PPC Renewables Romania has modernized and fully equipped a teaching laboratory within the Faculty of Automation and Computers of the Polytechnic University of Bucharest. The laboratory was equipped with modern equipment for projects in the field of Internet of Things (IoT) and Industrial IoT – oscilloscopes, sources, generators, multimeters and computers, intended not only for teaching activities but also for practical projects.
Starting with the 2026–2027 academic year, PPC Renewables Romania will award eight annual scholarships for students in the final year of the Faculty of Automation and Computers, for nine months. These are awarded based on a selection process carried out with the involvement of a joint commission made up of academics and PPC Renewables Romania specialists.
“We are the largest investor in renewable energy in Romania and we have ambitious projects based on innovative digital solutions. We are part of the PPC Group, which aims to become a leading European PowerTech player, meaning more than a modern utility company, an organization that uses technology as a strategic differentiator. To turn these ambitions into reality, we need very well-trained specialists. Students trained in this laboratory will have the opportunity to carry out digitalization projects for the energy field, and the most creative ideas can be awarded scholarships. Investing in education is essentially an investment in the future of clean energy,” said Adrian Dugulan, General Manager of PPC Renewables Romania.
“Our students need access to current technology and real opportunities to work on applied projects while still studying at university. The modernization of this laboratory offers students of the Faculty of Automation and Computers a space where they can experiment, develop innovative solutions and better prepare for the demands of the labor market, therefore for the future. This partnership shows how important collaboration between universities and companies is to train the specialists that the economy and the energy sector need. At the same time, such initiatives create a framework in which students can turn ideas into concrete projects and contribute to Romania’s technological development,” said Mihnea Costoiu, Rector of the National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest.
The laboratory is the only one within the Polytechnic University of Bucharest that has an electrical installation with a dedicated panel, separate circuits and state-of-the-art protections (including AFDD – device for detecting electric arc faults) for each work table, as well as separate power supply through an isolation transformer.
The space has been completely modernized, including PCs, efficient air conditioning, uniform lighting, audio-video infrastructure and new finishes.
The laboratory can simultaneously host between 16 and 24 students, depending on the type of activities, and will be used for bachelor’s degree projects and teaching activities for the second and third years, for the disciplines focused at hardware for IoT and Industrial IoT applications. The laboratory will host teaching activities, workshops, summer schools, project and bachelor’s degree presentations, as well as student scientific sessions for bachelor’s and master’s programs.
The projects developed in the laboratory can target solutions relevant to the renewable energy industry: monitoring and control systems, smart sensors, energy efficiency, connected embedded systems, data acquisition and processing, as well as their integration into scalable architectures.