Wednesday 21 October 2009

A doua ediţie a Conferinţei Studenţilor, Profesorilor şi Cercetătorilor Români din Marea Britanie Londra

        

A doua ediţie a Conferinţei Studenţilor, Profesorilor şi Cercetătorilor Români din Marea Britanie Londra, 24 octombrie 2009
       La 24 octombrie 2009, Ambasada României la Londra va găzdui, la sediul din 1 Belgrave Square SW1X 8PH, între orele 10.30 – 16.30, a doua ediţie a Conferinţei studenţilor, profesorilor şi cercetătorilor  români din Marea Britanie
     Pentru pregătirea Conferinţei a fost constituit un comitet de organizare din care fac parte studenţi, cercetători şi profesori români de la universităţile Canterbury Christ Church, Kent, London School of Economics, London Metropolitan, Reading şi Westminster precum şi reprezentanţi ai celor trei instituţii care patronează evenimentul: Ambasada României în Marea Britanie, Fundaţia Raţiu şi Camera de Comerţ Britanică Română. 
   Conferinţa va debuta cu o sesiune de prezentări susţinute de patru invitaţi de onoare, reprezentanţi ai sectoarelor de afaceri, academic, non-guvernamental şi mass media din România şi Marea Britanie. Dezbaterile vor continua în cadrul unor grupuri de lucru care vor aborda următoarele teme: România şi criza financiară; promovarea limbii române şi a cercetării româneşti în Marea Britanie; programe pentru promovarea tineretului în România şi în Marea Britanie;  Prezentarea Ligii Studenţilor Români din Străinătate.

Mai multe informaţii: www.rostudent.co.uk






Monday 21 September 2009

The 6th International Conference on the MANAGEMENT OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES




The 6th International Conference on the MANAGEMENT OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES that took
place in Alexandroupolis, Greece, on 3rd-5th of September 2009 was jointly organized by Gheorghe Asachi
Technical University of Iasi, Romania through CETEX Department, with the Democritus University of
Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece, supported by CEEMAN – Central and East European Management
Development Association, Slovenia.
Already a tradition of high level international scientific events, like the other previous editions, the
conference brought together representatives of various state and local governmental institutions,
universities, small business, industry associations from all over the world to debate and exchange
experiences and important issues related to the management of technological change and to provide a
good opportunity for networking for all these groups that promote and foster the process of technological
change.
The conference took place in the Conference Center of TRAKI PALACE HOTEL ***** from
Alexandroupolis. Chairmen, distinguished professors from prestigious universities from all over the world
were leading the discussions from the 32 sessions, simultaneous held in 4 rooms.


In Openning Session important figures from academic and business field had some very interesting
speaches, like:
- President of CEEMAN, Danica Purg, represented by Prof. Ovidiu Nicolescu, PhD.
- greek local authorities representatives and members of Greek Parliament;
- rectors of the two organising universities, represented by Prof. Athanasios Karabinis, PhD, Vice-
Rector of Democritus University of Thrace, GR and Prof. Ion Giurma, PhD, Rector of “Gh. Asachi” Technical
University of Iasi, RO, represented by Assoc. Prof. Dorin COTIUSCA-ZAUCA, PhD, Dean of Hydro, Geodesy
and Environmental Engineering Faculty.
Between conference sessions we had the honor to listen the speeches of distinguished keynote
speakers, as:
Milenko Gudic – “Networking to Support Development and Change in Management Education in
CEE”
Ovidiu Nicolescu – “Strategically Actions for SMEs sector in Central and Eastern Europe within crisis
context”


George Minopoulos – “The role of higher education in the progress and development of Thrace”
Michael Miles – “The Hr Professional As Business Partner: Roadblocks And Dilemmas
Vassilios Tourassis – “Managing Change: Innovation, Technology and the Role of Education.”
Eckhard Schollmeyer - “Nanotechnology For Textile Materials”
Constantinos Agorastos – “Stochastic Approach to Risk Management Operations”
On 3rdof September 2009, after the official Oppening Session of the Conference, it was organized a
coktail around the pool on TRAKI Palace Hotel’s terrace. On this occasion the participants could change
opinions in an informal framework



On 4thof September 2009, after conference sessions ended, we could enjoy Gala Dinner in a
magnificent atmosphere at Ag Gyorgy Greek Taverna, few km away from Alexandroupolis, where
participants could feel the Greek spirit, by tasting traditional food, wine and music.



