ANIS Education Grants 2024 – Registrations are available from September 2nd

Registrations for the 7th edition of the ANIS Education Grants program will start on September 2nd, announces ANIS, the Employers’ Association of the Software and Services Industry.

This year, benefiting of the same great support from IT companies, ANIS will award 14 scholarships, the largest number of grants awarded so far in a single edition of the program, since its launch in 2018.

University teaching staff who meet the eligibility criteria according to the regulation, are invited to submit their applications between September 2-23, 2024. Each of the 14 projects selected by the jury will get a sponsorship of 5,000 euros. The winners will be announced during the “ANIS Education Grants” Gala, on November 7th, 2024.

“The technology companies, part of the ANIS community, continue their joint effort to support the introduction of new and modern teaching methods and technologies in Romania’s superior tech education, as well as the inclusion of digital tools in all other universities in Romania. We have a record number of education grants this year and we are confident that we will receive very good applications from teachers and PhD students, for the further benefit of students. The national economy and the IT industry need very well-trained specialists, in the context of accelerating tech changes. During the assessment process we also benefit from the support of university professors and representatives of the top management of some tech corporations,” says Corina Vasile, ANIS Executive Director.

Applications will be submitted in the following categories:

• Big Data
• Cybersecurity
• Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
• Internet of Things
• HealthTech
• Cloud Computing
• Tech for All (the introduction of technology courses in non-tech faculties).

Eligibility:

To be eligible, teachers must be up to 40 years old, must be course coordinators, university assistants or PhD students and must integrate innovative technologies and teaching methods into their courses or laboratories for the 2024-2025 academic year, an apply to one of the mentioned categories.

Proposed courses or labs must prove the introduction of new technologies and/or new and innovative teaching methods in the 2024-2025 academic year. Courses and laboratories may be newly introduced in the academic year 2024-2025 or updated at least 50% in the current year or 60% in the last two years. All eligibility criteria can be consulted online.

335.000 euros – the total value of the grants awarded in the previous 6 editions

In the last six years, through the ANIS Scholarships program, 67 teaching projects got a sponsorship, 335,000 euros being awarded in total. During the previous 6 editions, we got 211 applications from 51 faculties, in 14 university centers. At the same time, the program generated several collaborations between companies and academia on R&D projects. The grants are supported every year by ANIS member companies.

Assessment process

All projects will follow a preliminary assessment process, based on the written application and a video in which the applicants will present the innovative elements of the course or laboratory. The three evaluation criteria are: the innovative character of the course/laboratory and its sustainability, the detailed structure covering the objectives and subject matter of the course/laboratory and the method, which refers to the candidate’s profile and the use of innovative teaching methods. In October, the finalists will hold an interview with the members of the evaluation committee, and in November, the grants for the selected projects, worthing 5,000 euros each, will be awarded at the ANIS Education Grants Gala.

The evaluation committee has the following members:

• Dr. Lenuța Alboaie – Al. Cuza University (Informatics Faculty)
• Prof Dr. Răzvan Bologa – Academy of Economic Studies (Cybernetics Faculty)
• Dr. Cosmin Bonchiș – West University Timisoara (Faculty of Mathematics & Informatics)
• Dr. Radu Gramatovici – University of Bucharest (Faculty of Mathematics & Informatics)
• Ovidiu Dan – Head of Big Data and Cybersecurity Eviden Romania
• Dr. Ing. Vasile Manta – Technical University Gh. Asachi from Iasi (Faculty of Automatics & Computer Science)
• Ion Moldoveanu – Technology / Program Director – Compliance Technology Deutsche Bank
• Dr. Simona Motogna – Babeș Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca (Faculty of Mathematics & Informatics)
• Dr. Răzvan Rughiniș – Politehnica University Bucharest (Faculty of Automatics & Computer Science)
• Univ. Dr. Ing. Honoriu Vălean – Technical University Cluj-Napoca (Faculty of Automatics & Computer Science)
• Dr. Radu Vasiu – Politehnica University Timisoara (Faculty of Eletronics, Telecommunications & Information Technologies)
• Univ. Dr. Ing. Paul Irofti – University of Buccharest (Faculty of Mathematics & Informatics)
• Dr. Titus Bălan – Transilvania University Brasov (Faculty of Electrical Enginering & Computer Science).

This year’s edition is organized with the support of the following companies: Adobe Romania, Bitdefender, Booking Holdings, DB Global Technology Center, Endava, Eviden Romania, HARMAN International Romania, Orange Services, Societe Generale Global Solution Centre, SoftServe România.