HUSTEF - High Quality Content and Community - Attila Fekete

In this episode, I talk with Attila Fekete about HUSTEF 2025 in Budapest. He runs the program and the backstage work. We look at how a small local meet up from 2011 turned into 700 people from many countries. Care for people, high quality talks, and a fun vibe. We discuss new formats like longer talks, a master class track, and a career clinic with coaching and CV tips - and that first time speakers get mentoring too.

"It's not a business for us. It's a love project." - Attila Fekete

Attila Fekete has been passionate about software engineering since the age of 12, when he got his first computer and started programming — and the rest, as they say, is history.

With 27 years of experience in software testing, he has held various roles, including Head of Testing, Technical Test Lead, Quality Manager, Test Automation Engineer, and most recently, Vice President of SDETs.

For a time, Attila was an active public speaker, but during the pandemic he decided to focus his energy on organizing HUSTEF, one of Europe’s leading conferences dedicated to software testing and software quality. This year, he was appointed Program Chair of HUSTEF, a role he considers one of the major highlights of his career.

Outside of software engineering, Attila is passionate about sports — especially swimming and basketball. He also bikes to the office two to three times a week, even when it’s raining.

What’s next? Perhaps a return to public speaking — and new collaborations with other events, whenever time allows.

Highlights:

• HUSTEF grew from roughly 150 attendees at its founding in 2011 to 705 tickets sold in 2025, driven by community passion rather than a commercial backer.
• Between 40 and 50 percent of the HUSTEF audience is now international, a deliberate shift made after the pandemic to broaden the conference beyond its local Hungarian roots.
• About 10 percent of speakers at HUSTEF are first-time speakers, supported by online coaching sessions and slide reviews to break the cycle where lack of experience leads to rejection and rejection prevents gaining experience.
• The Career Clinic pairs technical coaching with HR expertise to help testers navigate career progression, including CV optimization for AI-powered screening tools that can drop applications before a human sees them.

More Links with Insights:

• HUSTEF 2026 6.-8.10.2026
• Hungarian Testing Board on Youtube

📌 Testing is a people business, humanity as a superpower. That is my talk on October 7 at HUSTEF 2026 in Budapest: See programme and tickets