press release
(October 5, 2020)
The launch in Cluj-Napoca of C-Edu, the first education cluster in Romania
On Monday, October 5, 2020, on the occasion of the UNESCO International Day of Education and the Teacher, the C-Edu education cluster was launched in Cluj-Napoca - the first ecositem effort in the field of education in Romania, a collaborative work tool to answer the big questions and challenges in the field of 21st century education, accentuated in recent months by the COVID19 pandemic and to increase the quality of access to lifelong learning.
Founded by six Cluj universities, the Cluj County School Inspectorate, the Transylvania College Foundation, the Cluj County Council and Cluj-Napoca City Hall, the education cluster's mission is to create an inclusive co-design platform and cross-sectoral approach to the community's needs regarding education, inclusive and time-adapted access to learning. Also, C-Edu encourages the creation of collaborative processes between the public and private sectors, between administrations, learning institutions, companies and non-governmental organizations that allow a better integration of young people into the labor market, once their course is completed educational.
The event was attended by Emil Boc, the mayor of Cluj-Napoca, Marius Mânzat-vice-president of the Cluj County Council, Mircea Abrudean, prefect of Cluj County, Marinela Marc, general school inspector at IȘJ Cluj, Anca Buzoianu, rector of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy " Iuliu Hațieganu", Cornel Cătoi, rector of the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Daniela Popoescu, vice-rector of the Cluj-Napoca Technical University, Mara Rațiu, vice-rector of the University of Arts and Design, Nelida Nedelcutu, vice-rector of the "Gheorghe Dima" Music Academy , Christian Săcărea, vice-chancellor of Babeș - Bolyai University and Simona Baciu - founder of Transylvania College Foundation. Together with them, the delegated members in the working group of the education cluster of each member entity, the representatives of the companies and non-governmental organizations that joined the education cluster, as well as two students from Cluj, as representatives of the young students and students at event.
On the occasion of the launch of the C-Edu Education Cluster, the founding members planted a maple each in the premises of the Regional Center for Creative Industries in Cluj Innovation Park as part of the "Green Cluj" program, thus laying the foundations of the Education Park. Such a tree was also planted by the Prefect of Cluj County, Mircea Abrudean, as a representative of the Government of Romania, as well as by two young students from Cluj, on behalf of the Presidency of Romania.
The role of Clujster C-Edu
The main role of the education cluster in the local and regional innovation ecosystem is to create a platform for collaboration and dialogue centered on education, which encourages participation and the use of collaborative tools to seek solutions to the problems we face, among many others communities during this period regarding ensuring access to learning throughout life.
According to its founders, the purpose of the C-Edu education cluster is “to act as a space for dialogue and collaboration between the main actors involved in education, with the aim of improving the access of pupils and students to educational and training structures, to increase the quality of educational processes and to connect continuing education with the economic environment. C-EDU will support the intersection of professional training with research and innovation, in order to connect education to the dynamics of social changes. The C-EDU education cluster assumes the concept of an innovative entity in terms of the formation of human capital adapted to the innovations and technological changes that condition educational development. C-EDU's vision is that of a connected and competent educational ecosystem, which puts the pupil/student at the center of educational processes, providing him with the tools and skills that will transform him into a competent, empathetic member of society and an active participant in the structuring of the community” is stated in the articles of association of the cluster.
"It is an extraordinary initiative, the first of its kind in Romania. In Cluj-Napoca we are used to the partnership between the administration, the academic sector, NGOs and companies for community projects. Now this partnership is also materializing in the field of education. From the point of view of the Government of Romania, we convey and offer all the support we are capable of, because education is a priority and must be supported at all levels," explained the Prefect of Cluj County, Mircea Abrudean.
For their part, the founding members of the education cluster explained their motivation to create this associative structure to put it at the service of the needs of education in Cluj-Napoca and beyond.
