On March 27, 2025, the STEAM Center within the Faculty of Economics, Engineering and Applied Sciences hosted the Fourth Workshop on Improving Internship and Developing STEAM Competences for Students of the Bachelor’s Degree Program in Business and Administration. This event was organized within the framework of the ERASMUS-EDU-CBHE project “Developing and improving STEAM competences of students and teachers for curricular innovation and sustainable development of higher education institutions and local businesses”.
During the FOLLOW-UP workshop, participants had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Cojocaru Lilian, Regional Manager for the Southern Region of the Republic of Moldova from OTP Bank. Mr. Cojocaru presented an overview of the role of banking institutions in supporting local economic development, emphasizing the importance of collaboration between academia and the financial sector in training future generations of specialists. His intervention included relevant information about:
- The financial services and products offered by OTP Bank for local entrepreneurs, SMEs and start-ups;
- The bank’s corporate social responsibility initiatives, focused on financial education, innovation and supporting young people;
- The economic challenges and opportunities specific to the Southern region of the Republic of Moldova;
- The need for financial and digital skills among young people who want to integrate into the labor market or launch entrepreneurial initiatives.
Mr. Cojocaru also encouraged students to actively engage in training projects and practical internships in the banking field, emphasizing OTP Bank’s openness to educational collaborations and joint initiatives with higher education institutions.
The second speaker at the workshop was the Project Manager of the Cahul City Hall – Ms. Nedelcu Ana, PhD, Associate Professor, who presented the main strategic directions of local development and ongoing initiatives, carried out through national and international funded projects. Ms. Nedelcu highlighted the efforts of the local public administration to support the sustainable development of the municipality by attracting external funds, inter-institutional partnerships and active community involvement. There was also a broad picture of how the local public administration collaborates with external partners, including from the European Union, to implement projects that contribute to the modernization of the infrastructure, economic development and improvement of the quality of life in the municipality, as well as the commitment of the Cahul City Hall to support educational initiatives and to create an environment favorable to the professional integration of young people in the community. Among the topics addressed were:
• Ongoing and completed projects in areas such as education, urban infrastructure, digitalization of public services and environmental protection;
• Sources of funding accessed (including European funds, cross-border grants and international partnerships);
• The role of young people and academia in the local development process and the importance of community involvement in identifying and prioritizing local needs;
• Opportunities for collaboration between public administration, universities and the business environment for the development of sustainable and innovative projects.
The event was attended by 1st year students from the Business and Administration and Accounting program, and teaching staff.
