YOU ARE HERE:
ATU laid the foundations of the Strategy for Transformation and Update of the Timișoara Reality

ATU laid the foundations of the Strategy for Transformation and Update of the Timișoara Reality

The Auditorium of the Conference Center of the Timișoara Polytechnic University hosted on Friday, May 6, 2022, a forum of Timisoara University Alliance, which brought together higher education institutions, the Timișoara business environment and the local administration, with the aim of rethinking the future of the Municipality of Timișoara and finding the best solutions for mutual support in this endeavour.

In the context of the times we are going through and some defining changes in human relations, the redefinition of society, political and economic systems is based, at all levels, on cooperation, mutual support and unity in decisions. So, the conference ATUTM 1.0. START – we accelerate change, laid the foundations Strategy for the Transformation and Update of the Timișoara Reality (START), a project aimed at integrating collaborations between companies and universities, developing the working model inspired by the UPT Steering Committee and proposing solutions to cover the needs expressed during the discussions.

At the beginning of the meeting, after the greeting message of university conf. Dr. Eng. Florin Drăgan, the rector of the Timișoara Polytechnic University and the acting president of the Timișoara University Alliance - ATU, the message was presented Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă, which conveyed the support it gives to the Alliance for what it is trying to build in Timișoara, for the signal given by the academic community in Timișoara, adding that without unity there is no long-term development and progress.

The President of the Steering Committee of the Timișoara Polytechnic University, Dan Bedros, as a representative of the business environment responsible for around 80.000 employees, praised the spirit of the Polytechnic, which made the relationship with the economic environment come naturally, expressing his hope that the expansion of the Steering Committee model at the ATU level will make the late next year, let's have a coherent vision for the development of Timisoara. Also from the UPT Steering Committee, Christian von Albrichtsfeld emphasized the need to increase the quality of life in Timișoara, so that the city becomes even more attractive.

For his part, the mayor of Timisoara, Dominic Fritz, emphasized the role that Timisoara universities, united within ATU, have in the image of the city, welcoming the idea of ​​bringing together all the actors who can boost the development of Timișoara.

In the message sent by the president of the Timiș County Council, Alin Nica, he said he relies on universities to generate an ecosystem of entrepreneurs that will strengthen local entrepreneurship and be the basis for economically sustainable development at the regional level, adding that business partners can join with the practical expertise they possess and this trio, strengthened by a partnership with civil society, can be the solution for the future European Timiș that we all want.

Next, the first part of the meeting focused on the role of ATU in the dynamics of cultural activities, both in the perspective of 2023, when Timișoara will be the European Capital of Culture, and especially in the years that will follow after that. Each university presented on this occasion, as examples of good practice, their own cultural projects that they run.

The second part of the conference included two other interesting debates. In the first of these, Employer branding – educational resources for employers, the guest speaker, Doru Supeala, came up with solutions through which universities can support the needs of large employers, in the effort to build their brand as a good employer.

In the second meeting, A new vision for Timișoara - universities and entrepreneurship, the debate, moderated by Prof. Univ. Dr. Eng. Radu Vasiu, the president of the UPT Senate, focused on solutions for the diversification of business services and opportunities for young entrepreneurs.

The conclusions of the meeting were formulated by the rectors of the four member universities of the Timișoara University Alliance:

Prof. Dr. Eng. Florin Drăgan, rector of Politehnica University Timișoara and acting president of ATU"We believe that universities can and must contribute to the sustainable development of businesses in Timișoara. At this meeting, we wanted to bring together the representatives of the universities, those of the cultural field but also those of the companies so that together we can help to work not only the Timișoara European Capital of Culture project, but also what will happen after 2023, May precisely what we are left with in the cultural area. The Politehnica University of Timișoara has a solid strategy from this point of view, in the science and art segment, where we entered very strongly, in accordance with the tradition of the Polytechnic as a cultural pillar, being at the same time open to collaborations both with other universities and with the environment artistic and cultural. Today, people from the Polytechnic but also from outside it, close collaborators, teaching staff, professionals or student representatives will present this project. We wish that after 2023, in addition to museums, the MV art center and other projects of the university, we will remain with a master's specialization at the Faculty of Architecture, in the area of ​​science and art, in collaboration with the other Timisoara universities. The challenges will continue in the coming years in the field of education and a team approach is desirable".

