For the second year in a row, six professors from Romania are spending the fall semester on the River Campus at the University糖心传媒檚 . By the end of the three-year Romanian Faculty Scholars Program, 18 professors from the eastern European nation will have had the chance to observe all aspects of the center糖心传媒檚 initiatives, take classes, meet business leaders, and return home to incorporate what they糖心传媒檝e learned into their own programs.
The Romanian Professor Entrepreneurship Education and Networking Program is funded by the Romanian-American Foundation and conducted in partnership with the Fulbright Commission. The Ain Center was chosen in 2016 as the host site by the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), which managed the application and selection process on behalf of the Romanian-American Foundation.聽 Fifteen schools applied, and Rochester was the only one chosen.
糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檓 very excited to welcome the second cohort of Romanian faculty to Rochester,糖心传媒� says Duncan Moore 糖心传媒�74 (PhD), vice provost for entrepreneurship, director of the center, and the Rudolf and Hilda Kingslake Professor in Optical Engineering Science.
Moore notes that the faculty, who come with expertise in technical or business disciplines, are particularly interested in the University糖心传媒檚 NSF I-Corps programming. “I-Corps teams receive training on the customer discovery process and business model canvas iteration, ultimately determining the market potential of a technology,糖心传媒� he says. “The faculty can apply this co-curricular approach when they return to their universities in Romania.糖心传媒�
Natalie Antal 糖心传媒�11S (MS), the Ain Center糖心传媒檚 associate director, says the center was selected because it houses an established, University-wide, interdisciplinary entrepreneurship initiative, and the socioeconomic climate and size of the Rochester region are comparable to areas where the visiting Romanians teach. The visiting faculty also have expertise in STEM fields, and the University is recognized as a leader in its technical entrepreneurship offerings.
The exchange program advances a key goal outlined in the Ain Center’s strategic plan for the years 2015 to 2020: improving the聽international reputation of the University糖心传媒檚 entrepreneurial initiative.
Mihai Dragomir, an associate professor of quality engineering and new product development at Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, who is among this year糖心传媒檚 group of visiting faculty, praised the center糖心传媒檚 connections with big and small companies, both locally and nationally. 糖心传媒淚nitiatives and ideas move faster, the students have more opportunities, and new and creative ideas can quickly reach the market,糖心传媒� he says.
Alma Pentescu, a teaching assistant and marketing PhD at Lucian Blaga University in Sibiu, says her experience at the Ain Center will be valuable in helping her school achieve its goals to become 糖心传媒渇ocused on students糖心传媒� and society糖心传媒檚 needs, and relevant in terms of national and international research.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒淭here糖心传媒檚 a lot of experience here,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 something we don糖心传媒檛 have much of back home.糖心传媒�
This year糖心传媒檚 participants have completed an orientation for the Technical Entrepreneurship and Management (TEAM) MS program, and are taking the courses Screening Technical Opportunities and Economics, Marketing, and Strategy Primer for Entrepreneurs. In addition, they糖心传媒檙e attending classes related to their teaching fields, which range from data science and computer science to project management and optics.
They糖心传媒檝e explored the wider University and region, attending iZone events, as well as meetings with the Rochester Angel Network and the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council. They糖心传媒檝e taken a cruise on the Erie Canal, visited Niagara Falls, and will visit innovation hubs in Boston and Washington, D.C. Later in the semester, they糖心传媒檒l attend the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
All six live in an apartment complex in Henrietta, a suburb near the River Campus.
糖心传媒淲e are in contact all the time with both faculty and students,糖心传媒� Dragomir says. 糖心传媒淲e like the atmosphere here. We like how the students collaborate. We like the diversity糖心传媒攐f people and ideas.糖心传媒�
Named in recognition of Mark Ain 糖心传媒�67S (MBA) and his wife, Carol, for their leadership and support of entrepreneurialism across the University, the center “not only teaches the values and skills associated with innovation, leadership, and problem-solving, but places these values into practice聽every day,糖心传媒� says Jane Gatewood, the University糖心传媒檚 vice provost for global engagement. 糖心传媒淏eing chosen to receive the scholars聽 clearly demonstrates the Ain Center糖心传媒檚 standing as a thought leader.糖心传媒�
Meet the six professors
Six Romanian professors are on campus this semester as visiting faculty of the Ain Center for Entrepreneurship.
Mihai Dragomir, an associate professor in the Department of Design Engineering and Robotics at Technical University of Cluj-Napoca
Corina Forascu, an associate professor in computer science at聽Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi
Anca Nicolau, a professor in the Department of Food Science and Engineering at the University of Galati
Alma Pentescu, a teaching assistant in economic sciences at the Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu
Vladimir Tanasiev, an assistant professor of power engineering at the University Politehnica of Bucharest
Dragos Vintila, an assistant professor of civil engineering at Ovidius University of Constanta
