The Transatlantic Institute for Public Management and Sustainable Communities represents a strategic partnership between Michigan State University and Babeș-Bolyai University, College of Political, Administrative and Communication Sciences. The main goal of the partnership is the establishment and the development of an educational hub which will allow the two partner universities to have a wide ac
cess to a regional and/or international educational market characterized by a pool of significant resources available for investment in educational and training activities both on the medium and on the long run. Another important objective is the establishment and the development of an educational program which at its fullest will offer a US-EU degree which will attract a steady and growing number of international students as well as significant financial resources. The educational philosophy underlying the teaching, training, and research activities undertaken in the framework of the partnership strives to offer an integrated view of public and non-profit sector education. Four types of activities will be carried out at the Institute:
Education: The final goal in this area is to develop over time a graduate program whose students will receive a dual MSU-BBU degre. Training for public officials: A first pilot training program will be launched in the near future targeting city managers and managers in local public administration. This training program will be offered by MSU, BBU and in partnership with ICMA (International City/County Management Association). Research: Faculty from the two partner universities are involved in common research projects. A pilot study at the level of Cluj is conducted with help from experts from Michigan State. The aim of the study is to create an index for measuring the quality of life in Cluj and hopefully to create the tradition of conducting such a survey on a yearly basis. Community outreach: At least in Romania but in other former communist countries as well universities are mainly seen as educational providers, without an active role in the communities they are located in. It is very rare for universities/department to lend their expertise to the local community. As of now there are two distinct projects of community outreach activities within the BBU/MSU partnership (Cluj-Napoca city planning and community development plan for Beliș).