Professor Marilen Pirtea, rector of the University of the West: "Two years of ATU were marked by the pandemic. We thought of many projects, this global context made it a bit confusing to implement them, but we are ready for future actions. Today is an exceptional meeting, because the business environment, the public administration and the academic environment in Timișoara want to do projects together and realize that the success of a metropolitan city, such as Timișoara, a university city, can only be maximized through the collaboration of the three entities that are extremely important. We are interdependent on each other, we cannot operate in isolation, we must understand that. Only in this way will we be able to play in the big leagues of Europe. We are talking about a Europe of regions, where competitiveness, collaboration and involvement of many entities is the future. The fact that at the European level there is the area of ​​university alliances, where there are conglomerates of administrations and universities in order to generate economic and social progress must give us food for thought and we should also enter, if not in the vanguard, at least in the wake of such approaches that lead the European trend forward. Timișoara is a European city not only declaratively, but we also want to show this factually. We all need to be aware of that. This is what we, ATU, are trying to do – to put ourselves in a position to do things and, with all the individualism that characterizes the area, to play in a league of solidarity, in the interest of the city and the area".

Professor Octavian Crețu, rector of the "Victor Babeș" University of Medicine and Pharmacy: "The establishment of the Timisoara University Alliance, the first structure for cooperation and consolidation of the university center and the research, development and scientific innovation platform in the city on the Bega, was and is a win for all four Timișoara universities. First of all, thanks to the development of an integrated research, an interweaving of projects and joint scientific sessions with applications and direct implications in the promotion and intelligent development of our community and region. Secondly, despite the fact that we come from different fields, we enjoy a close and efficient inter-university collaboration thanks to the teaching staff of high academic standing, facilitated by the exchanges of experience achieved, through which objectives and strategies that can be implemented in projects have been brought together research and the use of university facilities, such as libraries, halls and sports fields of partner universities. We also appreciate the efforts made by the students of the four universities of the Timișoara University Alliance, who, through collaborations and joint projects at the level of organizations, in scientific and even cultural fields, did not forget to "give to Caesar what is Caesar's" and to extend to the academic community, and beyond, the support they enjoyed in turn in their professional bases. Because, always, the facts are the ones that raise or lower you".

Cosmin Alin Popescu, rector of the "King Mihai I" University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Banat: “As for today's meeting, I came with hopes for the topics that were announced. One of them is on culture, the others obviously on education, entrepreneurship, the involvement of universities in these areas. Moreover, education is the most important cultural element of a city. Even if the profile of our university is more towards the field of life sciences, towards this technical area, of engineering and life sciences, our part is extremely important in terms of cultural elements based on traditions and crafts, because we are a country that has traditions, has a gastronomic culture, for example, and through our specializations, we bring our contribution to this area. Even though technologies are evolving, it is very important for us as a people to keep this identity, including cultural identity in different fields. It is important to preserve our traditions and culture, and this is our role as a university. Now we learn from everyone's experiences. It is clear that there are things that need to be improved and there is no point in experiencing things that have happened elsewhere. We only take the positive examples. It is more communication and more experience for the four universities. In the future we will have beautiful and extensive projects, which come from some needs. We have some ongoing, others are under debate, whether they are on culture or entrepreneurship or research. Therefore, we want projects that help and develop the city of Timișoara and the county and even the Banat region".

UVT uses cookie files to personalize and improve your experience on our Website.

We inform you that we have updated our policies in order to integrate in them and in the current activity of UVT the latest changes proposed by Regulation (EU) 2016/679 regarding the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and to read and understand the content of the Cookie Policy.

By continuing to browse our Website, you confirm acceptance of the use of cookie files according to the Cookie Policy.

However, do not forget that you can modify the settings of these cookie files at any time by following the instructions in the Cookie Policy.