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58 The PCB Design Magazine • March 2016 If you thought all of the PCB design conferences were held in North America, think again. The Tehnici de Inter- conectare in Electronica (In- terconnection Techniques for Electronics) conference will mark its 25 th year during this year's event, held April 20-23 in Suceava, a city in Northeast Romania. The conference is the brainchild of Dr. Paul Svasta, a professor of electrical and electronic manufacturing at Politehnica University of Bu- charest – CETTI. Svasta said he's pleased to see the event he founded in 1992 celebrating such a milestone. "It's nice to achieve, after so many years, normality," Svasta said. "It's important to re- member that this education and training is fo- cused on the needs of the industry. This helps bring academia closer to the industry." The event brings together the leaders of Ro- mania's academia and the electronics industry, culminating in a PCB design contest for col- lege students. Thirteen universities send three PCB designer students each to TIE; the students spend four days in PCB design workshops and compete in a design contest known as "The Olympic Games for PCB Designers." Winners are awarded a "PCB Designer Certificate of Competence." TIE is sustained by the IEEE CPMT Joint Hungary & Romania Chapter. Svasta was re- cently awarded the 2015 IEEE CPMT Regional Contribution Award – Region 8 (Africa, Europe, Middle East) for establishing the TIE event and the IEEE International Symposium for Design and Technology in Electronic Packaging (SIIT- ME). Svasta points out that a number of global electronics companies have facilities in Roma- nia, including Continental Automotive Sys- tems; over 4,500 of Continental's electronics engineers are located in Romania. He credits TIE with bringing more young people into the relatively mature PCB design community. "Interest in the contest from high school students has increased," Svasta explained. "In the spring, I will visit some of the high schools that are focused on teaching science and math. I will be going with my students." Now 74, Svasta said he has no plans of retir- ing any time soon. "I am 74 biologically. I love what I do." For more information, visit www.tie.ro. Romania's TIE Design Conference Celebrates 25 th Year in April Dr. Paul Svasta upcoming conference