Continental Romania: More than 1,600 students followed internships within the company in the academic year 2023-2024

Continental continues to be involved in supporting the development of the university environment in Romania, through various programs carried out in partnership with several higher education institutions in all areas. The strategic direction that the company has prioritized over the years has meant supporting and contributing to a curriculum adapted to industry needs, a wide range of programs for students, involvement with universities in European programs and research and innovation projects , equipping laboratories, sponsoring events organized by student leagues, such as hackathon competitions, conferences, etc.

“Standing with our university partners means being part of the community and helping to develop it. Through programs that equip students with advanced skills and competencies for the mobility of the future, we shape tomorrow’s workforce and create impact in society. Approximately 200 specialists from the Continental Romania headquarters dedicate their time to support courses or seminars at the faculties – from this year also in the dual system, to facilitate practice and mentoring activities within the company premises, as well as to collaborate with universities in large-scale projects of research, innovation or European”, said Christian von Albrichsfeld, General Manager of Continental Automotive Romania.

Continental Automotive, Continental Tire and ContiTech from Timișoara continue the strategic partnership they have had for almost 25 years with the main universities in the capital of Banat. Through joint projects and activities, the company, together with the Politehnica University and the Western University of Timișoara, has strengthened its partnership and contributes to the development of both the academic, economic and civil environment.

In the 2023-2024 academic year, over 1000 students worked in a paid internship program offered by the Continental offices in Timișoara; over 60 specialists were involved in adapting the curriculum, teaching courses and laboratories; many technical presentations, company visits and tours were organized; equipment was donated to equip the laboratories and projects, conferences, student contests and hackathon competitions were sponsored; collaborations for European and/or research and innovation projects were continued and started – such as IPCEI, etc.

Starting from the fall of this year, Continental Automotive and Continental Tires are also actively involved in the dual higher education pilot program in Romania. This new form of university education was launched at the Robotics specialization at the Faculty of Mechanics of the Timișoara Polytechnic University (UPT) and has 31 admitted students. The program started this academic year, and the Automotive and Tire offices are partners of the Regional Consortium for Dual Education West Timișoara. The Energetic Technological High School “King Ferdinand I” in Timișoara, with which Continental has been collaborating for over 14 years for dual vocational education classes, is also a member of this consortium.

The innovative project, for which a financing contract of over 20 million euros was signed through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) for the construction and equipment of a dual education center in Timișoara, aims to combine the theoretical training provided by the university teaching staff with the practical training of students by the specialists of the partner companies. The objective of this program is to prepare a skilled workforce aligned with the needs of the labor market and to provide a complete dual educational pathway.   

The relationship between Continental Sibiu and universities has many years of joint projects and activities that, over time, have led to a sustainable development of both the company and the universities. These strategic partnerships have been constantly strengthened and gradually expanded in most cities in Romania. Currently, the location is actively involved in strategic partnerships with the “Lucian Blaga” University in Sibiu, the University of Craiova, as well as in impactful collaborations with the universities of Alba Iulia, Târgu Mureș and Cluj Napoca.

And in the 2023-2024 academic year, more than 300 students worked at Continental Sibiu, as part of a paid internship program with a flexible schedule. Student training is also supported by Continental experts who teach courses and laboratories in partner universities and by Continental ambassadors who represent the company in universities, contribute to the adaptation of the university curriculum and actively organize activities for students such as competitions, presentations technical, company tours and more.

Sponsorships, classroom renovations, equipment and kit investments, university scholarship programs, research projects, are also a strong part of this partnership. In addition, Continental makes available to the “Lucian Blaga” University in Sibiu, since 2019, a space within the location in Sibiu, a classroom with approximately 200 seats and two laboratories for courses and seminars. 

Among the most important directions of involvement of the Continental headquarters in Iași is the development of the study discipline “Software engineering specific to automobiles” (ISSA) in partnership with the Faculty of Automation and Computers and the Faculty of Informatics from Iași, which more than 200 students have chosen to study it. The “Software engineering specific to automobiles” discipline aims to provide an introduction to the principles of automatic driving, advanced driver assistance systems, familiarize them with safety and security concepts and present them with products from various areas such as: telematics, infotainment, units for controlling doors / lights / hatches etc. 11 specialists from the location in the north-east of the country held laboratories within the two faculties for future experts in the automotive industry. 

In addition to the theoretical basis, students learn directly from specialists what the activities are for a certain role, what skills are needed to develop a certain type of product and understand automotive products in more detail. 

Between 1999 and 2023, Continental invested over 2.3 billion euros in its activities in Romania. All three fields of activity of the company are represented in Romania. Continental owns five production units and four engineering centers in Timisoara, Sibiu, Carei and Iasi. The company has a tire distribution center in Bucharest. At the end of 2023, Continental had over 20,300 employees, of which over a third represented engineers and computer scientists and will continue to hire depending on future projects.