Vasile Varvaroi, coordinator of the Schweighofer Scholarships program: “Our passion for wood is also transposed into a social responsibility program”
Out of passion for wood, the Schweighofer Group has developed a highly efficient wood processing concept, with full usage of raw materials and superior machining in its factories, whereby it can offer solutions customized to meet individual needs.
Also out of passion for wood, the company has developed a social responsibility program centered on this unique material, where education is one of the main pillars. Vasile Varvaroi, the coordinator of the Schweighofer Scholarship Program for university students, reports:
Year after year, we have come from a simple idea to a functional concept of social responsibility that brings, in the long run, positive results for all involved. The idea of the Scholarship program sprung from one of the core values of our company: the passion for wood, the desire to innovate and create new products and services that meet the needs of society. We were absolutely convinced that there are other young people who share this feeling, and we were not surprised when Mr. Dan Baraboi, MSc student of the Faculty of Wood Engineering in Brasov, confessed to us that he is “a great passionate of wood, so that I love this warm and beautiful material. I confess that this scholarship gives me the opportunity to continue my passion with regard to the study of wood, while giving me the necessary financial support.”
Moreover, besides passion, Alexandru Pavel - another student from the Faculty of Wood Engineering in Brasov - has touched on another value of our business: tradition. Thus, he confesses: “I follow a family tradition, that of woodworking. This occupation and passion for working with wood, the most noble and valuable natural resource, I got from my father. I watched him in his furniture workshop as he strives to give value to a seemingly ‘ordinary piece of wood’”.
Of course, besides these two most important attributes of the study program, passion and tradition, the financial aid component also intervenes. For Marian Ionuţ Ştirbu, a student at the Forestry Faculty of Suceava, the scholarship is one of the tools that “helps with the daily expenses of any student, which in my case would have been quite difficult to bear for the family, but now I can manage myself. This scholarship is the only financial incentive coming from outside and that is very helpful to us.” If we take into account the youth of the students who benefit from this opportunity, it is clear that we also come to evolution, challenge and self-improvement. “This program encourages excellence, supports education, but especially young people who are passionate about the forestry field”, concluded Steluţa Maria Sîngeorzan, a student in Cluj-Napoca, very enthusiastically. In the same direction, Cosmin Marian Barbă of Suceava pointed out that “the grant of this scholarship motivates me to self-help myself, while also helping me financially.”
Teamwork: Opportunity and challenge
The development of teamwork, cooperation, division of tasks and empowerment are our strengths and we propose them as a professional development exercise for the Schweighofer Scholarship recipients. In order to be able to implement this way of work, students were encouraged to develop in teams certain research projects on issues topical in the wood sector. It turned out that this was beneficial for students. “The project we are urged to do is a step in our evolution as specialists”, said Maria Iorga, a student in Brasov, who also took note of the applied side of the project: “The Scholarship Program is an opportunity and a challenge for students to get out of the comfort zone, get in touch with the operators on the market, and better understand the realities on the ground, offering a different perspective than the one in the classrooms.”
We appreciate the efforts of these young people who are looking for excellence in education, which is why we are determined to support them in the future. The program proved to be a very successful initiative and well received by students and teachers. We are pleased to have the opportunity to meet so many young enthusiasts and willing to contribute through their work and their involvement in the development of Romanian society, starting from the social dimension of education and going towards the ecological and sustainable management of the forestry resource.
