This year, Transilvania Executive Education (TEE) celebrates 10 years of activity in managing executive education programmes in Romania. The association was founded in 2014, under the name of UBB-Executive Education Association, bringing together academic representatives from Babeș-Bolyai University and business representatives from companies such as Banca Transilvania, Electrogrup and BT Club with the aim of bringing an international Executive MBA programme to Cluj. Together they managed to partner with Hull University in the UK to open their first campus in Cluj-Napoca.
Reflecting on the beginnings and evolution of the EMBA programme, Prof. Mihaela Luțaș from Babeș-Bolyai University reports now: "It all started 10 years ago, when visionary people from representative institutions of the economic and academic environment in Cluj created an institutional structure that was a first for the Transylvanian market. It was a bold project at that time, a project through which employees with potential for developing their managerial skills were offered the opportunity to have access to a form of executive education provided by universities with a tradition in this field in Europe. The beginning was challenging, with numerous attempts to convince universities in Western Europe to join this project. Substantial support came from Dr. Andrew Taylor who joined the team that initiated and thought up the strategy for introducing the Executive MBA programme: Mr. Horia Ciorcilă and Mr. Tiberiu Moisă from Banca Transilvania, Prof. Ioan-Aurel Pop, Prof. Vasile Pușcaș and Prof. Mircea Maniu from Babes-Bolyai University and Mr. Teofil Mureșan from Electrogrup.
The first academic partner of the EMBA programme was the University of Hull, followed in 2021 by the University of Buckingham, both from the United Kingdom. In 2018, the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca and Emerson joined the association, through Alina Negru, an alumna of the programme, a year in which we changed the name of the association to Transilvania Executive Education, to reflect the achieved results. These were years of diligent work, with exceptional professors, students, and alumni who demonstrated that the vision from 10 years ago has proven to be a successful story."
The first cohort of Executive MBA students started in February 2015 and brought together 28 managers and entrepreneurs. Upon graduation, two years later, their results placed Cluj at the top of Hull University's campuses, a position we have kept for years thanks to the profile of the EMBA students: motivated, eager to evolve, and with a need to stay abreast of the latest business trends.
Today, the TEE community counts over 200 graduates, of which 60% have achieved career advancements within a year of completing the programme. 15% of the students studied the programme thanks to the scholarships offered by Banca Transilvania, Evergent Investment, or Electrogrup.
"I remember how our story began because, generally, no one forgets the beginning. Discussions about education brought us to a common vision as founders of TEE. It's the red thread we still follow today: Cluj-Napoca, the city where executive education is available at international standards. It's one of the best ways to deeply connect academia with the growing wave of regional and national businesses. When individuals grow, so does everything around them. You look forward and 10 years seem like an eternity; you look back and it feels like yesterday. I get carried away with emotion, think of the 200+ TEE alumni and understand better why we can't go wrong by investing in people and education. Simply put, I am happy to be here," says Tiberiu Moisă, President of the Transilvania Executive Education Association.
Those who have chosen to study an EMBA in Cluj are experts and leaders from middle and top management in various industries: IT, automotive, financial services, medicine, retail, marketing, production, green energy, working in more than 60 companies, from 16 different counties in Romania. Their average age is 35, while the average management experience exceeds 10 years for each group. Thus, with such varied profiles, diversity is a defining characteristic of the TEE alumni community.
The University of Hull, the first educational partner, contributed to the development of seven generations of EMBA students. British professors came to Cluj once every 6 weeks to teach, with one module taking place at the university campus in the United Kingdom. In 2021, TEE formed new partnerships to support the business school programmes: the University of Buckingham for the Executive MBA programme and the University of Suffolk for short-term courses.
TEE has developed an educational hub in Cluj-Napoca where lecturers from all over the world and entrepreneurs and managers from Romania have access to educational programmes of international standard. The Association offers both pre- and post-MBA courses, as well as contexts through which students and professors can carry out research projects and publish books.
The 10 years of activity have confirmed that TEE’s programmes are valuable for the Romanian business environment and provide executives with an environment to practice critical thinking. Once in the programme, executives enter a community of professionals with whom they can build strong connections.
The carefully selected international experts who teach in the TEE programmes bring with them the expertise needed to support and encourage the development of local businesses through the personal and professional growth of those who run them. These experts come from recognised universities such as Buckingham University, Northumbria University, Copenhagen Business School, Sheffield Business School, Florida Atlantic University, Hanken School of Economics, University of Exeter, University of East Anglia, University of Hull and Babeș-Bolyai University. They are joined by experts from various renowned companies from Romania and Europe, such as Emerson, Banca Transilvania, DuPont, Sustainable Viability and others.
Since 2021, the Executive MBA programme has been delivered in collaboration with the University of Buckingham. The structure validated by this university is highly appreciated by students. The modules were built together with the alumni community, academic experts, and business experts of TEE, covering topics such as systemic thinking, digital innovation, governance and ethics in business, in addition to the classic modules existing on an EMBA programme. The TEE Executive MBA programme is an intense journey of discovery and rediscovery in which students are challenged to think critically, develop new skills, and use double-loop learning.
Enrollment for the 2025 Executive MBA cohort opens in May. The next class will start the programme in February 2025. Interested candidates can find details about applications on the TEE website or via email at