Moldova needs more water and sanitation specialists, UTM program aims to address shortage
The Technical University of Moldova (UTM) has relaunched its water and sanitation program after a two-year hiatus. The four-year program will teach students how to design and build systems in this sector.
Students enrolled in the program, who are full of excitement, attended the opening ceremony of the new academic year today. The event was also attended by Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Andrei Spînu.
Students say they chose the Water and Sanitation program because Moldova faces a shortage of specialists in this field. They also say they want to contribute to the development of this sector.
"I heard that there are few specialists and I would like to achieve success in this field. I think it will be interesting," said Anna Makarova, a UTM student.
"Few people know that, first of all, water and sanitation is the basis for any construction, and then the other constructions. In Moldova, the problem is that they first build roads, then they tear them up and build water and sanitation," said Valeriu Lupu, a UTM student.
"First of all, we spend our summer internship in different countries, for example, Romania, Norway, and, of course, in our country. This specialisation is strategic and future-oriented, because everyone wants to live in hygienic and comfortable conditions," said Natalia Ciobanu-Chetrari, a university lecturer.
"Students need to be properly informed about the importance of this field from school," said Dinu Țurcanu, the pro-rector for digitization at UTM.
"During the study process, we have quite professional teaching staff, we have well-equipped laboratories, which - and this hurts my heart, if I can say so - because we have well-equipped laboratories, but they were not used. Students did not come to choose this program. If we talk about the study conditions, they are very good. So, today, they definitely understood from all the guests who came to congratulate them how important this field is and how much they are in demand on the market."
Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Andrei Spînu, who was present at the event, congratulated the students on the start of the new academic year and emphasized that the Water and Sanitation program is a necessity for Moldova, as there are still communities where the lack of water is a problem that needs to be solved.
"We are very pleased that this group has finally been created at the Technical University, and the projects we have both in the "European Village" and larger projects, such as connecting the Straseni and Calarasi districts to the water supply system, the municipality of Chisinau or the wastewater treatment plant in Soroca and Comrat, show that we need more specialists," concludes Andrei Spînu, the Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development.
This year, approximately 250 students were admitted to the Faculty of Urbanism and Architecture.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