Cluj-Napoca City Hall
"To serve the needs of the community regarding access to education, learning, it is important to make a community effort. Today we are witnessing a historical period that requires vertical changes in the way we relate to education. This year's COVID19 pandemic has only sharpened this need for change and made it more implicit.
C-Edu is a response from our community, created in the midst of a pandemic and a testament to the fact that we understand that the answers to our needs are found more easily together.
Through the education cluster, our community will be able to maintain a very effective dialogue with the European level of decision-making and implementation of the recently launched European Agenda for Education - European Education Area, which has the objectives of the European Union for the period 2020-2025. We will also be able to collaborate in the context of the European hub for Digital Education, which is thought of as a space for collaboration and encouraging synergies between the European political decision-making level, the European Commission and relevant regional and local actors in achieving the goals of digitizing access to education, creation of a national consultation network and strengthening of the dialogue between the private and public sectors" added Emil Boc.
Cluj County Council:
"The event we are marking now is one that comes from our very fiber, the people of Cluj, the people of Transylvania who gave the nation the "Transylvanian School", declared the president of the CJ Alin Tișe.
Gheorghe Dima Music Academy:
"In the city of Cluj-Napoca there is a performing network of clusters that is open to cooperation with successful entities in the country, the European Union and countries in the region. An education cluster will support and promote the city's renowned educational environment, creating a learning and applied practice platform built on tradition, openness and development. The creation of a regional cluster on the topic of education represents an opportunity but also a challenge for the National Academy of Music George Dima, by facilitating dialogue, collaboration between pre-university and university environments and professional institutions, facilitating the configuration of an inter-institutional curricular offer, which will develop transversal skills in dedicated training programs. Connecting educational structures with professional ones, as well as supporting initiatives and educational projects by the business environment will give an applicative character that will be able, in the future, to value the potential of young people in training. The exchange of information in the educational and cultural field, the organization of interdisciplinary programs as well as the implementation of innovative projects in the field will create the prerequisites for connecting Cluj education to the rapid dynamics of change demanded by the transformations of the moment. We want this network of institutions to become a model of an educational approach that supports professional training through applied practice, research and innovation," said Nelida Nedelcut, vice-rector of the Ghoerghe Dima Cluj Music Academy.
Cluj University of Art and Design:
"The accession of the University of Art and Design from Cluj-Napoca (UAD) to the initiative to establish an education cluster is based on the following arguments:
-Connecting de facto of pre-university and university education by carrying out projects that follow the entire educational path of children and young people;
- the integration of the Cluj education system into the multi-sectoral gearing of the Cluj community by establishing a close cooperation with the local authorities and the business environment;
- the close and coherent collaboration of the Cluj education system with initiatives from the non-governmental sector in order to continuously improve the quality of formal education in relation to non-formal education.
UAD is convinced that the establishment of the C-EDU education cluster will contribute decisively to the achievement of the objectives stated above. Moreover, such a cluster will certainly constitute an effective tool for continuous innovation at the level of the Cluj community, given its cross-sector composition" explained Mara Rațiu, UAD vice-rector.
Babeș University – Bolyai:
“UBB is excited to be a part of this education initiative because it fits our mission. We are actors involved not only in the education of young people, but also trainers and educators and teachers in Romania. We are faithful to our motto "tradition and excellence". The tradition in education is reflected in the long history of this university, it is over 400 years. At the same time, the excellence that is reflected in the quality of the educational act in the research activity and the partnerships we have, and above all I hope it will be reflected in this partnership announced today, in a space of creative industries. UBB wants excellence to be found in all the activities that we will develop within this cluster, because in the global world in which we are developing, this type of partnership is needed to develop into a real pole of innovation" explained UBB vice-rector Christian Săcărea.
"Iuliu Hatieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy
"The educational activity at our university is characterized, in addition to traditional methods, by interprofessional education, lifelong learning and internationalization. For this reason, the creation of an educational cluster, which brings together the main institutions in the field of education and private companies, for the benefit of pupils and students, can only bring benefits and added value both for the academic community and for the entire Cluj community .
