University of Art and Design

Mara Raţiu is Associate Professor within the Theory Department of the University of Art and Design in Cluj-Napoca, Romania (since 2014), teaching courses in philosophy and aesthetics of the visual arts, and Vice-Rector responsible for institutional partnerships within the same university (since 2012). She holds a PhD in Philosophy at the Babeş-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania (2011). Her main research interests are in aesthetics, contemporary artistic practices and institutions and their socio-political implications. She has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals and she is the author of the book Arta ca activitate socială / Art as social activity (2011). Also, she is the editor of the volume Discursuri asupra artei / Discourses on Art (2014). She has presented papers in more than a dozen national and international conferences. She is a GETTY – New Europe College Bucharest fellow (March-June 2010; October 2012-February 2013), as well as a RAVE Stipendium – IFA Stuttgart curatorial fellowship alumna (2003). She is a member of the Representative Board (since 2016) and of the Executive Board (since 2018) of ELIA – European League of Institutes of the Arts. For her work in international relations within the academia, as well as for her constant support for the French-speaking culture in the Romanian context, in 2016 Mara Raţiu was awarded the title Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques of the French Republic.

Technical University of Cluj

Currently full professor in intelligent robotics and innovation management at the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Stelian Brad comes up with a complex background of about 20 years in software industry, as CEO, product or project manager, innovation manager, entrepreneur and mentor. Stelian holds a PhD in robotics and a PhD in economics. Till now, he had the chance to lead or to be involved in 150+ research and innovation projects, as well as many institutional development initiatives. His current technological focus is on disruptive IT product-service systems, industry 4.0 and robotic intelligence. Stelian Brad is president of the Cluj IT cluster. He is also chair of the Balkan, Black and Baltic Seas ICT Cluster Network, an initiative that promotes inter-regional cooperation by means of 20+ ICT clusters.