Additional funds were also provided to enable the purchase of more teaching materials, books, software and necessary upgrading hardware for the CAERC resources.
The new target industrial and academic partners were:
SC Automobile DACIA-CESAR, Pitesti
SC IUS SA, Brasov
SC CESAR ARO SA, Cumpulung
Tractor Proiect SA, Brasov
Design Construct, Brasov
University “Lucian Blaga” Sibiu
University Politechnica Timisoara
University Petru Maior Targu Mures
As well as the above most of the original industrial partners participated in this two year follow-on project.
Substantial funding was also received from the industrial partners which was subsequently used to support the enhancement of administrative equipment, JEP equipment upgrades and consumables for the main Romanian partner.
Although not detailed, further complementary funding was received from
the University Transylvania Brasov to send Romanian staff to the JEP partners,
Target Group and conferences to disseminate the main project’s achievements.
Many of these activities and EU academic mobility industrial visits were
supported by industrial partner funds. The EU institutions provided complementary
funding to accompany Romanian academics on industrial and academic visits.
Complimentary funded visits, also organised by the University Transylvania
Brasov, were made to the Technical University of Budapest (Hungary), Banki
Donat Polytechnic (Hungary) and Kishinev (Moldavia) to disseminate the
achievements of the JEP and discuss/organise future collaboration.
The purchase of new books and the organisation of academic mobility visits to and from Romania have helped give Romanian staff an appreciation of multi-disciplinary and cross departmental teaching in the EU as well as the need for their close involvement with industry. It was hoped, under the original JEN plan, to develop and test a prototype Teaching Company based on the current British system, however, due to financial constraints this was not possible. Nevertheless, further mobilities to the UK and the dissemination of Teaching Company activities by both Romanian and UK academics have helped the TEMPUS team determine what the current priorities are for most industrial companies in the Transylvania.
Using the CAERC resources a wide range of further course material and
books have been published (see this page for a list).
The partner companies felt that an area which was crucial to them being competitive in the new free market was that of Product Design. Many of the industrial partners’ employees attending courses at the Centre have been instructed in these particular aspects. However, a consensus was reached whereby it was felt that there is a desperate need for engineers with this speciality. Through the resources available through JEP3077, the Department of Machine Elements, Mechanisms and Robotics are now in a position to develop this speciality which will involve multi-faculty and cross-departmental teaching. Through Romanian academic mobility visits to both the UK and France a number of academic institutions who specialise in this field have been visited and a new degree course is being developed.
A number of SOCRATES agreements have also been drawn up by the University
Transylvania Brasov and many EU academic partners visited during the JEN.
CRIIF have develop exchange programmes with the University of Kishinev
in Moldavia and research programmes are being discussed between Heriot-Watt,
Brasov and some Hungarian institutions.
The dissemination activities have publicised the capabilities of the
TEMPUS-funded CAERC and its staff to the JEN target institutions and the
original JEP partners such that the links through joint-project activities
will be taking place.