NextStepEU - Jean Monnet Project

NextStepEU - Jean Monnet Project -highlight EU’s main sustainability challenges and what the European Citizen can do in this regard-

📣 The 2️⃣1️⃣st session, held on April 8th, 2026, at the “Performance Step by Step” Learning Center, Universitatea „Ale...
09/04/2026

📣 The 2️⃣1️⃣st session, held on April 8th, 2026, at the “Performance Step by Step” Learning Center, Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” din Iași, brought together students and professionals for an engaging group tutoring session on:

🚀 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐉𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲-𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐞: 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 🚀

Coordinated by Constantin-Marius Apostoaie and Bilan Irina, the session featured Ioana-Alexandra Maxim, HR Partner at GoDaddy, and Florin Sfabu, Team Manager at GoDaddy.

💡 Students explored how to build clarity and direction in their career path, how to set realistic objectives, and how to better understand the link between personal strengths, motivation, and professional opportunities. The discussion also highlighted the value of the Ikigai framework and a design thinking approach in shaping career choices through exploration, small projects, courses, and practical experiences.

🌱 The session further addressed the first professional experience, focusing on onboarding, the learning curve, the role of a mentor or buddy, and the importance of feedback and continuous growth.

🎤 A particularly valuable moment was the job interview simulation, which offered students practical insights into recruitment expectations and helped them gain confidence for future interviews.

🙏 Many thanks to our guest speakers for their inspiring contribution and to all participating students for their active involvement.

📣 The 2️⃣0️⃣th lecture, held on November 14th, 2025, at Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” din Iași, FEAA - Facultate...
17/11/2025

📣 The 2️⃣0️⃣th lecture, held on November 14th, 2025, at Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” din Iași, FEAA - Facultatea de Economie și Administrarea Afacerilor Iași (C710), brought together students and professionals for a captivating and insightful session on:
⚾ 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐈 𝐇𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐀 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 ⚾
led by 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐦, Senior Big Data Engineer at Cognizant.

💡 With extensive experience in designing and optimizing large-scale data systems for global financial institutions, Cosmin Ichim offered a dynamic and accessible approach to understanding how Artificial Intelligence and Big Data are transforming banking operations. Through his creative baseball analogy, he illustrated the interplay between data pipelines, predictive analytics, and human oversight — emphasizing that while AI enhances efficiency and precision, the “human player” still makes the winning move. 🤖⚾

🌍 The lecture explored how modern banking increasingly relies on data literacy and the capacity of professionals to interpret, manage, and use data responsibly. Participants learned that behind every AI-powered decision lies a well-structured ecosystem of ETL pipelines, SQL operations, and Business Intelligence tools — the unseen architecture of today’s financial world.

🧠 As Cosmin noted, AI systems support rather than replace decision-makers: technology amplifies human insight when data is clean, structured, and ethically governed. Students were encouraged to view themselves not just as future users of digital tools, but as critical thinkers who connect technology, strategy, and fairness in financial decisions.

🇪🇺 This session was organized by the NextStepEU - Jean Monnet Project team within the 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 course of the FRM - Master in Finance and Risk Management, inviting participation from all interested students.

🎯 Special thanks to our engaged students – Nasalciuc Dragoș, Rusu Alexandru and Fulger Mihai – for their insightful reflections and class notes.

💥 More about Cosmin Ichim can be found in the Guest Speaker section: https://nextstepeu.uaic.ro/guest-speakers/



📣 The 2️⃣0️⃣th lecture is coming up on Friday, November 14th, 2025, at 19:00 (FEAA - Facultatea de Economie și Adminis...
07/11/2025

📣 The 2️⃣0️⃣th lecture is coming up on Friday, November 14th, 2025, at 19:00 (FEAA - Facultatea de Economie și Administrarea Afacerilor Iași – C710, at Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” din Iași)!

