The team of researchers of the University of Bucharest, prototype-tool to evaluate social perceptions regarding societal resilience
Representatives of the University of Bucharest (UB) attended, as special guests, the plenary meeting of the NATO Civil Protection Group, which took place at the NATO headquarters in Brussels between April 15th and 16th 2024.
The event reunited representatives of all NATO countries and partners and was dedicated to the evolutions and developments in the field of resilience at NATO level. The meeting fostered discussions about the agenda of the NATO Resilience Committee regarding the civil aspects in developing the concept of collective defense, as well as information sessions and discussions on the instruments and capacities to evaluate the shapes and aspects of resilience in strategic areas of interest.
The University of Bucharest was represented at the event by two members of the teaching staff of the Faculty of Business and Administration, professor Dragoș – Paul Aligică, PhD, and professor Elena Druică, PhD.
In the past four years, the University of Bucharest has unreeled, in collaboration with the Euro-Atlantic Resilience Centre, a research program on societal resilience in the front of a broad array of challenges, including crises, shocks and destabilizing evolutions, both internally, as well as externally. Coordinated by professor Dragoș – Paul Aligică, this innovative approach in the direction of applied research was considered by the authorities and experts of the transatlantic organization as having a special relevance for the NATO agenda and being of applied interest for all member and partner countries.
The participation of the University of Bucharest to the plenary meeting of NATO civil Protection Group was a moment that marked, once again, the international recognition of the quality of our research and our contribution to developing concepts and societal resilience applied analyses. In the past four years, in tight collaboration with the Euro-Atlantic Resilience Centre, we have developed an innovative line of applied research, which offers a significant contribution to the evaluation and improvement of the capacity for protection in front of risks and challenges, at national and international level, reflecting once again the practical applicability of the research undertaken by our experts for public policies and decisions, said the Rector of the University of Bucharest, professor Marian Preda, PhD.
Developed by the UB team of researchers, the prototype of an evaluation instrument of social perceptions concerning societal resilience was presented during the plenary session and was received with great interest by the participants, which demonstrated the success of the institutional collaboration between UB and national profile structures, such as the Euro-Atlantic Resilience Centre in Bucharest. The results presented in Brussels reflect the engagement and contribution of Romania in promoting strategic partnerships, thus consolidating the commitment of the University of Bucharest for high quality research.