SPEAKERS

Daniel
Cosnita
President of the Romanian Cluster Association

Graduated both as an engineer and economist, Daniel Cosnita has been working in the last 10 years in the fields of technology transfer and innovation and of regional economic development. Ha has been involved in setting up several pilot projects like the IT Business Incubator of the Technical University in Timisoara (UBIT), the clusters Pro Wood (wood and furniture), Cluster2Success (IT, cross border RO-HU) etc. Since 2008 he has been supporting the Romanian Ministry for Economy in the generation of the national cluster policy, by performing the cluster mapping exercise at national level, contributing to the elaboration of the Guide of Applicants of the financing schemes dedicated to the poles of competitiveness etc. Currently he is a member of the team of experts supporting the Ministry of Education and Research in the elaboration of the Smart Specialisation Strategy of Romania. He acted as a consultant for the Algerian government in setting up a national network of business incubators and for the Turkish government in the elaboration of the national cluster strategy. He has generated and managed numerous national and international projects - especially FP6, FP7, and has run several project generation seminars in Romania and abroad based on the concept of individual and institutional learning.

The Romanian Cluster Association

The Romanian Cluster Association (CLUSTERO) was established on the 1st of July as a representative body of Romanian clusters currently gathering 23 members (19 clusters and other catalyst institutions). The Association provides relevant information on regulations regarding the clusters’ activity, sources and possibilities of financing, events; offers support in the establishment, development and intra and inter cluster through networking; monitors and assesses cluster performance, based on criteria established on mutual consent by the members; promotes the exchange of national, regional and international best practices, in order to develop and implement an Ethical Code for Best Practices at national level; organizes courses and specific trainings. Since 2011 CLUSTERO is a full member of the Romanian Export Council.

New developments in cluster development: Cross cutting issues

The traditional economical division in “vertical” sectors (agriculture, manufacturing industry with its branches, tourism) becomes less and less relevant as new cross-sectorial clusters emerge in fields like mechatronics, energy etc. Recent analysis done by the Romanian Ministry of Economy showed “technical textiles” (textile, automotive, agro-food, electronics, health) and “clean industry” (mechatronics, wood, construction, electrical engineering, energy) as two major potential horizontal economic sectors. Furthermore, regardless of the thematic field they are acting in, clusters face common problems and challenges better known as cross cutting issues: Internationalisation, Management, Innovation and Human Resources Development are a few of the most important topics faced by Romanian Clusters. Hence, the importance of learning from and adapting international best practice experiences in the above mentioned topics.