A Laboratory of Social Research, Innovation and Data, which bears the name of Romanian sociologist Dimitrie Gusti, has been inaugurated at the headquarters of the Moldovan State University (USM). The laboratory was created with the support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the government of Japan and the government of Romania, through the Department for Relation with Moldova (DRRM).
The new laboratory will work at the Faculty of Psychology, Sciences of Education and Social Assistance at USM. The Lab is meant for training future sociologists and social assistants in the art of social and behavioral research and management of statistics data for development.
The Laboratory’s facilities include rooms endowed for empiric research and data analysis, giving students opportunities to participate in topic-related studies and to interact with national and international specialists. Also, the Lab’s platform will host presentations, workshops and discussions with experts, consolidating the cooperation between the university, students and the business sector.
The initiative belongs to the Department for Sociology and Social Assistance and was backed by Romania’s government through DRRM, which financially contributed to the modernization of education rooms, while the partners UNFPA, UNDP and the Embassy of Japan provided advanced equipment for quantitative and qualitative sociological researches, including audio and video equipment and tablets for collecting data.
The opening of the Laboratory took place in the presence of USM Rector Igor Sarov, of partners: Adrian Dupu, state secretary, Department for Relation with Moldova at Romania’s government; Dr. Karina A. Nersesyan, UNFPA Representative in Moldova; His Excellency Yoichiro Yamada, Ambassador of Japan to Moldova; Olesea Cazacu, programme manager, United Nations Development Programme Moldova.
USM Rector Igor Sarov thanked the partners for the support provided, noting that the modernization of the Moldovan State University, through the opening of new research laboratories, was a priority of the institution’s leadership.
The Lab is set to immortalize the heritage of Romanian sociologist Dimitrie Gusti, whose Sociological School from Bucharest had an essential role in the development of the sociological research in Bessarabia. This initiative gives students possibility to develop their professional skills through applying theory in practice, thus contributing to an education focused on the labour market’s requirements.
