Negative scenario for Cluj-Napoca

Innovation
Cluj-Napoca is one of the most developed and rich cities regarding the innovation chapter,
which is proven true in part by the numerous events dedicated to this development aspect. To name just
a few, most recently, we had the Open Innovation Conference (the 5th edition of a high-level type of
conference organized by the European Commission), which was held here. We also organized the first
camp dedicated to innovation in our country, Cluj Innovation Dialogue, and we have a special project
in order to keep up with European policies regarding connections between various fields, Cluj
Innovation City project. We also hold an annual event called Cluj Innovation Days, organized by
the IT sector in order to develop this cluster and facilitate interaction.
Taking just these into consideration, from a negative point of view into the future, the worst I
could say is that innovation will have a moderate level of uncertainty, which in turn will project a
moderate impact on the city. This could be possible due to the many and diverse resources that are
constantly needed for such events and projects, which are known for developing over long periods of
time and having a far-reaching impact. There are large sums of money that need to flow all the time
and diverse groups of people who have to be open-minded, well-prepared and creative. From this
perspective, I don’t think that we can project a truly negative scenario for the future, since Cluj is one
of the best cities for innovation and very fast developing, which is highly unlikely to drop, but there is
always at least a minimum level of uncertainty regarding all the resources that are needed, both from
the material and the ingenuity point of view.

Universities
In the higher education field, Babes-Bolyai (40 000 students) occupies the first spot in the
national ranking and is on 865 in the world, with the Technical University (22 000 students) coming
in on the 7th place (1604 internationally) and the University of Medicine and Pharmacy (a third of its
students are foreign, which is the highest number) on level 17 (1883 in the world), to name just a few.
In total, we have 12 universities, which offer almost 300 majors in various languages. Overall, the
academic community of Cluj has published over 16 000 papers since 1990, which places it second in
Romania.
All these factors and not only make it difficult to project a negative scenario, but I could say
that the level of uncertainty may become high, which will also have a high impact on the city. This
happens not necessarily due to the quality of the education changing, but more to the living standards in
the country and the city alike, as well as several other factors. Young people may want to study in
increasingly high numbers abroad, where they will also move in the long-term or choose other cities,
where the cost of living is not as high. Given the fact that this is becoming more and more of a
problem, a worst-case scenario could see the number of students in Cluj drop in the coming years,
which can only have a significant impact. There is a known and increasing trend to move in other
countries at very young ages due to the poor characteristics of the Romanian system, which can also
affect the university life in Cluj. These people may come back later in life, once they are well
established, but they won’t represent an important part of the university life anymore.

Participation (smart city)

Cluj-Napoca is considered the Silicon Valley of Romania and is named more often the first
smart city of the country, which is due to the very fast developing IT community and the numerous
benefits it brings into our lives, making them easier and more pleasant. For example, the parking spots
can be paid for through text messages, as well as bus tickets, taxes can be paid on Internet platforms
very quickly and citizens can make their complaints known and bring forth city problems on a phone
application. We can also order food via apps from home or even while we are at the restaurant, sending
it directly to the chef, which reduces the time spent waiting. Most recently, we had the Participative
Budget contest, where anyone could come up with ideas for making the city smarter and more
interactive, several of which were declared winners and will receive the necessary money for
implementing.
Taking all these into consideration, in a worst-case scenario, the level of uncertainty could
become moderate, as well as its impact on the city, because just like in the case of innovation, it is
almost impossible to imagine a really high level at both levels given how Cluj has always been
developing and its vast material and human possibilities. Still, a change in uncertainty and impact may
be experienced because of all the challenges involved in the creation of such innovative things, starting
with the ideas themselves and how to make them work while considering the particularities of the city,
the financing issues and not least, even the communication between the developers and the citizens,
who often have their own ideas and maybe complaints.

Petroi Teodora Maria

NGO Management, 2nd year