A delegation from Abylkas Saginov Karaganda Technical University visited Romania on a working visit. The delegation included the Chairman of the Board – Rector of the University Saule Sagintayeva, Board Member – Vice-Rector for Science and Innovation Ali Mekhtiyev and Head of the Commercialization Office Rustam Buzyakov.
One of the key points of the program was a visit to the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca (UTCN), one of the leading engineering universities in Romania, where more than 20 thousand students study. The university is one of the most actively developing research and innovation centers in the country, ranks 3rd among public universities in Romania in attracting funding from EU funds and is actively developing English-language and French-language educational programs in the field of AI, industrial engineering and robotics.
During the meeting with the UTCN management, issues of academic mobility, joint research projects and participation in international grants were discussed. The STU delegation also got acquainted with the university laboratories, as well as examples of university start-ups and spin-off companies.
The delegation paid special attention to the visit to the TETAROM industrial park, created with the support of the Cluj County Council. TETAROM currently manages three operating industrial parks with a total area of about 2 million m², where more than 130 companies are located, including Emerson, Bosch, De’Longhi, etc. The total investment in infrastructure exceeds 1 billion euros. The park provides tenants with production and office space, utilities, business incubator services, and legal, investment and logistics support.
The delegation also visited the production site of Emerson SRL, one of the largest employers in the region. The company is focused on the production of automated control systems and actively cooperates with UTCN in personnel training and student internships.
The visit to Cluj-Napoca was an important practical step to study effective models of integration of science, education and industry. Particular interest was the model of the «triple helix» implemented in Romania – a sustainable partnership between the university, industrial companies and authorities. The format of interaction between the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, the TETAROM industrial park and the city mayor’s office, implemented within the framework of the TETAPOLIS project, is considered as a potential basis for building an ecosystem in the Karaganda region capable of supporting technological start-ups, developing knowledge transfer and creating in-demand jobs for graduates.
The visit is given additional importance by the fact that Cluj-Napoca and Karaganda are sister cities. This opens up broad prospects for sustainable cooperation between universities, local authorities and the business community – in the form of joint educational programs, research projects and entrepreneurial initiatives.
