Kate Budzanowska’s Post

🚀 As I look back on 2023, I am filled with gratitude for a year full of surprises — both enjoyable and challenging. Here are a few highlights from this year: 📚Growth at KU Leuven: After joining forces with my team, we were able to complete a successful mechanical box project - Sigma Box. Shared efforts, common goals and celebrating every milestone together emphasized the power of teamwork.🧮This year was also the start of my second degree at KU Leuven - Business Engineering, a step to learn more about business, marketing, economics and more. 🛫 Participation in the International Astronautical Congres 2023: Traveling to Baku, Azerbaijan, for IAC 2023 was a surreal experience. Talking to Mr. Koichi Wakataan, an astronaut I have admired for years, about his experiences flying different spacecrafts and the differences between the Space Shuttle and SpaceX's latest Dragon, was amazing. And also sharing these moments with mentors and friends has added a new level of inspiration and connection to my year. 🌍 Discovering my community at the Academics for Technology: Discovering my own community during the AFT scholarship - Belgium Startup Trip was a profound experience. Networking, learning about innovative ideas and the startup ecosystem reinforced my belief that dreaming big opens the doors to a universe of possibilities. ⭐️Top 30 at the EU-Startups: One of the highlights was making it into the top 30 at the EU Startup Conference with MedShare. The journey with MedShare has been exciting and this recognition reinforces our commitment to making a positive difference. 🌐 Supporting the empowerment of women: Supporting initiatives like Belgium Women in Science and Perspektywy Women in Tech has allowed me to contribute to a meaningful cause. The advancement of women in STEM fields is very close to my heart and I am proud to play a small role in these communities. 📚Books: ▶️I recommend reading Oxygen - The molecule that made the world by Nick Lane to understand our climate from the perspective of this molecule. ▶️An inspiring book for me this year was also Screw It, Let us Do It by Richard Branson. ▶️And Another one would be The Space Barons: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the Quest to Colonize the Cosmos by Christian Davenport if you want to learn more about the background of the private space sector. As we head into 2024, remember: if you dream big, the universe will fall into place around you. Cheers to another year of growth, resilience and realizing our dreams come true! 🚀✨ #DreamBig