☰ Tempus Phare - Description of the project

Creation of an excellence center for consultancy and continuing education in lighting field concerned with the job market necessity which follows the objective to support the process of university reform at management level with a view to develop managerial and administrative skills was the milestone of this project, taking into consideration: The project was focused on continuing education, market research, consulting services in the lighting field, and dissemination of the achievements of the programme and of the results achieved through other European projects among Romanian education and economy institutions.

1. Objectives

The main objective of the project was the development of the Lighting Engineering Centre - LEC - consultancy and continuing education, a centre of excellency in lighting field in North-Western Romania in direct link with the needs of the labour market. The specific objectives reveal the above aim:
  1. To support graduates to have contacts with enterprises and offices with lighting activities;
  2. To offer continuous formation for employees with lighting activities;
  3. To disseminate the results achieved through other European projects and programmes.
The creation and the activity of the LEC - [from the Tempus priorities for Romania]:

2. Strategy Plan

The Strategy Plan of the LEC project included the following activities developed to obtain the achievement of its objectives:
  1. Short visits of the EU partner staff to the Partner country (RO) for conferences or seminars and a reciprocal knowledge of the state of the facts in lighting field;
  2. Short visits of the Partner country (RO) staff to the EU partners for documentation, seminars, co-authoring of a lighting guide, improvement of curricula;
  3. Conferences and seminars, work-shop and round-table;
  4. Promotion the Student Contests in the benefit of well-designed lighting installations;
  5. Printing of the Ingineria Iluminatului (Lighting Engineering) review, the first Romanian review in the lighting field;
  6. Printing of the Guide of the Lighting Engineering Center;
  7. Presentation of the Lighting Engineering Center activity and results on Info - booklets;
  8. Development of an existing Computer Lighting programme with two specific modules;
  9. Collection and processing the data on capabilities of the undergraduate students interested in the lighting area and the personnel policies, vacancies and abilities and competencies required to engineering graduates by enterprises, offices and other organisations with lighting activities;
  10. Establishment of a permanent link between the university - UTCN - and the lighting job market in order to know the specific needs for training and curricula improvement, to encourage direct contacts for obtaining sponsorship of graduates;
  11. Give qualified advice for students in planning their careers and finding jobs;
  12. Support the continuing education of the employees on their better professional integration;
  13. Participation on the job-shops for engineering graduates;
  14. Settlement of the Internet connection and the Tempus project web page;
  15. Order the equipment and books;
  16. Organisation of the co-ordinating and monitoring meetings.
The LEC program answered also to the 2000 Strategy Plan of the UTCN University Senate - (RO) which includes the following aspects:
  1. The education activity is oriented through the present and future needs of Romanian economy, developing the links with the economical sector;
  2. The permanent improvement of modalities and system of education, organising new forms of higher-education, short postgraduate courses, continuing education system;
  3. The organisation of centres to offer consulting for undergraduates to find jobs suitable to their abilities and competencies;
  4. The development of a modern computer system by creating our own specific software;
  5. The creation of centres of excellency for developing knowledge transfer, offering new courses tailored to meet the real needs of the economic and/or public sector.

3. Activities

The CMEs Project entitled Lighting Engineering Centre - LEC was approved initially for a duration of one year, from 15 December 1998 until 14 December 1999. The Tempus board decided an extension of the contractual period until 14 March 2000, because of an unexpected delay in the payment of the grant.

(1) Short visits of the EU partner staff to the Partner country (RO) for conferences or seminars and a reciprocal knowledge of the state of the facts in lighting field.

Professor Liisa HALONEN and Dr. Eino TETRI - Helsinki University of Technology - HUT - Finland visited the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca - UTCN (RO). They participated at the Symposium of Modern Science and Energy and the Workshop of the Lighting Engineering Center - May 20, 1999 and presented the conferences "Lighting Research and Education in Helsinki University of Technology", respectively "Lamp Life tests in HUT"

Professor Carlos SIERRA GARRIGA and Researcher Eduardo R. MANZANO - Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya - UPC - Spain visited the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca - UTCN (RO). They participated at the International Symposium on Energy Efficiency and the Round-Table "Energy Efficiency in Lighting" of the Lighting Engineering Center - October 13, 1999 and performed the teaching courses entitled "I+D en luminotecnica. La Universidad al servicio del alumbrado", respectively "Considerations for urban lighting management evaluation" at the Department of Building Services, UTCN.

