Project Closing Event – Iași, December 20th, 2023

“Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi (TUIASI) organized on Wednesday, December 20, 2023, from 11:30 a.m., the closing conference of the “WiNet@Uni – Joint Cross-Border Networking Infrastructure of Technical Universities of Iasi and Moldova” project. Carried out in partnership with the Technical University of Moldova (UTM), the project represents the final point of a concept that began to be implemented almost eight years ago at the Polytechnic of Iași: a functional wireless network that would cover the entire student campus, the teaching campus and the connection areas.

Practically, at the moment, with the implementation of the 2 million Euro project, of which the Iași Polytechnic received about 1.1 million, TUIASI students remain connected to the Internet and to all the teaching resources made available by the university from the moment that leave the dorm room and until they reach the lecture hall. The network is extremely efficient, with a speed of 1 Gb/s at the level of each user, and the advantage is that there is no need to change wireless networks between them. There is only one network, to which the students, teachers and administrative staff of TUIASI have access, the login data being the institutional accounts, with which they have access without making any additional settings.

Inside the faculties, the wireless coverage was created by networks established over the years through the projects of Institutional Development Funds won by TUIASI. Through the WiNet@Uni project, TUIASI modernized the wireless communications infrastructure in 59 buildings, in 13 of which the wired infrastructure was also completely redone. More than 300 switch-type equipment were installed, and more than 900 access point-type equipment were distributed, adding to another 500 previously installed.

The closing conference of the project was attended by representatives of the university management, members of the implementation team and TUIASI students. Rector of the Iași Polytechnic, Prof. Univ. Dr. Eng. Dan Cașcaval, spoke about the close collaboration relationship with the Technical University of Moldova, which in turn had representatives at the conference organized in Iasi. Ion Coșer, consul general of the Republic of Moldova in Iasi, also participated in the event.

The results obtained following the implementation of the project are: the creation of a state-of-the-art cable communications infrastructure for the corporate networks of the two partner universities; realization of the latest generation wireless communications infrastructure of each partner’s corporate network; creating a collaborative virtual space to support cooperation between the two universities.

The WinNet@Uni project was co-financed by the Romania-Republic of Moldova Operational Program 2014-2020.

Project Opening Event – Chisinau, February 16th, 2022

Honourable guests from the European Union, Romania and Republic of Moldova participated to the project opening event in Chisinau as a guarantee to the success of the project and of reaching the proposed objectives of implementing modern and competitive educational systems in the two higher education institutions across the Prut river.

The guests of the event hosted by UTM were: Mr. Iurie Țurcanu – vice-prime-minister for Digitalization of the Republic of Moldova, Mr. Marius Toth – plenipotentiary minister, Romanian Ambassy to the Republic of Moldova, representatives of the European Union delegation to RM – Mr. Ion Guzun, chief of the CBC programme, Mr. Giuseppe Paglione – chief of the Education & Culture programme, prof. Emil Ceban, Rector of the „Nicolae Testemițanu” State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Chisinau, Prof. Viorel Bostan, Rector of UTM, project managers, Mrs. Daniela Pojar (UTM) and Mrs. Simona Caraiman (TUIASI), Mr. Dinu Turcanu (technical project manager UTM), vice-rectors, deans, PhD, master and bachelor students of UTM. All guests expressed the support of their host institutions for the dedicated efforts of the joint collaboration for increasing the regional accessibility, development of the communication and transport networks.   

Project Opening Event – Iasi, February 8th, 2022

WiNet@Uni was officially launched in Iasi with a public event where project objectives and main activities were presented and discussed with the local and regional stakeholders. Due to the COVID pandemic situation, the meeting was organized as a hybrid event ensuring both onsite, in the Senate Hall of the ”Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iași, and online attendance of participants. Opening remarks and welcome speeches were given by the Rectors of the two partner Universities and by the President of the TUIASI Senate. The project coordinator, Mrs. Simona Caraiman, provided an overview of the project, emphasizing the objectives, relevance and cross-border impact/LINK. Mrs. Daniela Pojar, coordinator of the UTM team, emphasized the importance of the project for both Universities and for developing sustainable collaborations at educational, research and cultural level. Two guest speakers provided valuable presentations on topics relevant to the project to the stakeholders present at the event:
  • Mrs. Gabriela Macoveiu – Director of Communication, Innovation and External Cooperation Directorate, North-East Regional Development Agency, Funding opportunities for digital, educational and research infrastructures and international cooperation/LINK
  • Mrs. Cristina Baghiu – Digital Skills Lead & Co-founder of Digital Innovation Zone, European Digital Innovation Hub: best practices for the digital transformation of regions/LINK
At the close of the session, the representative of the Regional Office for Cross Border Cooperation Iasi, Mr. Victor Poede, offered a few highlights and upfront information regarding the Interreg NEXT Programme Romania – Republic of Moldova 2021-2027 and expressed the Office’s full support for a successful implementation of the project.

Project Kick-off Workshop - February 7th, 2022

The two project teams from the “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi and from the Technical University of Moldova met for a one-day kick-off meeting in Iasi to get started on the WiNet@Uni project. The two teams agreed on the management procedures & decision-making mechanisms, on the methods and tools for inter-partner communication & collaboration, reviewed the administrative and technical tasks of the project, as well as the risks and mitigation strategies.