In ERNI Romania we started a long-term collaboration with Babes Bolyai, one of the main universities in Cluj Napoca, with over 3,500 graduates each year in Mathematics and Informatics. We had a very productive meeting together with two associate professors in the areas of Machine Learning, AI and computer interaction and design. As we are trying to bring the academic curricula closer to the business environment, we have discussed project ideas for students in bachelor and master studies. We have also explored more complex projects for Ph.D. students who are interested in doing research and pioneering new areas.
The academic and business environments have a different focus and setup, which is to be expected, yet what brings them closer together is the thirst for experimentation and pioneering new ideas. Businesses thrive on fresh, groundbreaking ideas. Students find new levels of determination and energy when they know that the outcome of their school project can help others and improve the lives or levels of service provided in the financial sector, banking, healthcare and transportation.
Together, ERNI and UBB have started this collaboration with the purpose to inspire students to reach new heights, push technology to new boundaries and bring fresh ideas in the business world. We are looking at different opportunities to collaborate, for example by rewarding the best thesis for graduating students during the UBB Graduation Day event, holding career coaching events or by coordinating the most talented students through their graduation projects.
As we talked with the associate professors from Babes Bolyai University, we managed to identify the existing gaps and how to bridge them so that students can see purpose and meaning when they pilot and validate their ideas in the business context and real-life environment.
We know how important it is to have a feeling of achievement and pride in your work and we want to encourage and promote young talent. It goes hand in hand with ERNI’s organisational culture and values of trust, passion, responsibility and independence. In March we plan to reach out and extend the collaboration with the Technical University, so we can boost ERNI’s reputation in the academic environment and spot talent early on.