Based on lessons learned from previous conferences we selected very carefully every conference
theme in order to help organizations and people to identify and respond to technological changes trends
and to rethink the way they do business. Thus, the main areas of interest proposed for the submission of
the papers, covered the following sections:
1. Quality Management as a Driver for Technological Changes
2. Technology Transfer, Marketing and Commercialization
3. Navigating Complexity: the Dynamics of Organizational Change
4. Organizational Culture, Innovation and Technological Change
5. Implementing Technological Changes
6. Tools for Technological Changes
7. Sustainable Development trough Technological Change
8. Organizational Culture and the Management of Technological Changes
9. Change Technological Management in Education
10. Organizational Change Management
11. Management of Technological Innovation
12. Quality in Management of Technological Transformation



The Proceedings of the conference included the full text of papers. The 6th Conference active
participants came from different parts of Europe (Albany, Austria, Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Latvia, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Moldova Republic, Serbia) and also from UK, USA,
Algeria, Canada, Israel, Russia, Tanzania, Turkey.
The 392 published final papers, signed by 300 main authors, are the result of a laborious process of
selection and evaluation by an International Evaluation Committe, which selected from 500 submitted
works (6% of the papers were rejected, 24% accepted with recommendations and 60% accepted as it is).
The International Evaluation Committe was composed of 75 evalators from 15 contries, distingueshed
proffesors from prestigious universities, of wich approximately 50% from outside Romania.
We are convinced that the papers published in conference proceedings contribute significantly to
knowledge transfer in Management of Technological Changes and the participants will implement some of
the principles and activities in their own institutions.
Finally, we would like to thank to all participants who shared their expertise with colleagues at the
conference. We also hope that papers included in these two volumes will give new ideas to the readers in
their quest to solve various problems.
The conference would not be possible without the joint effort of the organizing committee
(Democritus University of Thrace and Technical University of Iasi) and evaluating committee, to whom we
are deeply grateful.


The organizers express their gratitude to all conference sponsors for their support, which made this
conference possible. We are optimistic and we wish this would represent a productive and enjoyable visit
to Alexandroupolis, Greece. We do hope that will keep the tradition and the conference will continue to be organized every other year in the future.


Prof. COSTACHE RUSU, PhD
MTC 2009 Editor

The Organizing Committee of The 6th International Conference Management of Technological Changes
Gh. Asachi Technical University of Iasi
Center for Continuing Education and Training - CETEX
53 Dimitrie Mangeron Blvd.
IASI - 700050, ROMANIA
Tel./ Fax: +00 40 232 213 708

Monday 10 August 2009

INVITATIE LA CONGRESUL CADRELOR DIDACTICE


COMUNICAT DE PRESA

INVITATIE LA CONGRESUL CADRELOR DIDACTICE
In 27-30 august 2009, in Bucuresti, se va desfasura sub patronajul MECI un Congres al Cadrelor Didactice din Romania care are ca principal scop dezbaterea proiectelor legislative din domeniul educatiei. La eveniment sunt asteptati si inalti oficiali romani, personalitati ale stiintelor educatiei, reprezentanti ai sindicatelor, asociatiilor parintilor, studentilor si elevilor. Vor participa si 62 de cadre didactice de peste hotare.
Participantilor din tara li se asigura cazare gratuita si masa la pret de cantina. Obtinandu-se o sala (Sala de festivitati din Complexul Leu- str Iuliu Maniu nr 1-3) cu o capacitate mai mare decat cea initiala, pe langa 600 de participanti din toate judetele tarii deja inscrisi, se mai pot inscrie si alti doritori la tel 0723259290 sau 0746787740 sau vioreldolha@yahoo.com . Pentru AGIRo, care a organizat si anul trecul la Palatul Parlamentului o asemenea actiune, acest congres este al XXX-lea, primul avand loc in 1898.
Viorel Dolha
presedintele Asociatiei Generale a Invatatorilor din Romania