(2) Short visits of the Partner country (RO) staff to the EU partners for documentation, seminars, co-authoring the lighting guide, improvement of curricula.

The strategy for staff selection was based on the usual criteria established by the UTCN (RO) and UBB (RO): project necessities, main scientific interest, professional qualification, duties assigned within the department, knowledge level of a foreign language, scheduled programme of activities. The Selection Commission of the project decided the staff involved in this mobility action, based on their CV's and interviews with the competitors. A report was elaborated by each mobility beneficiary, describing their achievements to the fulfilment of the project objectives. The staff involved in these missions performed seminaries "New Trends in Modern Lighting Systems" - Professors Mircea CHINDRIS and Silviu STEFANESCU at the Helsinki University of Technology - HUT - (SF), "Lighting Quality Evaluation" - Professor Florin POP at the Universita degli Studi "Federico II" di Napoli - (I), participated at some meetings related to the Job Recruitment and Career Opportunities at the Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya - UPC - (E) and the Universita degli Studi "Federico II" di Napoli - (I) and joined the daily activity at the host department or laboratory.

(3) Conferences, seminars, work-shop and round-table organised by the UTCN (RO), Philips Romania (RO), S.C. ELECTRICA (RO) and Energobit Schreder Lighting (RO).

and many others, specified in the activity programmes.

(4) Promotion the Student Contests in the benefit of well-designed lighting installations.

Outcome: Adaptation of student preparation to the design offices requirements. Creating a team spirit of competition.

The contest was developed in two stages, July 1999 and March 2000. The student teams were constituted by engineering undergraduates - 6 competitors on the first stage, 9 competitors on the second stage, supervised by an academic staff. The projects submitted for the competitors targeted specific topics of the commercial lighting, administrative or cultural lighting, public lighting, architectural lighting.

A Student Contest Commission analysed the results of the LEC Student Contests and decided for the classification based on the interview with the authors and their reports. The first three projects were distinguished with Diplomas and prizes - lighting stuff (table lamps with halogen bulb, compact fluorescent lamps and lanterns).

(5) Printing of the Ingineria Iluminatului (Lighting Engineering) review, the first Romanian review in the lighting field.

Outcome: The best form of the dissemination through professionals - students, graduates, employees, designers and architects - of the specific lighting topics - technologies, design and application techniques, computer programmes, energy saving measures, trends in education and research, new European Union's policies.

Four issues were printed - 20 May 1999, 20 November 1999, 1 February 2000, 14 March 2000, covering a large area of topics, on 300 pages, 48 articles and 68 authors. The articles were printed in English, Spanish (with Romanian translation) and Romanian languages.

The Lighting Engineering review is very favourably received on the lighting market and university field, and its continuing printing is a real necessity.

(6) Printing of the Lighting Engineering Center Guide.

Outcome: To assess energy-efficient lighting strategies. It is intended for use by all people involved in lighting programs - utility personnel, electrical engineers, architects, lighting manufacturers' representatives, and other lighting professionals.

Lighting Engineering Centre Guide consists of four parts (about 120 pages each of them) that provides an overview of specific lighting technologies and design application techniques utilising energy-efficient lighting practice. The general co-ordinator of LEC Guide is Professor Florin POP - UTCN (RO). Each part is co-authored by mutual agreement of partners. Its content is referring to "Lighting Fundamentals & Lighting Equipment", "Interior Lighting", "Public Lighting" and "Energy Management & Lighting Economics".

(7) Presentation of the Lighting Engineering Center activity and results on Info - booklets.

Outcome: Three LEC Info issues were delivered to all partners and disseminated to lighting market.

A five monthly issue (May 1999, December 1999, March 2000), LEC Info booklets presented the programme, activity and results of the centre. The LEC information and lighting useful data were summarised and disseminated through graduates, employees and lighting market.

(8) Development of an existing Computer Lighting programme with two specific modules.

Outcome: A feasible computer lighting tool, very useful for didactic purposes

Lighting Engineering Centre Software is an accomplishment of the UTCN (RO) - Professor Florin POP - and UBB (RO) - Associate Professor Horia F. POP - own computer program elaborated for didactic purposes. Two modules were developed - Day-lighting Calculations and Energy Management & Lighting Economics to achieve a complete Computer Program for Lighting Systems Design - LSD. The computer programme is presented in the Lighting Engineering review, fourth issue.

(9) Collection and processing the data on capabilities of the undergraduate students interested in the lighting area and the personnel policies, vacancies and abilities and competencies required to engineering graduates by enterprises, offices and other organisations with lighting activities.

Outcome: A registered information for both parts of a job market - job seekers and prospective employers. Favoured graduate placement in public and private companies.

Lighting Engineering Centre Database consists both of database of students interested in lighting area, and of Romanian lighting market - companies, agencies, dealers, contractors, manufacturers. Information related to the professional capabilities and skills of about 120 undergraduates students from four years of study and two university engineering specialisation - Building Services and Electro-energetics are filed in an electronic format. Members of Romanian partners collected and processed data from the lighting market situated in the North - Western economic region.

The LEC Database is available on request, in an electronic format.

(10) Establishment of a permanent link between the university - UTCN - and the lighting job market in order to know the specific needs for training and curricula improvement, to encourage direct contacts for obtaining sponsorship of graduates.

Outcome: The presentation of the LEC objectives and activities and continuous collection of information related to the lighting market.

A permanent link between the Technical University and the lighting market in the LEC project area was established during the LEC seminars, workshop and round-table organized at Cluj-Napoca - Romania. A better reciprocal knowledge was also promoted by direct contacts with the local authorities, designers, contractors, dealers and manufacturers from the neighbouring counties during short internal missions of the LEC staff.

The informative meetings were hosted on the local headquarters of the County Councils, City Councils, S.C. ELECTRICA - Distribution branches, civil engineering societies, design and commercial societies. Many people, specialists in lighting participated at these meetings. All specific information were included in the LEC Database related to the Romanian lighting market, filed in an electronic format.

(11) Give qualified advice for students in planning their careers and finding jobs.

Members of the Partner country (RO) university staff had many informal meetings with their students, after the accomplishment of their mobility actions. The promotion of specific activity dedicated to the entrance of the graduates on the job market and employment careers were performed on each LEC conference and/or seminar.

The LEC staff has good connection with the local branch of the student organization BEST - Board of European Students of Technology, and have participated at the activity of the Career Guidance and Integration Office from the Technical University.

Associate Professor Horia F. POP - "Babes-Bolyai" University (RO) joined the International BEST Symposium organized by local BEST group of the UTCN on 25-28 May 1999 on the round-table "Evaluation of learning new challenges".

(12) Support the continuing education of the employees on their better professional integration.

The conferences and scientific presentations on the LEC seminars, workshop and round-table offered the new technical information, trends and needs of the lighting market, promotion of the energy saving measures and many other topics in light and lighting field. A large diversity of the participants denoted their interest in obtaining a continuing education following this specific form - LEC meetings.

A postgraduate course entitled "Management of the Electric Installations" was organized at the Department of Building Services of the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca (RO), under the co-ordination of Professor Florin POP - UTCN (RO), in connection with the LEC project, between 18 January - 4 March, 1999.

Professor Florin POP - UTCN (RO) performed invited teaching courses at the Postgraduate School on Lighting at the Civil Engineering University Bucharest - 3-4 March, 1999 and at the "Energy Management on the Market Economy" course at the Regional Center for Continuing Education on Energetic Field of the Faculty of Electrotechnics, the University of Craiova, 18 April, 2000.

(13) Participation on the job-shops for engineering graduates.

The Job-shop for engineering graduates are organised at the Technical University - UTCN (RO) on April each year. Due to the lack of the funds at the beginning of the programmes, there was not possible to join effectively the Job-shop organized on April 1999. The members of the university staff of the LEC project advised their students for a better presentation on their interviews and looking for a job. The general results were not very good on this edition, because of many economic reasons.

