From January 9 to January 13, 2023, a team made up of professors from UTM and USM, together with members of the Future Technologies (FTA) project, participated in the “Berkeley Method of Entrepreneurship” (BMoE) Bootcamp, organized by the Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (SCET) of the University of California, Berkeley, in the USA, as part of the FTA project, funded by USAID and Sweden.
UTM was represented by the rector, Prof., Dr. habil. Viorel BOSTAN; Assoc. Prof., Dr. Dumitru CIORBĂ, dean of the Faculty of Computers, Informatics and Microelectronics; Assoc. Prof., Dr. Nina PUȚUNTEAN, head of the International Relations Service; Prof., Dr. Rina ȚURCAN, head of the Department of Economics and Management; Assoc. Prof., Dr. Natalia BURLACU, head of the Software Engineering Program.
The experience of UC Berkeley in the field of entrepreneurship education and start-up development is unmatched, the institution managing to reach the top of international rankings. The University’s educational offer provides motivating interactive techniques, experienced teachers and mentors, founders, co-founders and experts in creating Silicon Valley start-ups, Business Angels and financiers, all of which form an exclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem that ensures the certitude of a superb performance.
The interactive and dynamic format of the BMoE Bootcamp was designed by SCET member and Program Director Gigi WANG, who has valuable expertise in the development of start-ups. The UC Berkeley students participating in the event were guided by world-class mentors, start-up founders, trainers and professional investors, who ensured a productive, creative and exciting learning environment by supporting and motivating the young people to develop innovative ideas and create new enterprises while working in cross-cultural, interdisciplinary teams from around the world.
The Bootcamp facilitates multi-faceted learning through organized lectures and interactive game-based exercises, focusing on the latest approaches and methods for training global technology entrepreneurs and providing an optimal global entrepreneurship experience, adapted to existing realities.
During the visit, the delegation from the Republic of Moldova had the unique opportunity and pleasure to meet Prof., Dr. Randy SCHEKMAN, world-renowned scientist, laureate of the Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology for the discovery of machinery regulating vesicle traffic in cells. With his roots being in the North of Moldova (Lipcani), the Professor is currently active at Berkeley University. He mentioned his plans to visit Moldova this year and, respectively, to accept the invitation of rector Viorel BOSTAN to stop by UTM as well. Mr. Schekman would be the first member of his family to return to Moldova in about 100 years.
The experience gained during the BMoE Bootcamp organized by SCET of UC Berkeley is to be implemented through the development of entrepreneurship, innovation, management and start-up courses at UTM, in partnership with SCET representatives.