The University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Iuliu Hațieganu" Cluj-Napoca supports and gets involved in this innovative approach with the idea that we will be able to offer our expertise for the training of young people from Cluj and, in turn, we will benefit from new opportunities to develop our activity. Together, we will make a major contribution to the training and improvement of the human resource - the most important intellectual and professional resource." said Prof. Dr. Anca Dana Buzoianu, rector of UMF "Iuliu Hațieganu".
University of Agricultural Sciences Veterinary Medicine:
"USAMV Cluj-Napoca will be involved both academically and practically in the C-Edu mission to train students capable of actively participating in the development of society from a technological, innovative and cultural point of view. We hope, in this way, to consolidate Cluj as a pole of excellence in research, innovation and development. The history and tradition of over 150 years of our university, as well as the modern educational strategies that currently guide it, represent the guarantee of involvement in achieving the objectives of the C-Edu Education Cluster" said Cornel Cătoi, Rector of USAMV Cluj.
Cluj-Napoca Technical University:
"The future is in the eyes of the farsighted. The Technical University of Cluj-Napoca joins this initiative as a response to the mission it assumes, that of being a promoter of education in society and implicitly in the Cluj community. As a member of Cluster-type structures, we believe that they manage to integrate and
mobilize sustained efforts that capitalize on the capacity of the parties for long-term results" also declared Daniela Popescu, pre-rector of UTCN Cluj.
Cluj County School Inspectorate:
"Why an Education Cluster in Cluj-Napoca? Maybe it's because it's a city where the municipality pays a lot of attention to education, through all the projects and programs they fund. Perhaps because it is a city that is an example of multiculturalism, that performs in many fields of activity, that has top universities, attractive not only for high school graduates in the country, but also for many young people from outside the country, that has the best education pre-university in the country. Perhaps because, here, all the decision-makers understood that, only together, pre-university education, public and private, the academic and business environment, with the support of the authorities, can contribute to the development of common projects, beneficial for everything that means educational environment , but also economically, because only an education connected to the labor market, which meets the needs of the community, is a quality education.
Why on October 5? Because it is the most suitable day to launch the first education cluster at the national level, the date on which the International Day of Education is celebrated, a day when it is appropriate, more than ever, to meditate on the importance of education in the formation of children and young people, but not only, because the need for continuous personal and professional training and development is increasingly evident.
Plato stated that "Education is the most beautiful gift that man can acquire", and we want this educational Cluster established in Cluj-Napoca to offer the Cluj community reasons for satisfaction through all the activities carried out in support of the direct and indirect beneficiaries of education!" concluded Marinela Marc, general school inspector, Cluj County School Inspectorate
Transylvania College Foundation:
The Transilvania College Foundation joins the initiative to establish the Education Cluster. C-EDU, integrating its mission into its own mission. Born in the citadel of education, Cluj-Napoca, the C-EDU Cluster will become an element of coagulation of all the forces that make education strong, prepared to train the youth of the 21st century.
We planted 12 maples today, which will grow for years to come strong and towering, just the way we all want education to look. Together we will make this dream come true. Today, the founders, together with the Cluj business community and civil society, signed a pact by which we say a resounding "YES" to modern education and the support of tomorrow's leaders. Every young person has the right to be a leader who sets out on life's path with confidence and courage thanks to the education we provide.
Education is connection and collaboration and the role of the C-EDU Cluster is to connect professional structures with educational ones and civil society, soon having the visibility and impact we want.
Through this association, we want to support a new generation of young employees to contribute to the support and development of the society in which we live. The planting of these 12 maples will become the symbol of growth, trust and collaboration for Education. I am sure that this is only the beginning, and the founding members assume their role and contribution to the development of a modern education, adapted to our century," said Simona Baciu,
Founder of the Happy Teachers Program for Romania and Transylvania College Foundation.
Additional details regarding the C-Edu education cluster:
Further details on the European Commission's efforts on the future of education: