AMSP brought sustainability, innovation, and the role of youth in research to the forefront through the contributions of Teodora Vasâlcă and Roxana Lupașcu.
At the 2025 edition of the Summer School in Măgurele, dozens of high school students passionate about science had the chance to interact directly with researchers, professors, and experts from various fields – from nuclear physics and engineering to entrepreneurship, environment, and sustainability.
This year, the event took place between August 22 – September 5, 2025, and the participating students experienced learning activities, projects, teamwork, lab visits, workshops, and debates.
An authentic research experience
The Summer School of Science and Technology in Măgurele has already become a tradition. The organizers emphasized that the main goal is for students to live an authentic research experience, through the involvement of institutes on the Măgurele platform, mentors, and teachers – the latter also benefiting from a special section dedicated to training.
The theme of this year’s edition, “Science for Earth – a sustainable future through responsibility”, sparked a chain reaction, with everything revolving around it.
August 25 – The Official Opening
“There is great interest in Romania in developing STEM education. We have 7 centers in Măgurele working on promoting research and education for pre-university students. The Summer School in Măgurele was an ambition. We didn’t want it to be just a one-day initiative, but rather for as many colleagues from the research platform to be involved, and we wanted to invite as many fields and institutes as possible to be part of this journey, which will last until September 5. May you have an authentic research experience!”
(Bogdan Popovici – organizer of the Summer School of Science and Technology in Măgurele)
The day started with this welcome message from organizer Bogdan Popovici and continued with interventions from personalities in academia and research, followed by a series of presentations on sustainability-related topics.
Presentation session and the intervention of Măgurele Science Park Association
The first presentation was delivered by Andrei Rădulescu – Head of the Support Department for Small Modular Reactor Projects (SMR), Nuclearelectrica S.A.
He emphasized the benefits of nuclear energy and the fact that it represents a solution for energy security.
He explained to students why nuclear energy plays an important role in Romania’s economy: besides being reliable, it has zero carbon emissions, it is affordable, resilient, safe, creates jobs, and by 2032 we can expect about 20,000 jobs in the industry.
The next presentation was given by Teodora Vasâlcă-Cimpoi, communication expert on energy and climate change topics, founder of NewsEnergy, and member of the AMSP community. She spoke about how innovation can save the planet and how sustainability and future technologies can be harmoniously combined.
In her introduction, Roxana Lupașcu – innovation and development expert at MSP – emphasized the role that Măgurele Science Park Association plays in the research, business, and education community. She shared with participants MSP’s involvement in previous editions of the Summer School, when students worked alongside her in a module dedicated to entrepreneurship, where they learned how to bring a business idea to life from scratch. In closing, Roxana invited future students to join other MSP educational activities such as events and the Laser Valley Innovation bootcamp.
Next, Teodora created an interactive story with the students about how professions in research and science have evolved and how sustainability will generate new jobs in the future.
“Living in the digitalization era, when everything is data-driven, we must realize that this progress has come with certain costs, consuming more and more of the planet’s resources. Among these is the fact that approximately 1 million species are threatened with extinction. Sustainability is not an abstract concept and, besides creating well-paid jobs, it will give you the chance to make history by designing new technologies that will contribute to keeping the planet functioning at an optimal level.”
Teodora continued with examples of future professions:
- circular economy expert,
- renewable energy engineer,
- biotechnologist for sustainable food,
- game designer for sustainability simulations,
- digital urban planner / green city designer.
The last presentation was delivered by Alina Kasprovschi, executive director of Bucharest Community Foundation. She explained the objectives of the environmental platform for Bucharest and how, through micro-grants, medium, and strategic funding, it manages to bring positive change in society – from cleaning the air and saving deteriorating buildings to ensuring access to green spaces. Statistics show that less than 25% of homes have access to a park within 250 meters.
The panel and the public Q&A session
The presentations sparked a lot of curiosity among high school students, who asked questions during the Q&A session, moderated by Ada Roseti (University of Bucharest, organizer of the Games of Sciences competition).
One of the boldest questions was:
“Considering people’s attitude and the acceleration of innovations, could we stop the negative impact of humans on the planet in the near future?”
Teodora replied:
“As long as we make efforts, at some point they will pay off. If we understand everyone’s role, it’s impossible to fail. But we need solutions from all sides, the involvement of young people and experts, and each of you can become an ambassador of sustainability. Don’t think what you’re doing is small, don’t fall into that trap. Only with everyone’s contribution, given how much technology and innovation have evolved, will we clearly see results. Let’s not forget that, thanks to European legislation, waters are already becoming cleaner.”
The last question, asked by Ada Roseti to all three guests, was:
“How can students offer their time and resources to contribute to the sustainability of their own city?”
Alina Kasprovschi answered that students can choose an NGO to represent or find an activity that brings them authentic joy and passion. Teodora encouraged them to get internships and explained that, although their actions may seem small, they can have a considerable long-term impact.
At the end of the panel, two government officials took the floor:
- Mr. Andrei Alexandru, President of the National Research Authority,
- Mr. Daniel David, Minister of Education and Research.
They shared thoughts, encouragements, and recommendations with the participants, offering them a positive perspective on how the authorities support educational initiatives through updated legislation. They also highlighted the importance of the link between research, innovation, and sustainable development, underlining that sustained investments and public policies are the key to Romania’s competitiveness at the international level.
Perspectives at the end of the day
After the students presented their teams, accompanied by mentors and volunteers, we said goodbye – but not before taking the group photo.
We will meet them again at another AMSP intervention in September. We are already preparing for the participation of a new guest, who will connect the field of planetary resources with students, through a presentation and a hands-on activity.
So, stay tuned for the next updates on the AMSP and Smartlab Măgurele pages!
