The 2021 edition of Local CIVIS Days Bucharest reached its final after a week full of conferences, competitions and activities dedicated to the university community

All nine projects proposed by students within the CIVISthon UB competition will be implemented in 2022

Out of the desire to increase the institution’s involvement as a responsible actor in the community, the University of Bucharest organized, between December 6-10, 2021, in hybrid format – offline & online -, the event entitled Local CIVIS Days Bucharest 2021 event.

As part of the CIVIS Days 2021 program, the event organized by the University of Bucharest included meetings and discussions with the ambassadors of the CIVIS member states, local authorities and representatives of non-governmental organizations, a conference dedicated to the future of higher education from the perspective of European alliances and a series of conferences, competitions and presentations of opportunities dedicated to students at the University of Bucharest.

Organized under the motto “The University in the City”, the events organized by the 10 CIVIS universities focused on the symbiotic relationship between the city and the university. This year’s edition of Global CIVIS Days was hosted by the Université Libre de Brussels and organized by ULB together with the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and the University of Glasgow.

The series of events organized by the University of Bucharest within the Local CIVIS Days Bucharest 2021 started on Monday, December 6, with the first edition of CIVISthon and continued throughout the week with the contest “CIVIS Student Journal”, with the Kahoot game “What do we know about CIVIS”, as well as with discussions with the students at the University of Bucharest who participated in mobilities within CIVIS programmes.

The award ceremonies of the competitions organized by UB on the occasion of Local CIVIS Days Bucharest 2021 took place on Friday, December 10, 2021, starting with 13:30 and were broadcast live on the Facebook page of the University of Bucharest.

The team ranked first in the CIVISthon competition is the team of the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Bucharest, which presented the project “Ecological and energy potential of capturing CO2 emissions using MOF-type structures”. Coordinated by Associate Professor Mădălina Săndulescu-Tudorache, PhD, the team was made up of students Andreia Luca, Robert Botea and Sebastian Cojanu, who were awarded by Fland Gruppe with tablets.

Also, the members of the teams positioned on the 2nd and 3rd places, respectively those of the Faculties of Law and Philosophy, received, from Kaufland, shopping vouchers of 200 lei each. These are the students Ana-Maria Țolea, Iulia Scarlat and Radu Artiom, members of the team of the Faculty of Law, coordinated by Professor Camelia Toader, PhD, and Ana-Maria Dimofte, PhD, as well as students Alexandra Brojbă, Alexandru Militaru, Călin Szanto, Dan Năfureanu and Ionuț Văduva, coordinated by Assistant Professor Oana Șerban, PhD, from the Faculty of Philosophy.

In addition, for the “CIVIS Student Journal” contest, the University of Bucharest awardedthe projects submitted by Elena Diaconescu, student at the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Crina Popișter, student at the Faculty of History, and Roberta Chiş, student at the Faculty of Journalism and Communication Sciences, as well as Andreea Baciu and Andreea Stoicescu, students at the Faculty of Philosophy of UB.

Among the activities organized for students we mention the debate “What does the CIVIS experience look like for UB students – Stories from Mobility”, organized on Thursday, December 9, 2021. The event was attended by students who participated in CIVIS mobilities and shared their experiences with the university community.

Last but not least, also on Thursday, December 9, 2021, the University of Bucharest organized a game-contest addressed to the university community. “What do we know about CIVIS”, which took place online, starting with 11:30, on the Kahoot platform, and challenged members of the UB community to answer questions about the Alliance selected in 2019 by the European Commission, in the first wave of European Universities.

Meetings with the civil society and with the ambassadors of the states with CIVIS universities and the representatives of the national public authorities, organized by UB within the Local CIVIS Days Bucharest 2021

Wednesday, December 8, 2021, was dedicated to creating better cohesion between academia, public authorities and civil society. Thus, the University of Bucharest organized both an online meeting of the academic community with local authorities and representatives of non-governmental organizations, as well as a meeting with the ambassadors of the states with CIVIS universities and representatives of national public authorities.

Held online at 10:00 am, the conference “Civil Society, UB and CIVIS” began with an official presentation of CIVIS activities and mission and focused on the development directions of the CIVIS Consortium and the relationship between the University of Bucharest and the community of which it is part.

Also on Wednesday, December 8, 2021, starting with 14:00, the University of Bucharest organized a meeting with the ambassadors of the states where CIVIS universities are located and the representatives of the national public authorities, in the “Ioan Mihăilescu” Amphitheater of the Rectorate.

The event began with a presentation of the European Civic University CIVIS, held by Associate Professor Sorin Costreie, PhD, Vice-Rector for University Networks and Public Relations and institutional coordinator of the CIVIS project.In the opening of the event, Professor Marian Preda, PhD, in his dual capacity as Rector of the University of Bucharest and former rotating president of CIVIS, stressed that “belonging to the large academic community of CIVIS is a huge opportunity for the University of Bucharest as an institution, but also for its students, professors and researchers.”

Subsequent, professor Romiță Iucu, PhD President of COAS of the University of Bucharest and Coordinator of the Subgroup for European Diploma within the FOR EU Group – European Commission, underlined the commitment of the University of Bucharest to meet the objectives proposed by CIVIS and to build a university of the future, an inclusive university, which will support the growth of young people’s access to education.

Among the participants in the event, Mrs. Ligia Deca, Presidential Adviser – Department of Education and Research – stated that European universities are an undeniable example of a new era of European cooperation in higher education. Thus, Ligia Deca remarks, “these European Universities, emerging from the idea of ​​establishing wide university networks, represent a foundation for the future of European cooperation in general. Despite the difficulties in administrative harmonization, these alliances embody the idea of ​​European unity that animates the entire European Union.”

Finally, based on the experiences of CIVIS, the University of Bucharest proposed to the university community a debate on the construction of the European higher education, from the perspective of European universities.

The conference addressed topics such as A vision of the University of Bucharest through the lens of the European university CIVIS, A Romania of knowledge and innovation, through an inclusive higher quality education, Correlation of the national education and research system with the European one. The needs of a new paradigm or The challenges of building a “European civic university” CIVIS. The event also discussed the topics of A University of the Future – a new governance model, a more flexible curriculum, the Romanian Universities in the alliances of the European universities. Inter-university cooperation for building a common vision, as well as How we co-create the European University with students.

CIVIS – a European University, ten university campuses, countless opportunities

European Civic University CIVIS is a European academic alliance that brings together ten of the most important and reputable universities in Europe: Aix-Marseille Université (France), National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greece), University of Bucharest (Romania), Université Libre de Brussels (Belgium), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain), Sapienza Università di Roma (Italy), Stockholm University (Sweden), Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen (Germany), University of Glasgow (UK) and Paris Lodron Universität Salzburg (Austria).

Selected by the European Commission among the top 17 European pilot universities, CIVIS brings together a community of over 480,000 students and 70,000 employees, of which 32,000 are professors and researchers.

More information on CIVIS can be accessed both on the official website, www.civis.eu, and on the website of the University of Bucharest.