The municipality of Zalău will have a European-level IT hub. This hub is the fruit of collaboration between the public, private and academic sectors. The IT hub will be built in a building next to Zalău town hall by the Cluj-based company Netrom Comunicații.
The idea for this hub came from the collaboration between the Netrom Comunicații team, the Cluj IT cluster and the Zalău City Hall. The foundations of the cluster were laid during a meeting on April 23, attended by the Mayor of Zalău, Ionel Ciunt, the Deputy Mayor Nicolae Fazakas, the Public Administrator of the municipality, Călin Cristian Forț, the President of the Cluj IT cluster, the University Professor Stelian Brad, the Executive Director Andrei Kelemen, the CEO of Netrom Comunicații, Liviu Vlașin, the Regional Director for North-West of Netrom Comunicații, Daniel Bordaș, as well as specialists in local administration and economy, according to ClujToday.ro.
Netrom Comunicații is a member of the Cluj IT cluster. This cluster is a structure that brings together public administrations, universities and private companies.
By creating the IT hub in Zalău, there will be a coherent framework of cooperation between the various entities involved to accelerate the digitization processes in the community, to promote innovation and technology transfer from member universities to companies and the public environment. This will lead to sustainable economic development for the local community.
“The realisation of this project is very important for the local economy, because an IT hub brings high added value. It is about developing horizontal solutions for several economic areas, but also vertical projects, supporting projects such as the digital transformation of public institutions in the service of the citizen. There are examples of good practice in countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and Estonia, where IT hubs have changed the interaction between different members of the community for the better. That is why we believe that such a project deserves to be supported in the local community”, said Mayor Ionel Ciunt.
The Cluj IT Cluster will be an element that will bring great credibility to the IT hub. More than 70 companies with more than 6,000 employees are part of the cluster. The cluster also includes 17 universities and research institutes, with more than 85,000 students, and 13 public and catalyst institutions, such as the North-West Regional Development Agency.
“When we decided to support the IT hub project in Zalău, we didn’t think about how many IT companies there are in Sălaj county. Of course, this number is relevant. But it is also relevant to ask how many companies have IT departments, even if these companies are active in other fields, such as tyre production, industrial equipment production or tourism. An IT hub is more than just a team of programmers coding software; it’s about connecting all the relevant players in the community,” says Stelian Brad, president of the Cluj IT cluster.
The project is made possible by investments to be supported by Netrom Communications.”I would like to say, in all strength, that the expansion of our activity in Zalău is a way of offering the local community the recognition that Cluj must show to the people of Zalaú who have come to Cluj universities, carried out research and academic projects or developed businesses in Cluj.There are many people from Cluj who have been adopted by Cluj and have contributed to the development of the university city.That’s why entities like the Cluj IT cluster are now coming to Zalău to provide the opportunity to connect communities and generate high added value.
Sălaj is a successful model. This county ranks 3rd in the ranking of counties with the highest economic growth. The main engine of development is Zală. We want to be part of this success story and contribute to the realisation of this project represented by a modern and European Zalăul”, said Netrom Comunicații founder Liviu Vlașin.
