Technical University of Moldova proudly announces the official launch of the Interuniversity Master’s Program “Smart Industries & Digital Transformation (IS&TD)”, an event that took place on October 1, 2025 – a significant step in the modernization and alignment of engineering education in the Republic of Moldova and in the preparation of specialists for the Industry 4.0 era.

Master IS&TD is a key initiative of the European project “Improving Mechanical Engineering Education in Moldova for Industry 4.0 / NeedEDU4.0”, co-funded by the European Union through the ERASMUS+ program.

Developed within the NeedEDU University Consortium, the program brings together the expertise of three prestigious higher education institutions from the Republic of Moldova: Technical University of Moldova (UTM), “Alecu Russo” State University of Balti (USARB) and “Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu” State University of Cahul (USC), and is supported by leading international partners such as RWTH Aachen (Germany), Transilvania University of Brasov (UTBV) (Romania), Draexlmaier Group (Germany).

The IS&TD Master’s program is designed to train specialists capable of innovating and managing the complex processes of digital transformation. The curriculum is deeply aligned to the Industry 4.0 trends and includes areas of absolute topicality, such as: Intelligent Systems and Applied Robotics; Digital Modeling and Industrial Simulation (CAD/CAM/CAE); IIoT and Artificial Intelligence (AI); Cybersecurity in Industry; Innovation Management and Protection.

Masters students will benefit from international collaboration, academic-industry exchange, hands-on learning on advanced equipment and extensive internship and networking opportunities, ensuring rapid career development.

A distinctive element of the program is the blended learning study format – a modern model, developed within the NeedEDU Consortium, optimally combines synchronous (direct, real-time interaction) and asynchronous (individual, flexible study) activities. This approach offers learners increased flexibility and autonomy; extended access to digital learning resources; accelerated development of essential digital competences. The implementation of this format complies with the requirements identified in the NeedEDEDU4.0 project and is also regulated according to the provisions of the Education Code of the Republic of Moldova (Art. 3, 84 and 104).

The first edition of the program started with a group of 18 master students, demonstrating a strong commitment to equity and access to quality higher education. The students come from all regions of the country: 8 from the Central region, 6 from the Northern region, 2 from the Southern region, plus 2 students from Ukraine.

This regional and international diversity underlines the Consortium’s mission to train a generation of professionals capable of contributing to the digital transformation of the entire economy.