West University of Timisoara Prorector Octavian Bunoiu, awarded Palmes Académiques by French Ambassador

Octavian Madalin Bunoiu, PhD, prorector and university lecturer at the West University of Timisoara on Thursday was awarded the Palmes Académiques Order in rank of Knight, by the French Ambassador to Romania, Michele Ramis. 

At the ceremony held at the French Embassy, the Ambassador said the distinction rewarded Bunoiu's university career and his contribution to the development of the university and scientific relations between France and Romania, also mentioning his attachment to the French scientific community. 

The Ambassador mentioned that the West University of Timisoara currently ranks 4th among the Romanian universities, to which achievement Bunoiu contributed through his dynamism. 

Ramis went on to mention Bunoiu's career as a researcher, as he is one of the best specialists in crystal growth and characterization. She also brought to mind that Bunoiu received numerous other distinctions during his career, among which the "Constantin Miculescu" Award of the Romanian Academy for Physics, in 2012, and the award of the Romanian Association for Materials Science and Crystal Growth in 2003. 

The French Ambassador said Bunoiu is also a "defender of Francophony," considering that he defended his PhD thesis in collaboration with the Polytechnic Institute in Grenoble, in 2003, and that he never stopped getting involved in the development of university and scientific partnerships between the West University of Timisoara and great research institutions or higher education institutions in France. 

Ramis also mentioned the Association of the Members of the Palmes Académiques Order was created in 1962 under the high patronage of the President of the French Republic and the Ministry of National Education. She said the Association is now present on five continents, forming large human and cultural communities, which bring together the intellectual elites of the world. 

She brought to mind that the International Day of the French Language Teachers was being celebrated on Thursday, adding that, without the teachers, the number of students learning French cannot be increased, and also that there is need of good, experienced teachers. 

In his turn, Bunoiu said the award meant a lot to him. "For me, France (...) is like a second country. I grew very attached to the French culture and to the values it promotes and I visit this country quite often," said Bunoiu. 

The Inspector General for French Language, Manuela Delia Anghel, relayed the message of the Minister of Education, Monica Anisie, according to which France honours again the high level teaching and academic research activity that is done in Romania by awarding Bunoiu. 

The Minister mentioned that teaching French language is a priority in Romania. She brought to mind that the first inter-governmental agreement promoting Romanian-French bilingual education was signed in Bucharest in September 2006, on the occasion of the 11th Summit of Francophony. Anisie specified that the national programme launched on this occasion led to the introduction in 2008 of the Francophone bilingual baccalaureate. She informed there are 23 bilingual high schools now in Romania, 18 of which received the distinction "FrancEducation." She also said in her message that the Romanian higher education system offers more than 100 French study programmes, in all fields, both at the public and private universities. 

According to Anisie, in a recent statistic, published on the occasion of the European Day of Foreign Languages, Eurostat placed Romania among the top five European countries, with 95 per cent of its students studying two foreign languages in school. She also mentioned that almost 1.2 million students are studying French as the first or second foreign language.