He dominated TDK with his outstanding research – Interview with Dávid Nagyvári

Dávid’s research for the TDK competition dealt with the examination of the catchment area of Budapest Airport. He built his own mathematical model, which mapped out 174 districts based on, from where travelers come from. The true value of his work is shown through the fact that he received positive feedback, even from the management of the airport. 

The biggest challenge was to find a research topic that is unexplored, has practical benefits, and that I’m interested in.

– he told us. During the research, the biggest difficulty, besides choosing his topic, was the adaptation of foreign models to the Hungarian context. International examples did not work here, at home, so he had to transform them.

At the beginning this task frustrated me, but at the same time made me sure that I am conducting a real research, since I had a problem ahead of me, to which a solution has not been found yet, and I have to find one.

– he shared his experiences with us. 

Already during his high school studies he stood out with his research work, since he applied for the TDK competition with an updated version of his OKTV dissertation.

I like to be in a competitive environment, and I am always looking for situations just like these.

– he said. The contest gave him motivation to continue exploring this topic, so as a next step, he extends the research to eleven airports of eight countries, with which his goal is to produce an international publication. 

Dávid excels not only in the academic sphere, but also in the world of innovation. At the Red Bull Basement he won the best startup award with his idea to modernize capsule wardrobes, with which he had the chance to travel to the capital city of Japan, where representatives of 40 countries competed.

It was a fantastic experience to see the diversity in the ideas and the way of thinking.

– he shared. This event provided many opportunities for networking: he had the chance to talk with investors, entrepreneurs, and even influencers. 

Besides his plenty of tasks to do, like many others, he has a hard time keeping a balance in his life. As a proven method he mentioned prioritizing, through which during a bigger competition he minimizes his other duties and tries to work with focus on the most important task.

For me, prioritizing is key. I am trying to work efficiently, for example during studying I put my phone away so it does not bother me.

Dávid does not think about challenges as an obstacle, but more as an opportunity, and recommends the same mindset for everyone else.

Many people have hidden talents that only come to the surface if they challenge themselves. I do not think failure exists, only opportunities to learn.

He believes that not everything depends on a matter of chance, but also on how much we put ourselves out in a situation, where we can be lucky. So it is no coincidence that Dávid’s motto is this:

Our only boundary is the one we set up for ourselves in our mind.

This mindset helps him to always look for new challenges and to constantly improve. 

Dávid’s story reveals that to succeed you don’t only need talent, but also the will to take actions. TDK and other competitions like these offer a great opportunity to step out of our comfort zone and gain experiences that can be useful in any field of life. Dávid’s example holds the message for university students to dream big, work hard, and not to be afraid of challenges, since these lead us to real success. 

Apply for TDK!

The deadline for submitting papers is April 23rd, no prior registration is required. We will notify everyone later when the submission platform opens. Don’t miss this opportunity and show off your research!