We are excited to welcome 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫 at Cognizant, who will guide us through an engaging and original talk:
⚾ 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐈 𝐇𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐀 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲⚾

With extensive experience in designing and optimizing data-driven systems for global financial institutions, Cosmin brings a practical, technical, and human-centered perspective on how Artificial Intelligence and Big Data are reshaping banking. His baseball-inspired analogy will offer a fresh way to understand how data pipelines, predictive analytics, and automated decision systems work together — and where the “human player” still makes the winning move. 🤖

🗣 The session will be moderated by Constantin-Marius Apostoaie, within the 𝑫𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 course of the FRM - Master in Finance and Risk Management.

This event is organized under the NextStepEU - Jean Monnet Project, co-funded by the European Commission, continuing to promote meaningful dialogue between academia and professionals on digital transformation in finance.

Read more about Cosmin here: https://nextstepeu.uaic.ro/guest-speakers/.

☕ Join us for an evening of learning, reflection, and great conversation!

📣 The 1️⃣9️⃣th lecture, held on October 31st, 2025, at Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” din Iași – FEAA - Facultate...
04/11/2025

📣 The 1️⃣9️⃣th lecture, held on October 31st, 2025, at Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” din Iași – FEAA - Facultatea de Economie și Administrarea Afacerilor Iași, brought together students and professionals for an inspiring and thought-provoking session on 💡 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐈𝐧𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 💡
led by 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐈𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝑺𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒕 Capgemini Romania 𝑩𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑺𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔.

🌿 Although the NextStepEU - Jean Monnet Project officially ended on September 30th, 2025, its journey continues at FEAA, through ongoing KoFEAA lectures that sustain dialogue between academia and professionals on European and digital transformation topics.

♟With over 15 years of experience in operations management and financial data systems, Loredana Istrate shared real-world insights into how Big Data transforms decision-making, automation, and performance management in the financial sector. Her dynamic talk invited students to look beyond numbers and understand the strategic, human, and ethical dimensions of data-driven finance. 📊🤖

🗣 Key messages that resonated throughout the session included:
💬 “AI is a tool, not a replacement — its true power lies in human interpretation.”
💬 “Garbage in, garbage out — data governance defines the quality of decisions.”
💬 “Critical thinking and adaptability are the bridges between technology and success.”
💬 “Future managers will need to lead both people and robots — and keep the human touch alive.”

The interactive class discussion that followed highlighted the delicate balance between automation and leadership, showing that technology provides the tools, but human insight gives them meaning. Students explored how analytical thinking, ethical data management, and adaptability shape the future of financial leadership.

🇪🇺 This KoFEAA session was organized within the NextStepEU – Jean Monnet Project, co-funded by the European Commission, as part of the Digital Finance course (FRM - Master in Finance and Risk Management). The event was moderated by Constantin-Marius Apostoaie

🎯 Special thanks to our engaged students – Nasalciuc Dragoș, Nemțanu Dragoș Andrei, Lupașcu Daria Sabina, Fulger Mihai, and Gîscă Lucian – for their insightful reflections and class notes.

💥 More about Loredana Istrate can be found in the Guest Speaker section: https://nextstepeu.uaic.ro/guest-speakers/

📣 The 1️⃣9️⃣th lecture is coming up this Friday, October 31st, 2025, at 19:00 (FEAA - Facultatea de Economie și Admini...
28/10/2025

📣 The 1️⃣9️⃣th lecture is coming up this Friday, October 31st, 2025, at 19:00 (FEAA - Facultatea de Economie și Administrarea Afacerilor Iași – C710)!

We are thrilled to welcome Loredana Istrate, Senior Manager at Capgemini Romania Business Services, who will lead an insightful discussion on
💡 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐢𝐧𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 💡

With over 15 years of experience in operations management and project coordination across finance and database management, Loredana brings a unique perspective on how Big Data transforms decision-making, process optimization, and performance management in the financial sector.

Currently coordinating a multinational team across Romania 🇷🇴, Poland 🇵🇱, and India 🇮🇳, she oversees the Order to Cash flow for Europe for one of the largest logistics companies in the U.S. Her lecture will offer students a glimpse into real-world applications of data-driven strategies within global finance operations.

🗣 The session will be moderated by Constantin-Marius Apostoaie and held as part of the 𝑫𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 course of the FRM - Master in Finance and Risk Management.

This KoFEAA event is organized within the NextStepEU - Jean Monnet Project, co-funded by the European Union, at Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” din Iași, promoting 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

Join us for an evening of learning, discussion, and inspiration ☕️

🌿 Although the NextStepEU - Jean Monnet Project officially ended on September 30, 2025, its journey continues at Univers...
23/10/2025

🌿 Although the NextStepEU - Jean Monnet Project officially ended on September 30, 2025, its journey continues at Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” din Iași, FEAA - Facultatea de Economie și Administrarea Afacerilor Iași.

In this context, on 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟐, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓, 𝐚𝐭 𝟗:𝟎𝟎 𝐀𝐌, in Room B417 (FEAA), we hosted the workshop “Inclusive Education and Resilience for a Sustainable Europe”, organized under the umbrella of the NextStepEU – Jean Monnet Project and the project “Learn, Grow, Be Resilient!”

This cross-border initiative is developed by the Asociatia Iubire si Incredere Iasi (AII) in Romania 🇹🇩, in partnership with Theoretical Lyceum “Constantin Stere” and NGO “Soarta” from the Republic of Moldova 🇲🇩, and is financed by the European Commission the Interreg NEXT Romania–Republic of Moldova 2021–2027 Programme. 🇪🇺

Participants — including UAIC students, business representatives, and social economy actors — explored inspiring ideas about education, inclusion, resilience, and civic engagement. They also discovered genuine stories of cooperation between young people from Romania and the Republic of Moldova and exchanged perspectives with guest speakers and professors.

✨ Our special guest was Oana Moraru, representing S.E.V.A Hub – Socialization and Evolution for a Harmonious Future, while the NextStepEU professors Irina Bilan and Constantin-Marius Apostoaie moderated the event.

📸 A series of photos from the workshop can be found here!
Stay tuned for more events and activities carried forward under the NextStepEU initiative.

Dragi studenți,Vă așteptăm cu drag miercuri, 22 octombrie 2025, ora 09:00, în Sala B417 (FEAA), la workshopul „Educație ...
21/10/2025

Dragi studenți,

Vă așteptăm cu drag miercuri, 22 octombrie 2025, ora 09:00, în Sala B417 (FEAA), la workshopul „Educație incluzivă și reziliență pentru o Europă sustenabilă”, organizat sub umbrela proiectului NextStepEU - Jean Monnet Project și a proiectului transfrontalier „ÎNVAȚĂ, DEZVOLTĂ-TE, FII REZILIENT!”.

Veți avea ocazia să descoperiți idei inspiraționale despre educație, incluziune, reziliență și implicare civică, să aflați povești autentice de colaborare între tinerii din România și Republica Moldova și să discutați liber cu invitații și profesorii implicați.

Și pentru că ne dorim o atmosferă relaxată și plină de voie bună, vă pregătim o primire caldă și dulce 🍪☕ – numai bună pentru o dimineață de toamnă dedicată ideilor frumoase și oamenilor entuziaști!

Vă așteptăm cu drag,
Echipa NextStepEU & Proiectul „ÎNVAȚĂ, DEZVOLTĂ-TE, FII REZILIENT!”

🎓 On 14th of June 2025, at 12:30 PM, in Room B413, we celebrated our students’ dedication and achievements within the ...
10/10/2025

🎓 On 14th of June 2025, at 12:30 PM, in Room B413, we celebrated our students’ dedication and achievements within the activities by awarding the Certificates of Participation. 🌟

👏 A heartfelt thank you to all the students who took part in the Module, for their energy, curiosity, and active involvement throughout this journey. Your contributions made this learning experience truly meaningful!

This Awarding of Certificates event was organized as part of our NextStepEU - Jean Monnet Project, co-financed by the European Commission and FEAA - Facultatea de Economie și Administrarea Afacerilor Iași, Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza" din Iași.

📸 Some great moments captured during the event are shared here.

