Background:
Tekwill has been designed as a national public private partnership between the Government of Moldova, USAID, Microsoft, and IBM to answer the needs of the ICT industry to close the gap of the human capital shortage, as well as support the development of the entrepreneurship ecosystem. The initial goal of the projects to contribute to the extension of the Tekwill project as a sustainable network and deploy its programs on regional/national level. The project aims at determining the operation model of the network, determining business plans for the relevant created centers or partners in the regions, deploy scalable activities to connect an estimated of 150,000 people to ICT (school and university students, community, etc.), deploy entrepreneurship programs aiming at both scaling up existing programs, as well as create inclusive innovation platforms for the regions with their respective specifics and potential to absorb/apply ICT. We envision a minimum 10,000 beneficiaries/year for each direction (education and entrepreneurship) As a result of the project, 2 main outcomes of the project are expected: more and better qualified skills and workforce developed leading to a stronger ICT industry in Moldova, as well as creating the premises for a Startup Moldova program driving opportunities for companies seeking capitalization.
The first phase of the project represented a USAID grant for Development matched by both cash and in-kind contributions of private and government partners that brought significant new resources, ideas, software, technologies and development activities, such as trainings, practical assignments, and mentorship. Private partners included multinational companies, IBM and Microsoft, but also Information Technology and Communications Association (ATIC) members that are local Information and Communications Technology (ICT) companies, while among government partners Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure, Ministry of Education, Culture and Research, e-Government Center and Technical University have provided their support. The Technical University of Moldova is hosting the first Center on its premises and has jointly invested resources for initial investment and maintenance costs during the startup phase.
On September 19, 2017 USAID/Moldova has entered into a partnership with the Government of Sweden to join forces in the establishment and creation of the ICT Excellence Center (Tekwill). It included an arrangement that governs the relationship between the Parties regarding the financing, implementation and reporting of the activity.
Tekwill has been opened on March 15, 2017. During the 3 years of the project, Tekwill has completed or supported 188 educational initiatives, and 301 entrepreneurship initiatives, transforming Tekwill into one of the most successful initiatives in tech in Moldova. It has helped over 350 teams to reach better business, create opportunities and seek investment. Altogether it trained and oriented over 35,000 people.
The next phase of the project is envisaged to fortify the existing Tekwill’s capacity, create linkages with other universities and expand the activities to a national level. New activities are planned to transform Tekwill into a strategic focal point for Moldova in relation to boosting Creativity, innovation and growth in the ICT sector.
In May 2018, with joint support of the Moldova Competitiveness Project (MCP) and Tekwill Project, FabLab, digital fabrication laboratory, has opened its doors. Established as a separate division within the Technical University, FabLab has managed to acquire permanent management financed from TUM resources during 2018-2019, but still is struggling with developing its activities and developing its mission and vision. As part of the envisioned support, Tekwill will assist the FabLab team in developing its strategic and operations plan, thus determining the focus they want to achieve.
Among the programs envisioned for FabLab are:
a) Virtual membership of business companies
b) Expos provided by technology partners
c) Programs and meetups for Professionals (training sessions, prototyping, ideation and startup development, hackathons, etc.)
d) Programs for nonprofessionals (demo days, attraction of non-IT towards the FabLab)
e) FabLab as a service provider for businesses to help develop new products on the market
f) Programs for kids
g) Other
Job Title: Fablab Development Manager
Basic Functions:
The FabLab Development Manager will be responsible for elaboration of strategic plan of FabLab development, implementation of approved action plan and activities in coordination with the Senior Project Coordinator or his/her designee and Steering Committee.
Specific Duties and Responsibilities:
• Develop strategic plan, and annual implementation plans in compliance with the Project’s Scope of Work, with the consensus will of the Senior Project Coordinator or his/her designee, members of Steering Committee and Development Partners (USAID/Government of Sweden).
• Identify and develop reliable and measurable KPIs that provide objective and useful information about FabLab performance;
• Plan, schedule and assist in operation of approved annual implementation plan, including but not limited to,
• Coordinate and supervise activities implemented by the delegated team of Fablab from TUM (Technical University of Moldova);
• Monitor implementation of activities, plans and overall FabLab progress and evaluate project impact;
• Establish partnerships with private sector representative for FabLab development;
• Identify projects and activities to be conducted in FabLab for linking the private sector with the TUM students and professors;
• Identifying the possibilities of financing Fablab Chișinău activities (grants, technical support or other) and coordinating the application process for financing.
• Assist in coordination with stakeholders and maintain constant dialogue with public and private partners/authorities
• Report regularly to the Senior Project Coordinator, Steering Committee, respectively if required to USAID/Sweden, where appropriate, regarding decisions to be made, activities undertaken, and progress.
• Report to Senior Project Coordinator or his/her designee on FabLab development activities in accordance with the formal reporting requirements of the Project .
• Coordinate with the Marketing and Communication Officer to make sure messaging is appropriate, professional, effective and executed in accordance with the Project Scope and USAID/Sweden guidelines.
Reporting:
The Fablab Development Manager will report directly to the Senior Project Coordinator. As teamwork is crucial to the success of the project, the FabLab Development Manager will also align and coordinate work with other staff as per direction from the Senior Project Coordinator.
Qualifications:
• 4 years of relevant experience in designing and implementing IT/tech related activities;
• Proven expertise and knowledge of the Engineering Sector, national, regional and international context.
• BSc or BA degree in information technologies, business or economics.
• Proven success in managing and leading the design of complex projects;
• Fluency in English, Romanian and Russian
Application procedure:
Interested candidates shall submit the following documents:
1. Motivation letter;
2. CV of the applicant.
The application package shall be submitted via email to: achirita@ict.md, copy to ioriol@ict.md, with the subject line: „FabLab Development Manager”, by September 30, 2020 (17:00). Only selected persons will be contacted. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
