Moldovan PM attends inauguration of Centre of Excellence in IT sector

Chisinau, 15 March /MOLDPRES/ – Prime Minister Pavel Filip took part in inauguration of Centre of Excellence Tekwill today, created by a public – private partnership at the Technical University of Moldova (UTM), the government’s communication and protocol department has reported.

The Prime Minister welcomed opening of the first Center of Excellence in Moldova, noting that the field of informational technologies was a priority and the government was open to implement new projects that increase competitiveness. Similarly, Pavel Filip said that industry could contribute significantly to Moldova’s development. "We live in the age of information and we must focus on this domain. Today, IT industry is the locomotive of all industries, including economy, because here is most of the money put into circulation", said the Prime Minister.

The head of the government said that although in recent years an increased interest in IT studies, only 30 per cent of graduates find a job. Pavel Filip expressed his belief that opening of similar centres to Tekwill will contribute to better preparation of graduates in requirements of IT market. "The information technology industry does not have a sufficient number of specialists, while on the other hand, we refer that young people can not find a job. Tekwill Excellence Centre, which we open today, is meant to adjust certain knowledge obtained from university to industry demands. I hope that this centre will help young IT enthusiasts to find a good-paid job at home in Moldova," said Pavel Filip.

Also, the prime minister stressed that the government would preserve its efforts to develop IT industry. "Today we can not imagine how to proceed further without a well-developed electronic government and without digitization services. Agencies have already started creating a public service to cover all services provided to citizens and business affairs, and to operate on an electronic platform," the prime minister said.

Attending the event, US Ambassador to Chisinau, James Pettit, said the US government was excited to support a project of such importance for Moldova's competitiveness and development of the IT sector. Also, Ambassador of Sweden in Moldova, Signe Burgstaller, noted Moldova having good potential to generate IT products and services, while the Sweden’s support aims to assist the development of this sector and creating new jobs.

Centre of Excellence Tekwill has over 3400 square metres and laboratories available to young people and halls equipped with the latest equipment to implement the theoretical knowledge learnt at university in practice.  

Tekwill is built within the "Development of the Centre of Excellence in IT", implemented by the National Association of Information Technologies and Communications in partnership with the Technical University of Moldova and Ministry of Information Technology and Communications. The project is funded by the US Program for International Development USAID and the Swedish government program of Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA).