UTM student Daniel Nistrean reached one of the world’s biggest music stages this year, performing with Satoshi’s live band in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 Grand Final in Vienna. Representing the Republic of Moldova with “Viva, Moldova!”, the team earned an impressive 8th-place finish with 226 points, a standout result driven by a powerful vocal performance, a strong visual concept and the energy of the musicians behind it.
At university, Daniel is a fourth-year Robotics and Mechatronics student known for his analytical mindset and interest in emerging technologies. In Vienna, he showed his artistic side, performing as a bassist in front of an international audience.
When asked what it felt like to perform at Eurovision, Daniel Nistrean said: “It was an experience I can hardly put into words. To step onto the Eurovision stage and represent the Republic of Moldova in front of the whole world is an enormous honor and a responsibility you feel every second.”
Looking back on the emotions of sharing the stage with the team, he added: “I felt proud to be there with such an incredible team, with not only the music, but also the people and places from home close to my heart.”
For Daniel, the experience went beyond the performance itself. “That stage meant more than just a show to me. It proved that passion and hard work can take a UTM student from the lab to one of Europe’s biggest stages,” he said.
His story reflects the spirit of UTM: a university that trains skilled specialists while giving students room to be ambitious, creative and bold. Daniel’s path shows that technical education and creative work do not have to exist separately; sometimes, they can support each other in unexpected ways.
