Navigator – Compass for your life at the University

From the vast array of possibilities, it is difficult to select the ones that really suit us and that could be important building blocks in our career. The Navigator programme was set up at the Corvinus to accompany students from the first semester of undergraduate studies to the end of their studies, formulating a conscious career at the University. This way students are more confident in formulating their careers at the end of the bachelor programme. 

In order to find out how and with what objectives the Navigator programme was established, we interviewed Dr. Réka Vas, Vice-Rector for Education, Dr. Katalin Ásványi, the business manager of Navigator and Éva Bodnár, who is responsible for the student career concept. The idea of developing a career decision support system was raised at the time of the transformation of the University, so the project has been going on for almost two and a half years. Since the spring semester of academic year 2021/22, the Navigator has been available to students as a pilot programme, and it has been continuously extended and improved on the basis of feedbacks. Presently, the programme can be used by students in the International Business, Business and Management and Business Informatics bachelor programmes, in their first and second years, as well as by students in the Trade and Marketing bachelor programmes, in their third years, but the developers are continuously working on the processing of other programmes, too. 

Dr. Réka Vas thinks that this support system is badly needed because most of the students find it difficult to navigate among the systems and the possibilities available at the University. In her views, it is rare that someone comes to the University with specific ideas regarding a career, and steadily progresses to that direction during his/her studies. The majority of students are uncertain about the possibilities available at the University and useful for developing their future, and they may even feel a bit lost, too.  The Navigator helps them to identify the subjects and events that suit their personality profiles, and points out the skills they could develop with these subjects and events. What the developers wish to prevent with the use of the Navigator is that students miss certain opportunities that they would regret later, just because of lack of motivation or being lost in a hectic examination period. 

The Navigator is very simple to use. In the first step, fill in a questionnaire on the MyCorvinus page, based on which the system sets up a cobweb-like personality profile initialised on five axes, and shows you your strongest competencies and the career types that would suit you. Then the system offers you courses and other activities at the University that may be in line with your objectives. The evaluation of your abilities and the identification of your opportunities may be useful in itself, too, but with the help of profile interpreting advisers, you can personally discuss these issues so that you can properly understand the results. However, if you want more, you may apply for orientation mentoring, i.e. for a professional discussion with an academic colleague, in which presently eighteen lecturers are involved as mentors. Dr. Katalin Ásványi participates in the programme as a mentor, too, and based on the experiences collected so far, she confirms that it is mainly the presentation of information and possibilities and the setting of goals for the next semester where lecturers may help, and there is a real demand for that on the side of students. You might as well repeat this discussion in every semester, so that you can start the new semester with renewed motivation and fresh objectives. In the last phase of the programme, you can take part in a professional career counselling, which is also available free of charge through the Navigator. 

The creation of the Navigator is based on well-established psychological theories and the survey of the needs of Corvinus students. Dr. Éva Bodnár explained that the pillars of the programme are Donald Super’s career development theory and John Holland’s theory of career choice. The former divides personal development and career orientation into various phases, and based on that, the operation of the Navigator was divided into three main phases. With the help of the latter theory, they established five university archetypes (Enterprising, Representing, Building, Thinking, Creating), and career anchors that can be described with these (Adviser, Analyst, Startupper, Coach, Researcher, Ambassador, Creative). Based on your characteristics map received after filling in the input metering, the archetypes will show you your strongest skills, while the career anchors present your progress options after university studies. 

The organisers of the service advise you not to plan your future on the basis of what you definitely do not want to do. Instead, allow the Navigator to point out your strengths, and take those into consideration when you make your decisions. 

If you are ready to fill in the form now, but still have questions to clarify about the operation of the system, you will find more information here .