On 21 and 22 May 2024, Chisinau hosted a series of events of major importance for the electronics industry – one of the most promising industrial sectors in the country, with over 210 companies and 6 educational institutions in the field, training specialists according to industry standards and needs. Two days in which the community of electronics engineers, IT, national and international industrial enterprises, academia, business representatives and educational institutions joined forces to promote the electronics industry in the Republic of Moldova and to discuss current topics in the development of electronics. With a special focus on innovation and technological development, the events are organized by the Association of Electronics Companies in Moldova (ACEM) and Invest Moldova Agency.
Moldova Electronics Forum, 3rd edition – 21 May 2024
Moldova Electronics Forum is an event of major importance for the electronics industry, aiming to show that the Republic of Moldova is open to international cooperation in order to strengthen its position on the local and international market, and to integrate into international supply chains. Stakeholders from the Republic of Moldova and abroad held an open dialogue on challenges in the field of electronics technology, trends and opportunities of digitalization in the context of European integration and geopolitical changes.
Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean highlighted the achievements of the electronics industry in such fields as electromobility, smart meters and the development of embedded systems. According to the prime minister, these achievements are only the beginning and the European integration will bring significant benefits to the electronics sector, facilitating access to new markets, advanced technologies and valuable partnerships. “We are convinced that approaching European standards will contribute to the development of our industry and will bring significant investments in this sector,” Dorin Recean stated.
Marina Morozova, Member of the Moldovan Parliament, Deputy Chairperson of the Committee for Social Protection, Health and Family, highlighted: “Globally, the electronics industry is growing strongly and it is entirely up to us to capitalize on these opportunities. The electronics sector can offer both training and well-paid jobs. Looking into the future, I wish you to continue expanding the network of partnerships, attracting investments and promoting the Moldovan electronics industry at the global level”.
Switzerland is one of the development partners of the Moldovan government and one of the supporters of the electronics industry in Moldova, which encourages the development of the sector by promoting research anddevelopment (R&D), engineering activities in the IT Park. Guido Beltrani, Director of the Swiss Cooperation Office, said in this regard: “We are confident that the recently signed Free Trade Agreement between the Republic of Moldova and EFTA (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) will lead to further growth of bilateral trade and investments between our countries”.
Natalia Bejan, General Director of the Invest Moldova Agency, one of the organizers of the forum, noted the advantages and attractiveness of the electronic sector, as well as the agency’s support in promoting this industry at global and national events.
Alexandru Artenie, HW Project Manager at PREH Romania, reported on the impact of polluting emissions emitted by traditional cars and the solutions in the e-mobility electronic components sector in the e-mobility section. The speaker also presented the concept of V2G (Vehicle to Grid) and its derivatives V2H (Vehicle to Home)/ V2L (Vehicle to Load), highlighting the usefulness of an electric vehicle as an alternative source of electricity to power homes for 10 days (based on the example of the Republic of Moldova).
Digitization of the energy sector was an important topic of the forum. Cristina Pereteatcu, State Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, described the achievements and future plans. The panelists also talked about remote data reading with smart metering, addressing technical issues, challenges and innovative engineering solutions proposed by local smart meter manufacturers and smart meter solution providers. Industry experts and representatives of distribution networks discussed the prospects and experience of implementing pilot projects.
The forum also included a panel on human resources development, where the best practices in the electronics industry were presented, as well as a study of salaries and benefits in the electronics industry, conducted by PwC. The study, which covered 28 companies in the electronics sector, showed that the salaries of employees in the sector range from MDL 6,360 to MDL 33,000. At the same time, the data showed that the average employee in the sector earns an annual income of 20,000 euros. The study was carried out with the financial support of the German Cooperation, implemented by GIZ and co-financed by the Swiss Government.
Embedded Moldova Conference, 1st edition – 22 May 2024
For the first time, the Embedded Systems Engineering community from the Republic of Moldova met at the Embedded Moldova Conference with the aim of developing skills in electronics and embedded systems engineering. Speakers presented and informed attendees about industrial applications of embedded systems in various fields such as automotive, medical MedTech, smart home, Internet of Things (IoT), industrial automation and smart agriculture.
