On 15th and 16th November 2023, a group of 12 professors from the Universities of Sfax, Jendouba, Carthage and Gabes from Tunisia, France and Spain, as well as a representative of the EWF – European Welding Federation, took part in the annual management and training meeting within the framework of the ERASMUS+ project “South Mediterranean Tunisian Maintenance Centre of Excellence/SM-TMC”.

The delegation included the leading representatives of university life in Tunisia and France: The Rector of the University of Sfax, the Vice-Rectors of the Universities of Sfax and Jendouba, the Director of the Department of Mechanical Engineering of Jendouba and the Deputy Director of the School of Entrepreneurship of the University of Lyon 3, Jean Moulin. The meeting was organised by the Manufacturing Engineering Department of the Faculty of Engineering through Professor Dr. Viorel Paunoiu, who is responsible for this project on behalf of the University.

The foreign delegations were received by Professor Puiu-Lucian GEORGESCU, PhD, Rector of “Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati, by Professor Sivius STANCIU, PhD, Vice-Rector for Research Activities of the University, by Professor Catalin FETECAU, PhD, President of the University Senate, by Professor Elena SCUTELNICU, PhD, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, and Assoc. Professor Florin SUSAC, PhD, Head of the Manufacturing Engineering Department. In addition to the discussions related to the project-specific issues, the members of the delegation actively participated in the Technology Transfer Fair, 2nd Edition, 2023 and visited several laboratories of the Faculties of Engineering, Food Science and Engineering, Automation, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering and Electronics.

The delegation visited the research vessel REXDAN and the DAMEN Shipyard. The participants from abroad noted the material base of the University, the results of the research obtained by the visited teams and the dynamism they brought to the teaching staff, who work at the faculty level. In closing, the lines of action for the next year of the project were drawn and a series of future directions of long-term collaboration were identified, both in terms of education and research.