Monday 13 July 2009

REBE Call for Papers

*******************************************************************
ROMANIAN ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS REVIEW
www.rebe.rau.ro
CALL FOR PAPERS
Special Issue on: “Understanding the economic crisis”
REBE is now classified CNCSIS B+ and indexed in IDEAS/RePEc database.
The Editor would like to invite submissions for the 4th volume No. 3, Fall 2009 of the (REBE).
This issue of Romanian Economic and Business Review is devoted to exploring the causes and impact of the current financial crisis. We are interested in research that offers explanations and theoretical insights for the understanding of the factors that contributed to the on-going economic turmoil. We also are open to various types of methodologies, including but not limited to econometric modeling, experimental analysis, analytical modeling, case studies, and surveys. Research articles that examine the impact of public policies are appropriate too. Papers that focus on Romanian economy, business environment and public policy are particularly encouraged.

Notes for Prospective Authors

Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. Manuscripts should not exceed 8,000 words and must conform to the REBE’s style requirements (see the “Instructions for authors” in the attachment). Each author can submit only one paper, as author or coauthor.
All papers will first be considered by the Editor for general relevance, originality and significance. If accepted for review, papers will then be subject to double blind peer review.

Important Dates

Deadline for Submission: July 30, 2009
Notification of acceptance: September 1st , 2009
Payment of publication fee: September 30, 2009
Submission of receipt confirming the fee payment: September 30, 2009
Expected Publication Date: November, 2009.

Fee

The REBE charges a 200 RON submission fee for all published articles. Only one submission fee is necessary for each single paper submitted (even if there are multiple authors). After publication, authors will receive a copy of the journal.
The fee will be paid in the account IBAN: RO02BRDE410SV36509604100 open at the BRD Academiei, Agentia Universitatea Romano-Americana, on the UNIVERSITATEA ROMANO-AMERICANA (CF: 9081408), mentioning “Nume _Prenume (first author) – taxa publicare “REBE”.

Submission

You may send your paper in the form of an MS Word file attached to an e-mail to the editor:

Conf. univ. dr. Bogdan Glavan
Romanian American University
Bulevardul Expozitiei nr. 1B, sector 1, Bucuresti

Editor, Romanian Economic and Business Review
E-mail: bogdan.n.glavan@gmail.com

Instructions for authors.doc

TITLE OF THE PAPER – Times New Roman, 12, size 12, uppercase, bold, centred
1 blank line TNR 12 pt
NameOfAuthor1 SurnameOfAuthor1, Name2 Surname2 and Name3 Surname3 (TNR 12pt)
Institution1Address, Institution2Address (TNR 12 pt)
E-mail1, E-mail2 (TNR 12 pt)
1 blank line TNR 12 pt
Abstract: (TNR 12 pt, alignment left, Indentation None)
Text of the abstract: The abstract should summarize the content and conclusions of the paper in less 200 words. It should not contain any references or displayed equations. Typeset the abstract in 10 points, italic, justify alignment.
1 blank line TNR 12 pt
Keywords: keyword 1, keyword 2, …keyword 6 (TNR 12 pt., italic)
1 blank line TNR 12 pt
JEL Classification:
1 blank line TNR 12 pt
Introduction (TNR 12 pt, bold, alignment left, Indentation None)
Text of the introduction. No more than 15 lines. 12 points, TNR, justify.
Main text (TNR 12 pt, bold, alignment left, Indentation None)
Authors are encouraged to have their contribution checked for grammar. The text is to be typeset in 12 pt Times New Roman, single spaced, align justify.
Subtitles (TNR 12 pt., bold, alignment left, Indentation None)
Conclusion (TNR 12 pt, bold, alignment left, Indentation None)
Conclusion text, TNR 12 pt, Alignment Justify, Indentation First line 1 cm.
References (TNR 12 pt, bold, alignment left, Indentation First line 1 cm)
References are to be listed in alphabetical order and cited in the text e.g. [Davenport, (2002)]. Typeset references in TNR 12 pt, Alignment Justify. Follow the style shown in these examples:
Author. year. Title of the book, Publisher.
Author. year. “Title of the paper”. Title of the journal, vol.(no.): pp.
Author. year. “Title of the paper”. In Title of the proceedings, Publisher, Location, pp.

Sample:

Sachs, Jeffrey. 2005. The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Times. New
York: Penguin Press.
Easterly, William. 2006. “Planners versus Searchers in Foreign Aid”. Asian Development
Review 23(1): 1-35.
Hoff, Karla and Stiglitz, Joseph. 2001. “Modern Economic Theory and Development”. In
Meier, G. and Stiglitz, J. E. eds. Frontiers of Development Economics: The
Future in Perspective. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 389-485.

Scoala de Vara a Educatiei de Excelenta-Lugoj, 12-20 iulie : Inedit REVISTA EXCELENTA- Maestria baletului: magie si dans

*******************************************************************

Un mesaj în atenţia tuturor membrilor Scoala de Vara a Educatiei de Excelenta-Lugoj, 12-20 iulie

Cu ocazia lansarii proiectului primului Centru pentru Dezvoltarea si Descoperirea Talentelor si Inteligentei, 16 aprilie, seara, publicul prezent a gustat din fascinatia dansului, urmarind pe scena Aulei Bibliotecii Academiei, transformata intr-un palat al baletului, un spectacol de vis. Protagonisti au fost balerini faimosi, reprezentanti ai celei mai bune scoli de balet, copiii din Bucuresti, reprezentati de profesionista balerina Svetlana Zotina. Cu aceasta ocazie, Revista Excelenta ii felicita, acordandu-le titlul onorific: membrii de excelenta ai "Revistei Excelenta".

Detalii: http://www.revistaexcelenta.ro/?p=322

Kristof Lajos

Vizitează Scoala de Vara a Educatiei de Excelenta-Lugoj, 12-20 iulie la : http://kristoflajos.ning.com

Pentru a verifica emailurile primite pe Scoala de Vara a Educatiei de Excelenta-Lugoj, 12-20 iulie, mergi la :
http://kristoflajos.ning.com/profiles/profile/emailSettings

Ionela Flood
PhD Student ASE Bucharest
Phone Number: 00 44 (0)20 77 36 86 68
Skype: ionelaflood
Mobile 00 44 (0)78 16 27 52 40
Email:ionela@talktalk.net
www.romanca.co.uk

Scoala de Vara a Educatiei de Excelenta-Lugoj, 12-20 iulie

**************************************************************

Un mesaj în atenţia tuturor membrilor Scoala de Vara a Educatiei de Excelenta-Lugoj, 12-20 iulie

IRSCA Gifted Education a lansat inscrierile la a 3-a editie a Şcolii de Vară a Educaţiei de Excelenţă 12-20 iulie 2009 Lugoj cu tema: EDUCAŢIA EXCELENŢEI PENTRU O SOCIETATE CENTRATĂ PE COPIL. Misiunea scolii este profesionalizarea în domeniul educaţiei de excelenţă, a educatiei diferentiate axata pe descoperirea si dezvoltarea potentialului copiilor. „Prin gifted education se respecta natura divina a omului si nu omul-marfa, omul de consum. Noi promovam omul creator, capabil sa-si dezvolte potentialele." Inscrie-te pe www.supradotati.ro/scoala

Vizitează Scoala de Vara a Educatiei de Excelenta-Lugoj, 12-20 iulie la : http://kristoflajos.ning.com

Pentru a verifica emailurile primite pe Scoala de Vara a Educatiei de Excelenta-Lugoj, 12-20 iulie, mergi la :
http://kristoflajos.ning.com/profiles/profile/emailSettings

