Community House Bargauani
In the 4th term of the first year in the course International Development Management students face the module “Innovation for Development”. Usually they would explore a rural village, during a fieldtrip to Romania and come up with an appropriate innovation to improve the livelihoods of the people in the village.
Unfortunately, this year the organizers of the fieldtrip had to adapt due to the current corona crisis which made the fieldtrip, as it was planned, impossible. Therefore, the students had to gain all information through online interviews with people who are connected to Romania. The interviewees tried to give the students deeper insights into the lives in the villages.
The area, the students focused their research on is a small village located in the region Neamt county called Birgauani. Birgauani can be found in the north-east of Romania. It counts around 3500 inhabitants.
Like a lot of other rural areas in Romania the village is facing a rapid emigration over the last years. Young people are moving into the cities to find a job and have a more diversified lifestyle. This movement is the main research problem that the students should solve with an appropriate innovation that motivates the villagers and especially young people to stay in the village.