My dear colleagues,

At the end of the year, each of us looks back and tries to learn from the events of the previous year.

In trying to do this for UVT, I am glad to note that although often the things accomplished may have gone unnoticed, it is difficult for me to choose from the long list of ongoing projects. But with this being an atypical year and where most of our community members have been more virtual in UVT, I think it's important to look back together to see what 2020 has meant for UVT and to think together about where we're headed.

The emotions that most people experience during the winter holidays make us more aware of the people around us. And that makes me think of people I discovered or just rediscovered this year who are, for the groups they come from, symbols of professionalism. As a society moves forward if its people move forward, there are bright eras and eras when the light of social performance seems to have gone out. It is good, for this reason, to keep a fair balance and try to see beyond the possible difficulties of the present.

The concern for people in UVT is there and I think it is very visible. In this sense, I will first refer to long-term sustainability projects. For example, to increase the degree of employability of students, we submitted new "Innotech Student" projects, institutional development projects aimed at supporting the activities of student entrepreneurial societies and a project of over 4 million lei for student practice. These efforts are not new, they only continue what we have been doing for years, showing that it is not the context that determines our evolution, but the attitude.

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This year, we developed the most comprehensive university admissions promotion website in the country and implemented an exclusively online admissions process with a higher number of enrolled students than the previous year. They are offered support through the new School Management Center and the Student Info Center, but also through new complementary subjects, such as Professional Counseling and career guidance for all students in the first year of the bachelor's degree cycle. Being aware of the students' adaptation difficulties in the new context, we developed support programs and webinars for students and pupils, on very diverse topics and we developed the Peer to Peer Tutoring program, through an integrated system of training and support groups for students from year 1 on the topic of increasing self-esteem.

Digitization is no longer a fad but a reality! Step by step, together, we managed to achieve the institutional development we set for this year. We did not expect that the transition to a fully digitized process, both in the fields of teaching and research activity, as well as in the administrative area, would occur under the constraints caused by the social and pandemic context, but we were prepared to adapt and I think we succeeded . As a large team, we have provided students with continuity, providing them, in the online environment this time, with all the components necessary for a solid preparation. In 2020, 12 postgraduate study programs were accredited, including Educational and Digital Resources for Online Training (dedicated to pre-university teachers), UVT Teaching & Learning Brand, Blockchain Entrepreneurship, etc.

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Regarding Teaching & Learning The UVT Brand has been subject to community debates, improved in structure through the contributions of all those who proactively approached this endeavor and offered suggestions for which we thank them. Various necessary events were organized to understand the need and its components and to support its implementation (workshops and didactic training programs dedicated to the academic staff of UVT with the participation of over 500 university teachers).

The pre-university environment, as an important partner, was close to us even though it faced, like us, the transition to a new reality, difficult to manage. We continued to carry out activities aimed at attracting students to the study programs offered by UVT by promoting our educational offer. The already traditional UVT promotional caravan has moved its activity to the online area. Also through the electronic medium, we continued to participate in education fairs and events of partners in schools and high schools.

As we want the best students and many of them, in the context of the pandemic, no longer want to leave Romania for studies, we identified the best students in the county and made them personalized offers, a significant number of Olympians choosing in the summer to become our students. The admissions process went without any major issues and all support requests for online enrollment were answered and the feedback was very good.

And since at UVT our students matter, I must mention that I especially appreciated their involvement and the positive energy they brought even in difficult times. The student organizations were active and involved in society and I congratulate them. Although there are many contexts in which they manifested themselves, I bring up the SAS UVT project because it was the only SAS in Romania that organized face to face but also online the UStart incubation program for training entrepreneurial skills in UVT students. This event had an online reach of several tens of thousands of people. Three teams were selected to participate in the national start-up incubator organized by Junior Achievement Romania. The "Future Science" series of conferences was also started, through which we aim to popularize science by means of branded guests on topics specific to the UVT faculties, and the community of SAS UVT Ambassador Professors was formed. We wish them success in the years to come.

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One of the responsibilities assumed was to continue to do knowledge, art and sport accessible to the community. This dimension of community involvement united us in our diversity. The new social patterns and restrictions we have been subjected to have led us to approach classic concepts from a new perspective. Let's be open to "new ideas", to rethink the projects, events and programs implemented in UVT. This year, the principle under which we thought, acted and developed was  "thinking out of the box" and UVT events have adopted this concept. In this context, UVT Graduation Ceremony 2020 was organized with a presence in Piaţa Libertății, simultaneously with an online ceremony that allowed more than 1800 graduates to participate in this event. The academic year 2020-2021 started at UVT with Opening Celebration of the University Year, in online format, with strong emotions and the enlivening of a new beginning through the participation of over 4500 students and teaching staff, in the presence of outstanding guests.

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And in 2020 we brought to the fore those who are not afraid of daring projects. This is what we will do in the years to come because performance must become the only acceptable, even mandatory, criterion for sustainable development. A strong community is based on the values ​​assumed over time by its members, values ​​that shape its development and give it consistency. The festive character and elegance we are used to The West University of Timișoara Awards Gala were also respected in the 2020 edition held online, transmitted live from the Aula Magna, which allowed over 9500 views.

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Consolidation of the concept of a university open to the community was achieved by proposing a new concept "At UVT, Culture is Capitală!", which materialized in a series of cultural events with important personalities Horia Roman Patapievici, Germina Nagâț, Ioan T. Morar and which allowed the creation of a Virtual Classroom with thousands of participants.

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Consolidation of the relationship between culture and sport by educating students, by participating in cultural and sports activities at the same time in some events organized annually by UVT, was achieved by submitting and implementing numerous cultural projects.

The energy of people and their involvement in various activities, especially in uncertain times for society, brings the confirmation that man sanctifies the place and that, regardless of the context, life goes forward and it is important to adapt to all the trials that are given to us. And the year ending has shown us that opportunities don't come by themselves, they don't it happens simply - they must be created. And at UVT, the opportunities created are also exploited, which brought us recognition this year through meritorious positions in the rankings, through scientific, didactic, sports or artistic achievements. In this context, I also congratulate the athletes of the UVT University Sports Club who brought us many joys through the medals and prizes won by the cycling, chess, wrestling and karate teams.

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UVT's efforts to strengthen research, technological development and innovation materialized this year also by contracting 2 new projects, financed through the Competitiveness Operational Program 2014-2020. The Western University of Timișoara became a partner in the process of strategic planning and programming of European funds in the period 2021-2027, a member of the partnership structures related to the Operational Programs and the Partnership Agreement 2021-2027. In support of those interested in research, the CentruSupportTM Office was created for a better attraction of European funds in the area of ​​research and access to the InCites platform that allows nuanced analyzes of scientific performances, including at the level of the science field and comparisons with the performances of other institutions in country or abroad.

The internationalization of UVT remained an important objective and, in addition to other specific activities, related to managing mobility projects in a pandemic context, writing and submitting new projects, conducting the first virtual edition of the Erasmus+ Staff Training Week, clearly the most important undertaking of internationalization was the start of the activity of the UNITA - Universitas Montium consortium.

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A saying of an interwar politician claimed that success is never final, but neither is failure total. Therefore, what matters is the courage to move forward, and at UVT we have this courage. It has been demonstrated by each of you in the impeccable manner in which you have handled the difficult context we are facing. In order to ensure an adequate capacity to manage the health crisis, by reducing the risk of spreading the SARS-CoV-2 infection, significant funding was requested to equip the West University of Timisoara with equipment for air disinfection and sterilization such as nebulizers, through through the Large Infrastructure Operational Program.

Administrative projects did not train this year either. On the contrary! We capitalized on the context in which we found ourselves and completed the new headquarters dedicated to didactic activities for the fields of history and theology within the UVT, and in the central headquarters of the UVT the Aula Magna and a series of didactic and administrative spaces were rehabilitated, and it was realized the skylight in the hall, following that in 2021 the rehabilitation of the facade of the UVT headquarters building will begin. All these works lead to the outline of a modernized hard core with a didactic function, but also adapted to the types of events held by the University in recent years.

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The works to restore the roof of the UVT building, a complex work, were also completed and the contract was signed for the rehabilitation of the roof and facades of the Faculty of Chemistry, Biology and Geography. The rehabilitation and expansion of educational spaces in order to increase the socio-economic relevance of university education, is the most advanced of the 3 projects won through the Regional Operational Program 2014-2020. At this time all demolition work has been completed and work is being done on the structural part for the extension to the new building and the restoration of the tiled roof. The work is due to be completed in 2021. The extension of the existing educational spaces for the Faculty of Arts and Design and the Faculty of Music and Theater is the project with the highest value and the most challenging in terms of implementation. Until now, the technical project has been completed, and the construction permit is in the process of being obtained. After the approval of the technical project, the project is to be auctioned, with a maximum deadline of execution until the end of 2023.

