CeL25+ We celebrate 25 years of distance education and digital education in UPT
Tens of generations of ID and IFR graduates, within 4 accredited specializations, hundreds of published scientific papers, millions of hours of training dedicated to digitization, the UPT Virtual Campus and UniCampus educational platforms, dozens of national and international projects with impact in education and community are just some data for the over 25 years of distance education and digital education in the Politehnica University of Timișoara.
The celebration of 25+ years of distance education brought together on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, in a festive atmosphere, together with the CeL team, the UPT management, founding members of the department, teaching staff, administrative team, graduates, but also partners, collaborators and supporters of the Department of ID/IFR and Digital Education from the Politehnica University of Timișoara.
Tens of generations of ID and IFR graduates, within 4 accredited specializations, hundreds of published scientific papers, millions of hours of training dedicated to digitization, dozens of national and international projects with an impact in education and the community, a platform for digital education in UPT – UPT Virtual Campus and a platform for free, open and online courses UniCampus are just some of the many achievements of the Department of ID/IFR and Digital Education in UPT, which is celebrating 25+ years since its foundation.
Diplomas of appreciation
During the ceremony, the director of the Department of ID/IFR and e-Learning, Dr. Diana Andone awarded diplomas of appreciation to the founding members of the department, the teaching staff and the academic managers of the four faculties: the Faculty of Automation and Computers (specialization Computer ID), Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technologies (specialization Telecommunications Technologies and Systems ID), Faculty of Communication Sciences (specialization Communication and Public Relations ID) and the Faculty of Mechanics (specialization Machine Construction Technology – IFR).
Also, diplomas of appreciation were handed out to the members of the UPT management who supported the activity of CeL, as well as to partner institutions in numerous projects with an impact on the community, such as Banat National Museum, Triad Foundation or IEEE Romania, but also to the partner companies Nokia and Cobalt Sign and the collaborators with whose help CeL implemented the project Timisoara European Cultural Capital 2023: Spotlight Heritage Timișoara, in the period 2019-2023.
Among the Gala's special guests were the board members of EDEN European Digital Learning, the European organization to which the Department of ID/IFR and Digital Education is affiliated and whose partnership has made possible the organization of dozens of national and international events, conferences and projects over the last quarter of a century.
A gesture of gratitude was also addressed to the top participants of the Together Online and Construim Împreuna webinar series, organized by CeL during the pandemic (webinars that were meant to support the online teaching process during the pandemic, both among academic education, as well as the pre-university one), also active participants in more than 20 organized international workshops.
The testimonies of four graduates from different generations, from distance and part-time education, for whom the chance to study changed their lives and allowed them to build successful careers, establish companies and start-ups, were touching in which they applied the acquired knowledge or, for some, the continuation of their studies at master's and doctorate cycles.
Anniversary plate DeL25+
The surprise item given to everyone as a sign of gratitude was the DeL25+ anniversary plaque, a 3D symbol of the Department's logo – a memento handed out by DeL Director Dr. Diana Andone.
Among those who spoke throughout the evening were the rector of UPT, university associate. Ph.D. Eng. Florin Drăgan, former director of CeL, Prof. Ph.D. Eng. Vasile Stoicu-Tivadar, representatives of partners and the EDEN organization, representatives of faculties and partner institutions and organizations, as well as successful graduates of distance and full-time specializations reduced, who shared their story with the audience.
The Anniversary Gala took place simultaneously with the Official Opening Reception of EDEN 2024 Research Workshop & PhD Schools' Masterclass in Timisoara, event organized by the Department of ID/IFR and Digital Education.
Department of ID/IFR and Education digital (former Center for ID/IFR and e-Learning UPT – CeL) was established in 1998 under the name Center for Distance Education Studies, within the Phare Multi-Country program, with the aim of functional integration in the trans-regional network of study centers in open distance education in Central and Eastern Europe. In the more than 25 years of activity, the Department initiated, promoted and managed distance education in the university, created and managed the UPT Virtual Campus and developed research and implementation activities in eLearning and blended learning, mobile learning, promoted open educational resources (OER), open education, developed UniCampus as the first university MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) in Romania for free and open online courses.
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