Opening the conference, Cătălina Plinschi, State Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization, said “The digitalization of public services for entrepreneurs has reached a level of 59% of all services, with the goal of reaching 100% by the end of 2024. Moldova’s IT Park has become a center of gravity for technology companies, with about 1,800 resident companies and 20,000 employees, and the share of IT services in GDP is more than 6.7%, according to preliminary estimates for 2023. Moldova’s status as a candidate country to the European Union has given us access to the Digital Europe program, which allocates 7 billion euros to Moldovan entrepreneurs, public institutions and organizations for innovation and digitalization”.
In his welcoming speech, Andrei Stratulat, National Program Officer Economic Development at the Swiss Cooperation Office in Moldova, said that the opening of negotiations and obtaining the status of a candidate country for membership in the European Union, signing the Free Trade Agreement with EFTA countries (Switzerland, Iceland, Lichenstein and Norway) creates new opportunities for the integration of Moldovan companies into regional and international value chains.
An important topic in the electronics industry covered at the conference was cybersecurity in the automotive sector, which was discussed by Răzvan Coban, global cybersecurity leader for E-Mobility at PREH.
Alecu Dragomir, founder of Orcolia Lux, presented his experience and expertise in programming anthropomorphic robots for Industry 4.0 with remote parameter control. Moldovan engineers are involved in industrial automation on a large scale, implementing projects in Italy, Germany, and the USA. Moldovan engineers design the mechanical part, program industrial PLC controllers and robot language.
During the Embedded Moldova Сonference, participants took part in 25 business-to-business (B2B) sessions with five Buyers. This event reinforces the efforts of the Association of Electronics Companies in Moldova (ACEM) and the Organization for the Development of Entrepreneurship (ODA) to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) integrate into supply chains.
Engineering and Technology Career Fair, 6th edition – 22 May 2024
The business environment of the electronics industry presented its employment offers at the 6th Engineering and Technology Career Fair, where companies competed to attract young talents. The Embedded Hackathon was held for the first time as part of the fair, during which the first three winning teams were presented and awarded. More than 20 national and international companies presented their vacancies for professionals and graduates looking for employment and career opportunities. About 300 students from the capital and Balti, including Vocational Technical and Higher Education attended the fair, where they were informed about the process of selecting a profession and had the opportunity to communicate directly with representatives of companies in the electronics industry.
Galina Rusu, State Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Research, opened the Career Fair with a welcoming speech, emphasizing the importance of quality training for youngsters to get a high-paying job with prospects for the future.
The Career Fair organized a round table on “Development of new professions and skills in the electronics sector through dual education”, which was attended by ACEM members, economic agents and partners of dual education, Vocational Education and Training (VET) institutions. The presentations by Carolina Secrieru Nani, Senior Consultant at the VET Policy Directorate of the Ministry of Education and Research, on the evolution of training in electronics and by Ludmila Stihi, VET consultant at the Strong Businesses and Communities for Moldova, on the professions and skills of the future were of great interest.
Trainer Doru Curoşu attracted the attention of the youngsters present at the fair with practical and motivational aspects related to the current topic: “Future work – how we prepare today. Personal development and motivation”.
Visitors to the fair took part in interactive QUIZ competitions, including a hand soldering competition, organized with the support of Steinel Electronic, where youngsters demonstrated their skills in assembling electronic circuits on printed circuit boards. The youngsters also visited the campus laboratories of the Technical University, the FabLab workshop and the premises of Draexlmaier, an industrial design and interior design office for cars.
The fair also hosted the first Embedded Hackathon: 6 teams of students and pupils passionate about embedded systems tested their hacking skills in the field of Internet of Things (IoT), data communication and processing under the guidance of experienced mentors. The three most inventive teams received gifts and financial prizes from the organizers. The event ended with a lottery with gifts for all participants.
Electronics – creating the future together!
Association of Electronics Companies in Moldova (ACEM) is a non-profit organization founded in May 2019 to represent its associates’ interests in relations with the central authorities, promoting the exchange of best practices and enhancing the competitiveness and development of the electronic industry through sustainable partnerships between private companies, public authorities and other international and national organizations. The ACEM includes 30 companies in the electronics industry, with over 2200 employees and a turnover of over $ 100 million.
These events are supported by the “Strong Businesses and Communities for Moldova” project, financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and Swiss Government, implemented by GIZ Moldova.