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On rue Paris 1, important works are currently taking place, with the resistance structure for the new project almost complete. I mention that the new building will be completed in 2021 and will also include a new Auditorium, modern and equipped to current standards.

The Institute for Advanced Environmental Research - ICAM is to be completed in 2021, the structural part being completed and following the works on the facades and interior finishes and the purchase of the equipment that will be used by the Institute's laboratories.

Dormitories for students are one of the big concerns and sstarting from the 2021 academic year, UVT students will benefit from the most modern student dormitory in Timișoara. The new dormitory of the Western University in Timișoara will have 670 places, ground floor and six floors, the students will be accommodated in rooms with their own bathroom and kitchen. Also, a fitness room, recreation spaces and an underground parking lot would be set up in the new location.

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The University of West Timișoara also benefits from a new investment for the 900-seat dormitory, which will be built on Renașterii street, with money from the National Investment Company. It is the largest student dormitory that will be built in Romania, through CNI funds, with the works to begin according to the execution schedule in 2021.

As the health and comfort of UVT employees and students matter, work has also continued on the new swimming pool to be completed next year. The UVT restaurant/canteen envisaged in UVT's investment plans is at the stage where the execution contract has been signed, with work to begin this spring, weather permitting.

As far as the administrative area is concerned, things were not easy, but I believe that they brought beneficial changes to the development of the UVT activity. I will not mention all the adaptations that were necessary for the transition to online activities, but I will bring before you some things that I consider relevant to point out:

• the creation with internal resources of a software program for the automatic generation and management of time attendance within the projects carried out within the UVT;
• the creation of the "Your Page" project/portal intended for UVT employees, through which requests for certificates and requests for leave/telework can be generated, approved and transmitted 100% online;
• the implementation of an automation pilot project in order to introduce payment orders into the FOREXEBUG system, generate payment orders and verify their processing in the account statements, including making the related accounting notes;
• implementation of the system of multiple electronic payment orders;
• enrollment of UVT in the virtual private space ANAF
• ensuring the functioning of UVT's IT structures and all digital resources necessary for the smooth running of the didactic process in online format);
• the implementation of a ticketing system for managing complaints and providing IT support;
• the implementation of the platform https://bursasociala.uvt.ro/ , through which all the files for obtaining the social scholarship were submitted and processed and the account statements from the scholarship students were collected.

Clearly, it was a complicated and eventful year. But also of achievements. At UVT, however, we always aim for more and better. In 2021 we will continue to implement the teaching and learning brand of UVT, we will perfect the digitalized systems implemented, we will continue the internationalization processes, especially the implementation of the UNITA project and yes, we will continue to perform in research and education, but also to be catalysts for the development of a society where culture and performance are at home! Among the projects proposed for 2021 are:

• External institutional evaluation of UVT 
• The purchase of new buildings for UVT
• Development of a Quality Manual
• Starting a review process of all UVT study programs
• Implementation of a new teacher evaluation system and adjustment of differentiated salary methodologies
• Accreditation and promotion of doctoral studies in English to attract more foreign students
• Improving the system for tracking the progress of doctoral students to reduce dropout and absenteeism
• Carrying out analyzes on scientific fields and discussing them in the competent forums, accompanied by recommendations in this regard.
• Implementation of the electronic catalog and online presence
• Provision of psychological counseling services for students
• the preparation of an online platform that coagulates the entrepreneurial ecosystem around UVT in the online environment as well
• mapping the UVT Alumni community and developing the communication platform with this community
• implementation of the "Your Page" project/portal for all UVT employees.

It may seem like a lot, but we must try to set high goals in order to succeed and evolve. This is what we do every day: we try to take one more step, small or big, to become better. And when we don't succeed, we persevere until we succeed. The key to success lies in setting high goals and persevering to achieve them. And last but not least, in the people you collaborate with, both inside the organization and outside it. This year we laid the foundations of the ATU Alliance between the universities of Timișoara and we aim to collaborate as much as possible to create a truly strong university center in Timișoara.

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In conclusion, I will just say that nothing we have achieved or intend to achieve is possible without our involvement... of all members of the UVT community, without human collaboration, and without optimism. So, let's meet again healthy and full of energy and succeed in achieving even more than we set out to do!

A wonderful year 2021 everyone!

FORZZA UVT!!!!

BECOME YOUR BEST IN THE WEST!!!

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