Olívia Zacharová is one of seven girls studying at Dual Academy, a private secondary vocational school for automotive engineering in Bratislava. (source: Courtesy of Dual Academy)
When Olívia Zacharová was ready make one of her first life choices, deciding which secondary school she would apply for, she almost gave up on her years-long love of cars.
Like many other girls in Slovakia, she has been faced with stereotypes about women not being fit to study engineering. Many Slovaks still see an engineer as a man, even though this perception has been changing in the last few years. In 2022, the AKO polling agency found that more than 80 percent of people would recommend their daughter or granddaughter to take up a job in the technology sector.
“Though I abandoned my passion due to stereotypes for a while, I eventually resolved to try whether cars were what I wanted to work on,” the 17-year-old student told The Slovak Spectator. “And it is.”
Dual Academy
An educational institution covering vocational school and lifelong education for adults. As part of secondary education, it uses the traditional concept of dual education, known in Slovakia for decades but its tradition interrupted during the previous regime.
In cooperation with companies like Volkswagen Slovakia, ŠkoFnsda, Daikin, Faurecia, ZSE , Slovnaft and others, it provides dual education in several fields.
After completing their studies, its graduates have to work for one of the partner organisations for two years.
It has opened the Bilingual Slovak-English Technical Lyceum, which takes five years to complete.
Today, she studies at the Dual Academy, a private secondary vocational school for automotive engineering in Bratislava. Of 350 students, she is one of seven girls enrolled in the institution’s study programmes. Zacharová, a second-year student, studies autotronics, which includes the development and maintenance of electronic systems in vehicles. Her peer, 18-year-old Natália Andrašovičová, is also in the second year, but she is keen on pursuing a career in mechanical and electrical engineering.
“Not only do we acquire technical knowledge, but we also acquire skills in coding, programming, computer assembly and other related subjects,” said Andrašovičová.
All these areas, she added, have piqued her interest for many years.