Ionela Flood
PhD Student ASE Bucharest
Phone Number: 00 44 (0)20 77 36 86 68
Skype: ionelaflood
Mobile 00 44 (0)78 16 27 52 40
Email:ionela@talktalk.net
www.romanca.co.uk

Tuesday 23 June 2009

Shaping the future: skills forecasts as a tool for policy-making

Cedefop’s forecasts on the demand (2008) and supply (2009) of skills are intended to provide information on trends. This year’s study focused on which skills people will be offering in the next ten years.
Matching skills and jobs: anticipating needs in challenging times was the first Agora conference that made use of Internet live streaming. The recorded videos of the main speeches and discussions are available online now.



Skills are where employment and education meet. Apart from the skill needs project which includes the forecasts, Cedefop is working on several related issues, such as the recognition and validation of non-formal and informal learning; lifelong guidance; and on tools such as the European Qualifications Framework and the European Credit System for VET, among others.

Cedefop’s Agora conferences aim, among other things, to bring the worlds of education and employment closer together – a requirement for integrated and successful policy-making.
Link to the recorded conference videosTo discuss the results of the new Cedefop publication "Future skill supply in Europe: Medium-term forecast up to 2020: synthesis report"1 and how they relate to the Commission’s initiative, New Skills for New Jobs2, Cedefop recently held a conference, in cooperation with the European Commission, entitled: Matching skills and jobs: anticipating needs in challenging times3 . The aim of the conference was not just to disseminate the results of the skills supply study, but also to debate how to best identify skill mismatches, how to achieve the most appropriate partnerships between education and employers, and generally to draw attention to the implications of the forecasting exercises for policy-making in several related social fields.

The main conclusion was clear: EU-wide forecasts, despite their inevitable shortcomings (which are mainly due to unequal data collection) are a boon to policy-makers. But they need to be complemented by more qualitative and sector-based research. In fact, Cedefop is already working on several such projects, such as on anticipating skill needs in specific sectors, employer surveys, etc.

The important thing, however, is not the trends themselves, but how to manage them – or, to put it differently, how to manage risk. Once researchers have forecast the future, policy-makers must decide what to do about it.

As it turned out, the conference was a good illustration of how ostensibly ‘dry’ and technical macroeconomic forecasts can lead to heated debate – and how they can be quoted to support competing arguments for policy-making.


After Lisbon: the policy challenges ahead

Lisbon is almost over. With only one year to go, there is general agreement that the process has served a useful purpose in pointing Europe in the right direction. Despite the considerable progress achieved, however, the main Lisbon goal has not been reached. The heady ambitions of 2000, when the world economy was still in the glow of the dot-com boom, did not lead Europe to become the “most competitive knowledge-based economy in the world’ – to create and attract the world’s most innovative companies.

Europe is now plunged into an economic crisis which requires ever closer cooperation between all our countries, precisely under circumstances that conspire to make everyone put narrow national or regional interests first. Meanwhile, the time bomb of demographic decline is putting age groups in competition for the same jobs. European policy-makers will need to make some difficult choices, especially as the crisis has placed public financing under severe strain. So what should policy-makers be paying attention to?




1. What’s maternity leave got to do with the skills supply?

One of the major findings of the Cedefop’s skills supply forecast concerns the rising qualifications of women4 . In 2020, more women will have higher degrees than men, as younger women increasingly get higher qualifications. This means that the still considerable gender imbalances of the EU labour market must be corrected if the skills and talents of women are not to be wasted.

More generally, labour market policies in Europe must dovetail with social policies that allow more women into the workforce. This means, primarily, better childcare provisions in private and public sectors, better opportunities for career breaks, and more fathers’ rights. The demographic and economic data shows that the rising participation of women in the labour market is as important for the future European economy as a higher participation of older age groups.


