Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iași


The Gheorghe Asachi Technical University is a public university located in Iași, Romania. Classified by the Ministry of Education as an advanced research and education university, it has the oldest tradition in Romania in engineering education. Gheorghe Asachi Technical University is a member of the Romanian Alliance of Technical Universities.

History

In 1813, the scholar Gheorghe Asachi set up within the Princely Academy of Iași, the first Romanian language higher education courses, as the School of Surveying and Civil Engineers, beginning with a civil engineering class which was later developed within the Academia Mihăileană, and the University of Iași.
In November 1910, an independent section of the Faculty of Sciences - School of the Industrial Electricity - was set up. Soon renamed as the Institute of Electrical Engineering, the school was the first of its kind in Romania. This event represents what may be called the birth certificate of what later became the Polytechnic Institute of Iași.
In March 1937, when the Parliament of Romania voted a new Law of Education, the technical higher education departments of the University of Iași were reorganised as faculties and integrated into the newly established Gheorghe Asachi Polytechnic School, which was, at that time, one of the few higher education institutions in Romania qualified to issue engineer's degrees. The new institution took from the very beginning the name of Gheorghe Asachi, the founder of the Romanian technical education, while professor Cristea Niculescu-Otin was elected its first rector. In 1948, it became the Gheorghe Asachi Polytechnic Institute and, on 17 May 1993, it was renamed as the Gheorghe Asachi Technical University.

Ranking

Gheorghe Asachi Technical University has ranked the first among the technical institutions of higher education, and the fourth among all universities in Romania, in the national research ranking compiled on the basis of Shanghai criteria.
According to the Scimago Lab, based on data collected between 2007 and 2011, Gheorghe Asachi Technical University ranked 1258 in the World, 70 regionally and 7 in the country by number of publications.

Academics

Gheorghe Asachi Technical University is organized into 11 faculties and 3 departments:
Established as a reference and research technical library, the holds 1 million-plus volumes covering a wide range of subjects on engineering and technology, science, economics and law. It is organised in a Central Library, 6 branches and 8 departments.

Programmes

Gheorghe Asachi Technical University offers 4-year programmes, awarding the degree of Bachelor of Science, and graduate/postgraduate programmes awarding the degrees of Master and Doctorate/PhD. The degree of "Architect" is awarded at the end of a 6-year programme as a combined Bachelor/Master's degree programme. There is also a postgraduate school of Management and Business Administration.
The academic year consists of two 14 weeks semesters, each of them ending with an examination session. The weekly workload is about 28 hours. There is also a 3-week period of industrial placement during summer, while half of the final semester in the last year of study, is devoted to completing the diploma thesis and dissertation.
The first two years of the 4-year programmes are devoted to providing an introduction to engineering as well as the necessary background in Physics and Mathematics. Beginning with the third year, students can choose from a number of specializations.
Students who obtain a score of at least 8 out of 10 in the "licence exam" at the end of their "Engineer" degree courses are eligible to take an entrance examination for 1.5 to 2-year Master's course, the length of studies depending on the chosen specialization. All graduates awarded a master's degree, are eligible to enrol on a PhD Programme - full-time courses.

Administration

The University is administered by the University Senate which is made up of representatives from the eleven Faculty Councils. The Senate elects the rector, the vice-rectors and the chancellor every four year.

Student life

Student housing

The University Campus accommodates 8,100 students, in 21 residence halls, in the Tudor Vladimirescu Campus area, which is near the university grounds and is situated at 5 minutes by car from the center of the city. The buildings in the campus have a number from 1 to 21 and are prefixed with letter T. The T17 students residence hall was, as of 1987, the biggest student residence hall in all of Southeastern Europe.
The neighborhood of the campus is dominated mainly by retail and commercial centres and the Bahlui River.