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62 The PCB Design Magazine • May 2016 Dan Pitica (Technical University of Cluj-Nap- oca), and Hartmut Hohaus (general manager of Miele Tehnica srl). The topic of discussion at this year's event was titled "Partnership in Practice" and underscored the importance of an ongoing partnership between university and industry and the many mutual benefits each re- ceives from their interaction. Many of the other technical presentations were focused on matters related to PCB design and it was fitting as the high point of the event was a competition among the students to de- sign and layout a circuit for a specific product from a prospective bill of materials provided and meeting to the maximum extent possible a long list of design and product requirements. The students had just four hours to deliver a de- sign which was then evaluated by a team com- prised of a university instructor and a seasoned industry engineer against a checklist of specific design requirements. The top performers are highly sought af- ter and positions in an electronics company are virtually assured. Professor Svasta calls it "a win, win, win proposition, where the academia, supporting corporations and the students all benefit from the experience." Indeed, all par- ties do benefit, as the interactions allows the universities to keep current on what industry is seeking to better prepare their students, the industry gets talented and well-taught employ- ees who can hit the ground running and the students get to confidence to know that they can perform to meet industry needs and secure a place in the PCB design workforce. The entire conference was held in English, and all of those in attendance were highly proficient in English, which makes the pro- gram and its participant alumnae highly at- tractive to foreign companies. Some of the high-profile and familiar companies from the West who supported and participated this year ROMANIAN ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY CELEBRATES 25 TH ANNIVERSARY OF TIE Figure 2: Each evaluation team is made up of members of academia and industry. Figure 3: The winners of this year's competition: five honorable mentions and the third- and sec- ond-highest scoring designers. Figure 4: Professor Paul Svasta congratulates the top scoring PCB designer, Voina Radu, of the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca.