[crocozaurus]

I am from Cluj, Romania and I am a developer for some years now. I really know how things are in the IT sector in Cluj and I really know how my country stacks up against others. The article is not accurate and highlights mostly positive aspects.

The programmers are decent and hard working, but nothing spectacular going on. They might not be your first pick when you want innovation. We are mostly self-taught ( thanks DoD for the Internet), and contrast the poor courses that are held at the Romanian universities. There are programmers that range from mediocre to good. Comparing to colleagues from London, or the US, we are not as good. They know more things and are more specialized. They work at a faster pace and work on hard problems. We make decent work though, but nothing mind blowing. If you want guys that can innovate, better look elsewhere like: the US, UK, Finland, Holland and other Nordic countries.

Here is the factual truth about Romania. It is a country of huge contrast. It has really good results in math and compute science Olympiads, but it is at the very bottom at math performance for the population at large. See PISA test results. 40 % of Romanians do not know basic and simple concepts from math. 40 % also are functional illiterates. This is much worse than the US. At the peak level We seem to be very good at IT, yet there is virtually not an algorithm or an innovation that bears a Romanian's name. You learn about Dijkstra, Turing, Fermat and Leibniz, but not Popescu or Iliescu. You hear about how good we are, but no Romanian University is within the top 500 at the computer science section. There is a lot of impostors in our universities and plagiarism is high. The dean of the Technical University of Cluj plagiarized courses from Berkeley and presents them as his own.

Romania has one of the largest internet speed, but only half of the country is connected. And within those that do use it, the vast majority are on Facebook and Youtube. Telekom just published that Romania has the poorest internet usage when it comes to business related activity.

Half of the population still lives in the rural areas, and the conditions are horrible. Over half of Romanian schools do not have running tap water or a decent toilet with flushing water. Mostly are again in the rural areas. But also in the surrounding regions of Cluj, and other major cities, there are entire neighborhoods that do not have access to the sewage network. And they are part of the city of Cluj, not other entities.

Romania is featured as a poor country by World Vision, which needs western support. It is listed among Albania, Georgia and a host of African countries. The orphanage footage of Romania in the 90' comes to mind.

And the list shocking contrast goes on and on.

[hvm]

> You learn about Dijkstra, Turing, Fermat and Leibniz, but not Popescu or Iliescu

Andrei Alexandrescu pops into my head and I'm sure I could find a few more if I thought about it.

> And within those that do use it, the vast majority are on Facebook and Youtube

As opposed to the west where everyone is using the Internet for maximizing their productivity.

> There is a lot of impostors in our universities and plagiarism is high. The dean of the Technical University of Cluj plagiarized courses from Berkeley and presents them as his own.

That is true, I've also been at UT, hehe.

Overall I kinda agree with you though. We are poor and the government won't or can't help us increase innovation rate. The talent is here though, anyone looking to create products does have a good opportunity if they choose to start a business here. In the process the native folk might learn a thing or two about what it takes to create a product and sell it.

[crocozaurus]

Yes, there are a few, like Alexandrescu or Mihai Pătrașcu. Don't get me wrong. They are exceptionally smart and hard working. I admire them. But their success, like that of most who participate in Olympiads, is the result of their exceptional hard work and that of a handful of dedicated teachers. It is not the merit of the education system. But you should also know that there are hundreds other like Pătrașcu, from all over the globe. We don't stand out from the crowd. And another thing. I know a single example of a person in Romania who grew up in Romania and became recognized for his work in Romania. Almost all of them had to flew to other universities in the West and there they managed to make great contributions. That is a great contrast as well. The educational environment is so corrupt and unfair that people of genuine value just don't want to work there. Most of them that stay are opportunists. Not all of them, but well over 80%.

:)), yes about the internet usage. The vast majority of people in the west also use it for Facebook or Youtube. Don't get me wrong; I doubt people in Holland skip Facebook and study Dijkstra work :) But a disproportionately higher number of people from those countries use the Internet for more noble purposes. Not just entertainment. As for companies there are a number of statistics that show how they use it for increased productivity. And Romania, as in most statistics, sits at the bottom.

But fair points, nonetheless.

[balazsbela]

"but no Romanian University is within the top 500 at the computer science section"

http://news.ubbcluj.ro/noutati/universitatea-babes-bolyai-%E...

As most people who live there, you have an insider's perspective and you tend to overestimate how other places are doing.

Cluj and Bucharest are islands in that country, in terms of economic growth.

The biggest strength of the IT sector in Cluj is its drive and motivation. These things take time but there is no reason to deny that there is potential.

Comparing such a small city like Cluj to London and cities in the US is not very fair.

You can certainly find very talented people in Cluj who could work on startups, however this is clearly not the majority. Like everywhere.

[crocozaurus]

Yes, you made some fair points on some items.

I mentioned that no university is in top 500 at COMPUTER SCIENCE. And they are not. Babes is ranked higher since a professor published some articles but on math, and not CS. And it was done in partnership with some Saudi University. But as for CS, there is no university in the 500 rank. That is a bit of paradox right there.

Yes, comparing Cluj or Bucharest with London is not fair. But comparing Bucharest with Helsinki is. Bucharest has a higher population, and thus has more potential. But Helsinki clearly outperforms Bucharest, be it in universities, companies or projects.

And for the other points, I agree with you.

Thanks for you commentz, Balazs.