🌊 În perioada 27–29 iunie 2025, un grup de studenți implicați în proiectul a avut oportunitatea de a participa la o ex...
02/07/2025

🌊 În perioada 27–29 iunie 2025, un grup de studenți implicați în proiectul a avut oportunitatea de a participa la o experiență practică specială, desfășurată în Agigea, județul Constanța.

📍 Găzduită de Stațiunea Biologică Marină Ioan Borcea Agigea de la Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza" din Iași, activitatea a combinat elemente educative, exploratorii și recreative – într-un cadru inedit, pe malul Mării Negre.

💬 Excursia a început cu un moment emoționant: pentru unii dintre studenți, a fost prima întâlnire cu marea.

🌟 Ziua de sâmbătă a adus în prim-plan spiritul antreprenorial local: vizita la Pescaria lui Matei le-a oferit participanților nu doar un prânz delicios, ci și o lecție inspirațională despre continuitate și dezvoltare sustenabilă în afaceri de familie.

🏛️ Tot sâmbătă, tinerii au beneficiat de un tur ghidat al stațiunii de cercetare, vizitând muzeul, laboratoarele și participând la discuții captivante despre biodiversitatea Mării Negre și munca științifică din spatele protejării mediului marin. Prezentarea oferită de Directorul Stațiunii (Emanuel Ștefan Baltag) le-a oferit o perspectivă reală asupra rolului cercetării în societate.

🔬 Spre finalul zilei, studenții au explorat simboluri culturale ale Constanței – Cazinoul, Marea Moschee – și au încheiat ziua cu o pauză dulce, savurând înghețată pe faleză.

📌 A fost o experiență memorabilă, în care am îmbinat curiozitatea, învățarea aplicată și bucuria descoperirii.

‼️ În zilele următoare vom reveni cu testimoniale din partea studenţilor. Aşa că, ţineţi aproape.📍

🙏 Mulțumim tuturor partenerilor care au făcut posibil acest eveniment: European Commission, Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza" din Iași, FEAA - Facultatea de Economie și Administrarea Afacerilor Iași, Stațiunea Biologică Marină Ioan Borcea Agigea şi Pescaria lui Matei!

💚Mulţumiri şi celor doi raportori ai evenimentului: Maria Hreceniuc şi Cosmin Cuciureanu.

merge mai departe – cu inițiative care aduc educația mai aproape de suflet.

🌍✨ Thank you to everyone who joined us for the NextStepEU Scientific International Conference – “Challenges, Opportuniti...
30/06/2025

🌍✨ Thank you to everyone who joined us for the NextStepEU Scientific International Conference – “Challenges, Opportunities and Policies for Sustainability in the European Union”, held between 29–31 May 2025 in Iași, at Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza" din Iași, FEAA - Facultatea de Economie și Administrarea Afacerilor Iași!

We are truly grateful for the enthusiasm and insightful contributions brought by all participants – researchers, students, keynote speakers, and session moderators – both onsite and online. Your active engagement turned this event into a vibrant platform for exchanging ideas on how to build a more sustainable and inclusive European Union.

A special thanks goes to our distinguished keynote speakers:
🔹 Debora Greco – Fondazione G. Brodolini, Italy
🔹 Luis Cervilla – D-WISE Network, Spain
🔹 Antonia Loncar – EU Affairs & Communication Expert, Belgium
🔹 Inna Alexeeva Alexeev – SANFI / University of Cantabria, Spain

We also extend our sincere appreciation to our session moderators:
🔹 Elena Vasiliu – “Alături de Voi” Foundation, Romania
🔹 Dr. Denis Hyams-Ssekasi – University of Bolton, United Kingdom

👏 And a warm thank you to the students who took part in the Students’ Roundtable on the final day of the conference! Your ideas, questions, and enthusiasm brought a fresh perspective and reaffirmed the importance of engaging young voices in shaping the EU’s sustainable future.

📸 Check out the photo gallery below to revisit some of the inspiring moments we shared.

Let’s keep the dialogue alive and continue working together toward a smarter, more sustainable, and more engaged European Union! 🇪🇺💡


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