EUT+ Week in Cluj-Napoca: an event with an impact on the evolution of the European University of Technology

The meeting, marked the entry of the EUT+ alliance into a new phase, one that aims to accelerate the involvement of students, teachers and researchers in joint projects.

As the coordinating institution for research within the EUT+ alliance, UTCN played a central role in promoting strategic initiatives and facilitating collaboration both inter-institutional and between researchers.

The Research Roadmap, the procedure for setting up joint research structures (EUT+ clusters and institutes), the European Research School, and the European Research Office are just some of the successful initiatives managed throughout the week by UTCN:

The Research Roadmap

1. building on the outcome of the EXTRAS (European University Of Technology Experimentation to Transform Research Activities and Steering) project, in which our university played a key role in managing the package for training human resources for research and the work on designing a research roadmap (EUT+ research roadmap), with the help of tools to simplify the process of joining and engaging in research structures, the strategy for training a critical mass of researchers to accelerate inter-institutional cooperation was set;
2. Conferences organized by each EUT+ member have been mapped to impove policies to stimulate joint participation.

Establishment of joint research structures (EUT+ groups and institutes) - is another major objective of the alliance:

1. the updated procedure for setting up joint research groups or institutes was presented;
2. key performance indicators for monitoring the research activities of the research institutes formed or being formed were established;
3. the format for signing up with joint EUT+ affiliation the resulting academic publications was established.

European Research School and PhD supervision or cotutelle model

1. a questionnaire was developed to identify academics available for joint coordination of PhD students within the alliance;
2. a cotutelle agreement was established to facilitate joint PhD thesis development.

European Research Office - presented the status of submitted and approved proposals and the steps needed to support new research structures and facilitate access to resources and mentoring.

Onboarding sessions on the structures and programs developed under EUT+ were organized over three days for EUT+ project team members as well as for UTCN teachers, researchers, and students. Resources offered by EUT+, such as journals, conferences, and research infrastructure, now accessible to all alliance members, were presented. The best practices of each partner university in the mobility and research support were promoted, to apply them uniformly across the alliance.

The participants interacted with the already-founded institutes and research groups (ECT lab+, EUTINN, Data Science, ESSLab, Elara, PostLab), gaining useful insights into their structure and current activities in research and innovation.

The EUT+ Publishing House, an initiative to increase the visibility of the alliance by developing a platform for the dissemination of high - quality teaching and research results, gained in maturity following constructive discussions among alliance members.

Another important topic addressed during the week in Cluj was the analysis of the EUT+ position towards the reindustrialization of Europe in line with the new economic strategy of the European Union, such as the Mario Draghi report. EUT+ actions in this direction aim at preparing highly qualified and experienced graduates at the European level, able to face the new technological and industrial challenges arising in the process of re-industrialization. The Technical University of Cluj-Napoca joins this approach by capitalizing on the expertise gained in the relationship with the economic environment.

The Rectors' Council on Thursday, October 17 was a milestone of the EUT+ week at UTCN. Issues related to the governance of the alliance and strategies for expanding collaboration between partner universities (organization of EUT+ research clusters and institutes, increasing the visibility of scientific activities, involvement of students from all study cycles in the activities and decisions of the alliance on the development of an inter-university campus) dominated the agenda of the discussions.

An important highlight was the joint meeting with student representatives.

Student representatives from the 9 partner universities met in the EUT+ Student Council and discussed current and future collaborations, and mobility programs, as well as cultural and educational activities. Also, on Wednesday, October 16, students met for a high-energy experience on the padel courts of the Winners Sports Club for the EUT+ Student Cup.

EUT+ is an innovative European university network that aims to revolutionize European higher education in technology. Through a single, automatically recognized European degree and the creation of joint laboratories and research centers, EUT+ facilitates student and staff mobility and stimulates innovation and knowledge transfer.

The meeting in Cluj-Napoca was an important step in realizing this vision, bringing together the efforts of the nine partner universities for joint integration on the campus of the European University of Technology.