateful."

"In the future," he stressed, "we would like to keep the 25-strong framework, because we believe that this is the number of people we can really develop a personal relationship with. Next year, we will probably introduce an application-based application process to select participants on the basis of their professional knowledge and commitment. We have a number of new ideas and are already excited about organising the next SZABADICS Academy - Summer BridgeCamp 2.0.