A very interesting action was organized by the university consortium: the first edition of the University 1999 Forum, between 19-23 October, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. On the Technical University - UTCN - (RO) - stand was also presented the LEC programme and activity.

(14) Settlement of the Internet connection and the Tempus project web page.

Outcome: Use of an invaluable mean of modern information and education system. Joining other lighting groups on the Internet. World Wide Web homepage is a modern mean to present through Internet our research, programme and co-operation availability.

Lighting Engineering Centre Internet was necessary to have direct access to the information throughout the world. The Internet computer account was obtained at the begin of the CMEs programme.

Lighting Engineering Centre Web is the electronic presentation of the LEC. It offers information about the LEC programme. Until today the LEC web page had more then 170 visitors.

(15) Order the equipment and books.

Outcome: Obtaining a modern office and scientific equipment and a documentary base for the essential scientific and technical information.

Activity: According to the Tempus Office's rules concerning the equipment acquisition, the necessary arrangements were be done for obtaining offers and for using the best proposal to order the equipment. List of publication was established in accordance with the project needs and the market offer. It included recent lighting books.

(16) Organisation of the co-ordinating and monitoring meetings.

Outcome: To provide the overall administrative support for the project, ensure quality, monitor integration activity within the project and take all necessary actions for a fruitful use of results.

The tasks incorporated all activities related with the administrative and technical management of the project, the organisation of meetings and events, the promotion and dissemination of the projects outcomes.

Communication with the EU partners was available through the Internet, so all partners virtually participated at the co-ordinating and monitoring meetings.

The project was monitored and evaluated periodically by Project Manager - PM - and by the Project Steering Committee - PSC. The dates of the PSC meetings are 17 December 1998, 15 March 1999, 1 July 1999, 30 September 1999, 21 December 1999, and 3 March 2000.

The project was evaluated after the six months of its beginning, at 15 June 1999 and in its whole development at the last meeting of the GMC - General Management Committee - 21 December 1999. The whole project was also evaluated at the final meeting between the contractor and co-ordinator at UPC - (E) - February 2000.

The CME-03551-97 Lighting Engineering Centre - LEC project is accepted for a duration of 15 months, between December 15, 1998 - March 14, 2000. It is necessary to develop an intense activity to change an erroneous mentality, to focus on the specific topics of lighting education, to induce a new approach of working style through the graduates, employees, local authorities and other users.

Outcome: Reports containing the information acquired in the visits, proposals for setting-up the LEC project activities - student contest, workshop, round-table, job-shop, proposals for the future development of a Lighting Engineering College Outcome: Dissemination of the lastest issues on lighting equipment, design, management, maintenance, energy-efficiency systems, lighting quality system evaluation. Outcome: Dissemination of the practical experience gained by the Romanian academic staff under the previous programmes. Promotion of energy saving measures. Presentation of the new competencies and skills of graduates and the needs of the lighting market. New trends in lighting education and research. Outcome: Knowledge of the national and European legislation and recommendations concerning the lighting field and work laws. Dissemination of the experience gained under the previous lighting programmes developed by the authorities. Presentation of the new European Union's policies and programmes for inter-regional co-operation, the mechanisms for financing innovative regional development measures on the lighting market. Monitoring the lighting job market specific aspects. Outcome: Adjustment of student preparation to the requirements of design offices. Creation of a team spirit of competition. The student teams will be formed by engineering and architectural graduates and an academic staff wishing to be involved in this kind of activity. Outcome: To promote employment services for graduates. Outcome: The LEC Info issues will be delivered to all partners and disseminated to lighting market. Outcome: The three issues of review will be delivered to all partners and disseminated to lighting market. Outcome: A registered information for both parts of a job market - job seekers and prospective employers. Helps graduates placement in public and private companies. Outcome: A feasible computer lighting tool, very useful for didactic purposes Outcome: Use of an invaluable mean of modern information and education system. Creation of the LEC users group. Join of other lighting groups on the Internet. Outcome: Permanently updated World Wide Web home-page as a mean to present through Internet our research, programmes, co-operation.

© Prof.dr. Florin Pop