First Prize for Project Presented at International Conference

A delegation of four graduate students from the Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Technology Management, led by lecturer Aharon Ratner, took part in a conference held in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

The highlight of the conference was a proposal for a rural development project in a town near Cluj-Napoca. A panel of 10 judges, including city representatives, university seniors, and local entrepreneurs, selected the project.

The delegation members, Or Shalom, Shimon Rubinov, Yaakov Asenkao Wasa, and Guy Alon, who are studying in the "International Business Strategy" course as part of their Master's degree in Industrial Engineering and Management, were hosted at UTCN—The Technical University of Cluj-Napoca. 

This is the second year that students in the course led by Aharon Ratner have participated in this international conference, which is funded by the International Office. 

This year, about 30 students from Romania, France, Spain, Bulgaria, Italy, and Germany and 4 students from Israel participated in the conference.
Guy Alon won first prize for designing a project proposal for selling organic agricultural produce directly from farmers through automatic vending machines placed in various urban locations.

Guy Alon shares: "As part of the course, we held joint classes with the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca. For a week, we listened to lectures by marketing and strategy experts, after which we were asked to develop plans on various topics such as improving the local economy in Romania, improving rural life, solving transportation problems, improving agricultural methods, marketing, and education.

At the end of the conference, my team members—four students from France and Bulgaria—prepared a business and marketing plan for an existing French company that distributes organic agricultural produce directly from farmers, adapted for the Israeli and Romanian markets.

Photo caption: Pictured (right to left): Or Shalom, Shimon Rubinov, Aharon Ratner, Guy Alon, Kobi Wasa

The idea involves automatic vending machines where organic vegetables can be purchased fresh and straight from the field at urban points. The direct result is greater exposure to a large audience without the farmer needing to be present and without intermediary gaps.

On the last day of the conference, we presented the plan to a panel of judges, which included businesspeople and senior faculty members from the local university. They chose it as the best idea and even decided to examine the business plan in practice."

"The conference, like the joint activity with the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca in the courses 'Fundamentals of Technology and Project Management' and 'International Business Strategy,' expands the international exposure of the Faculty's graduate students and allows them practical experience in international applied projects. The conference strengthened the research connections between the faculties and planted the seeds for additional collaborations in both teaching and research," says Aharon Ratner.

The city of Cluj-Napoca is a university city in northern Romania. It's the second largest in the country, with about 70,000 of its approximately 400,000 residents being students at six higher education institutions.