During 15-17 April 2024, a delegation of the management team of the project composed of: Mr. Jeppe Kiel Christensen, from VIA University College (Aarhus, Denmark), Manager of the project; Ms. Ditte Karla Lott Lauritsen, from VIA University College (Aarhus, Denmark) – member of the management team; Ms. Elena Nielsen and Ms. Emma Meyer from Central Denmark EU Office, the team responsible of the Brussels-based communication visited Romanian Centre of Vocational Excellence formed by: ”Gheorghe Asachi Technical” University of Iasi (TUIASI), as main partner in the project and its national partners: Gheorghe Asachi Technical College of Iasi (CTGA) and Iasi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI).
The main goal of this visit was to get an in-depth understanding of the Romanian regional domain’s education, innovation and research activities that are part of the TEACH4SD.
The project team, representatives of TUIASI academic and student community, of high-school teachers and students, and of the business community enjoyed 3 days of great discussions, workshops, and exciting presentations!
The activities of the event started on 15 April 2024, with a visit to Gheorghe Asachi Technical College of Iasi (CTGA), coordinated by CGTA Director, Mr. Manuel Neacșu, and Deputy Director, Ms. Cristina Coromelci, and consisting in: presentations about the College (CGTA), their experience in Erasmus+ projects, CGTA main achievements in the sustainable development, workshop and visits in laboratories – Construction Laboratories, Environmental protection Laboratory, Mechanics Laboratory.
Later, in the same day, Iasi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) organized a meeting with the representatives of the construction business domain, TUIASI academic community and high-school teachers, chaired by Mr. Paul Butnariu, President of ICCI and Mr. Sorin Gheorghiu, Director of the Department of Promotion and Relations with members. During almost 2 hours, the participants shaped an overview of the construction sector in Romania: stage of development, dynamics, prospects, workforce, professional training, environmental impact etc.
This meeting was followed by a project meeting, chaired by Professor Irina Lungu, Vice-Rector for International Relations (TUIASI) and Lecturer Ioana Olteanu, Manager of the project for TUIASI partner, and it was a great chance to get to know each other, the present stage of the project and to state the next steps of TEACH4SD in the future.
On 16 April 2024, in the morning, TUIASI organized a recreational event – Iasi city guided tour, a wonderful occasion for our guests to be immersed, even for a short time, in the local culture and to see traditional sightseeing objectives in the regional touristic circuit.
After that, the schedule of the event included a visit to the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Building Services and 2 workshops: ”New Funding Opportunities for Embedding SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) through CDU Lens” and ”Long-Life Learning on SDG (Sustainable Development Goals): From Personal to Professional Experience” which were held to the same faculty.
How to define sustainability?, Which are the challenges and opportunities, at the personal and professional level, from the sustainability point of view? How can we access financial sources in order to integrate the objectives of sustainability in the companies’ activities?, are only a few topics discussed by the experts together with students, academics, teachers and Iasi business community representatives.
All the activities offered great opportunities to ensure visibility for Romanian CoVE, to share knowledge, to identify upscaling opportunities as well as to enable knowledge-sharing between project partners and target groups, to learn more and more about strengths, opportunities, interests and challenges specific to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) approach.
Constanța Pravăț, PhD, Senior Expert in the project
