Considering the recent suspicions and accusations of plagiarism related to the doctoral dissertation of Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă, and considering the constant concern of Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca (BBU) in keeping with the highest academic standards and in maintaining a culture of academic and social integrity, BBU requests that the National Council for Attesting Titles, Diplomas and Certificates (CNATDCU) to analyse this situation with extreme focus, in order to avoid any procedural appeal, which might annul the analysis/academic conclusions; to analyse the situation expeditiously, considering the public office held by Mr. Nicolae Ciucă, which may influence the good functioning and image of this country.
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BBU is the university with the oldest academic tradition in Romania (founded 440 years ago – 1581), representing the largest academic community in the country (with over 55,000 students and staff members, in 15 cities and 11 counties). Since its foundation, BBU has been part of the gallery of prestigious and referential universities in Romania, and during the past 5 years it has ranked first in the country, in the University Metaranking, which combines the major international rankings of universities. For several years now, BBU has occupied top positions at national level in the global rankings and in rankings on fields; it has constantly been among the 5% of world universities, with an advanced academic infrastructure (e.g., RDI units integrated into European networks, modernised didactic laboratories integrated with virtual/augmented/mix reality through the BBU-EON-XR Centre etc.). Recently (in 2021), following an international audit by QS STAR, BBU has been confirmed the first “world-class” (QS*****) university in Romania, and in 2020 it was accepted into the GUILD, the organisation of some of the most prestigious world-class/research-intensive European universities.