2. What the green economy means for skills

The greening of the economy means not just jobs for the environmental sector itself. As in the IT revolution, the real impact will be on jobs that will have to adopt a new modus operandi to take a lower-carbon economy into account. This will affect all qualification levels, and must now be taken into account in curricula across many sectors. Innovation is not entirely related to the environment sector, but certainly this sector will generate much innovation and creativity in the next few years. Generic skills – communication, problem-solving, entrepreneurship – may be the key to a better match between skills and jobs and to better integrating the environmental revolution – much as they were boosted by the IT revolution.

Here too, the current downturn is playing a role: companies see efficiency (including in energy use) and innovation as strategies to weather the crisis. Policy-makers have a very significant role to play in developing environmental skills. Regulation and legislation - whether for cleaning operations, preventative measures, green infrastructure, carbon footprinting or research and development - are major drivers of the low-carbon economy.


3. Polarisation: natural development or social choice?

One phenomenon that has been observed over decades runs counter to the continued provision of more medium-level skills and qualifications, which was established by the skill supply forecast: the polarisation of the job market. According to one argument, technological and organisational change has been largely responsible for falling jobs in the middle wage/skill level. Jobs at both ends of the spectrum (measured by wage, not skill level) have one thing in common: they involve non-routine tasks.

But this is only part of the story. Designating providers of non-routine social services such as cleaning, childcare and care of older people “low-skilled” and paying them little is not an inevitable development but a choice our society is making. Many low-paid service workers, especially migrants, do have qualifications, but these remain unrecognised in the present system. Furthermore, their tasks are important enough to warrant more training and higher status. This too is an issue that policy-makers should tackle, in the interests of upskilling, social cohesion and equity.


4. Partnerships, a user’s guide

The New Skills for New Jobs initiative, among other recent policy papers, urges closer and more cohesive partnerships between the education and employment worlds. In the past two months, both the European Commission and the Council have encouraged universities to work more closely with business5. Similarly, there was consensus among conference participants that partnerships between business and all levels of education, particular vocational education, are of vital importance if we are to better match people with jobs. But as usual, the devil is in the details: how exactly should this work? How involved should the social partners be in, for instance, establishing curricula?

There are encouraging signs of cooperation between universities and enterprises, which mostly take the form of student placements and career mediation. There have also been projects focusing on developing entrepreneurship, which is not yet defined as a generic skill or included in curricula.

Nevertheless, we have some way to go before the prevailing mentality changes. In some countries, at least, universities need to stop thinking that working closely with business is a form of intellectual compromise. In such cases, it is well to recall that the reduction of public investment caused by the crisis is here to stay. Schools, businesses and individuals will need to work together to finance the workforce Europe needs.


5. The overeducation debate

The frequent references to overeducation sparked controversy. Many among the audience objected that that it is not possible to be overeducated, even though the term is used quite freely by many economists. It is, however, possible – even likely, in today’s economy – to be overqualified or overskilled: that is to say, to do a job that does not require the formal qualifications one possesses, or what is worse, according to some research, to have skills that are not used at work, for extended periods in one’s career.

But could it be that a too-highly qualified workforce is actually a good thing? Is having just the ‘right” skills for available jobs too limited? Does ‘overeducation’, far from being a problem, actually contribute to a more innovative economy?

Several participants objected to this idea: formal qualifications, they argued, are not what make people innovative or creative. To claim otherwise may be simply a matter of social bias in favour of professions that require university degrees. But equally importantly, higher qualifications do not come free. They represent an investment of time and funds – public and private – which, for maximum social impact should achieve the highest possible returns. This is what matching skills and jobs is all about.

Perhaps what we need to look at is not only formal qualifications, but most importantly, the content of the qualifications and skills people have. To borrow a phrase from the New Skills for New Jobs communication, the “composition of skills” that the European education and training systems produce should be conducive to an innovation-based economy.

In any case, the future of the labour market depends on the ability of the education system to respond to new needs. And that, in turn, will depend on the availability and skills of the teachers and trainers themselves – of whom, in some countries, there is even today a considerable shortage.

http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/etv/news/default.asp?idnews=4579

Information received from Cedefop
European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, established in 1975 (2), is a European agency that helps promote and develop vocational education and training in the European Union (EU). It is the EU's reference centre for vocational education and training.