Mihai Dimian, rector of the “Ștefan cel Mare” University of Suceava, was proposed and unanimously validated on Monday, March 2, at the initiative of the president of the National Liberal Party (PNL) and prime minister of Romania, Ilie Bolojan, for the position of minister of education and research.
Romania was left without an education minister after the previous one, Daniel David, announced his resignation back in December, a year after taking office. Prime minister Ilie Bolojan served as the interim education minister since then.
Throughout his mandate, David was criticized for overseeing extensive cuts to the teachers’ pay. Few were willing to take his place, believing that even further cuts would follow in the sector.
Like Daniel David, Dimian is not a member of any political party and will remain an independent. He is tasked with contributing to the development of Romania’s education system in accordance with the governing program, while continuing efforts to improve the education sector’s efficiency, according to Agerpres.
Mihai Dimian, 51, has a PhD in Electrical/Electronic Engineering ICSED from the University of Maryland in the United States, and double bachelor’s degrees in Physics and Mathematics from the ‘Alexandru Ioan Cuza’ University of Iași. For his activities during the difficult pandemic period, he was awarded the title of honorary citizen of the municipality of Suceava in 2021.
Dimian studied and worked as a research assistant at the University of Versailles, France (2001). He was also a researcher at the Max Planck Institute in Germany (2005–2006) and an assistant professor, later associate professor, and PhD supervisor in electrical and electronic engineering at Howard University in Washington DC, USA (2006–2016).
When it comes to achievements, Mihai Dimian received the excellence award “Professor of the Year” (2008) from the Student Council of the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture, and Computer Science at Howard University in Washington DC and the distinction “Bologna Professor” from the National Alliance of Student Organizations in Romania (2007, 2016).
During his activity, Dimian developed and implemented numerous projects for the development of teaching and research infrastructure, for the training of young researchers, and for attracting professors and researchers from abroad. He currently coordinates the implementation of the largest investment program in the university’s history for the development of the university’s second campus.
Dimian also coordinated hundreds of volunteers to manage the refugee crisis from Ukraine and directly supported thousands of refugees. He pursued an active policy of attracting and developing IT companies in the area and contributed essentially to the selection of the municipality of Suceava by the European Commission among 100 European cities for the mission of smart and climate-neutral cities.
(Photo source: Mihai Dimian on Facebook)
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