Siemens Program and System Engineering S.R.L. (Siemens PSE RO) is a research and development company and therefore the human resources are one of its main assets. This is the reason why the purpose of the human resources policy is to assure the hiring of the most suitable candidates and the continuous improvement of the technical knowledge and the social skills levels. In order for the company to fulfill the goals that were set, an agreement was reached with "Transilvania University".
The collaboration between "Transilvania University" and Siemens PSE RO is based on the protocol signed by the two parties and also on the tradition of collaborating with universities that exists within Siemens Group. So far this activity has brought up the following results:

• developing of some joint research and development programs supported by the European Community funds, such as the pilot project Leonardo da Vinci PP141024/2001 (2002 - 2008), whose goals were:
• establishing an assembly of remote access courses and laboratories in the electric field
• implementation of the control functions suitable for laboratories
• developing the management system and programs which confer remote access to laboratories;
and the Socrates/Erasmus/TN program (2004 - 2007), whose main goal was the setting up of EUI-Net (European University-Industry Network);
• some joint research and development programs supported by the European Community funds, which are still running like: EUE-Net, Q-PlaNet and so on.
• supporting the development of research and study material of the University by means of endowing it with equipment for a computer science laboratory;
• contributing to university funds raising by means of room rental to Siemens PSE RO;
• helping the students to carry out their summer practice period;
• double supervising of diploma projects issuing by both university staff and Siemens specialists; along with the guidelines Siemens also offers all the necessary materials.

In the summer of 2006, Siemens Program Systems and Engineering S.R.L. in close collaboration with "Transilvania University" commissioned an excellence center in Brasov. Siemens PSE RO provided the center with hardware equipment. The mission of the excellence center is to promote the collaboration between the university and the private sector in the research and development field, to contribute to the improvement of the teaching activities and of the students` professional development, to develop research activities, to intensify the activity within the alternative teaching systems and to provide training in the field of communication and information technology on Siemens equipment.
The university in Brasov was open to the idea of developing new technologies and determined the modification of its disciplines in accordance with the work methods in the research domain. Therefore, the students are better prepared for research and development activities and Siemens can make direct use of their knowledge as soon as they graduate.
Student placement is one of the aspects of the close collaboration between the company and "Transilvania University" and also one of the instruments that helps Siemens PSE RO reach its HR goals. Student placements are specific training activities that have the main objective of exposing the student to a workplace experience in the field of the study program to which the student is attached. Student placements is however a special learning activity since it takes place out of the usual learning environment and needs the collaboration of three actors: the University, the Enterprise and the Student. In our case the three actors are: "Transilvania University", Siemens PSE RO and mainly "Transilvania University" students. Student placement is a win-win-win (3W) situation, because:

• The University has the possibility to plan and carry out a very effective training activity with a huge impact on the employability of its future graduates.
• Siemens PSE RO has the possibility to take a very early contact with potential HR for the future, being actively involved in the training and having impact on the competence profile of the future graduates/employees, thus reducing the training-on-the-job needs.
• The students have the opportunity to be involved in a real paid work exercise, thus experiencing the contact with the real society and work conditions - an excellent social and learning experience.

The next graphic reveals the Student placements process at Siemens:
The Human Resources department is in charge of the recruiting process. In order to select the students the company sometimes organizes job-shops at faculties or asks for recommendations from the teachers. Another recruitment strategy is publishing ads in the local newspapers or on the internet.
Department leaders send relevant information regarding the number of open jobs and the skills required and tasks to be solved to the HR department. The HR department receives and selects application forms. Based on these, the department/team leader chooses the most suitable candidates. The interviews are prepared and conducted by the department leader who then makes the final choice and informs the HR department.
Besides the possibility to learn more, the company offers students a labor contract for a determined period of time of usually 2 months (this means they also receive a salary and meal tickets).
At the end of the contract, the department leader fills in an evaluation form with information about: the tasks that had to be solved by the candidate and the degree of completion, the obtained results, the candidate`s personality, abilities and career perspectives.
The period that they spend within the company gives students the opportunity to develop new professional and personal skills. They will become part of a professional team and will work on different national and international projects; this will determine them to continue their professional development within the enterprise.
One of the environmental goals Siemens wishes to reach is to increase the environmental social commitment and with the help from the students it can accomplish this goal. For example, an environmental event took place in 2007: "Youth for Sustainable Development". The purpose of this event was to collect and recycle waste from the Fortress Hill of Brasov. Among the Siemens employees who volunteered, there was also a group of students who were in the practical placement period in the company.

Students therefore have the opportunity to become involved in the social responsibility program promoted by the company. In a more informal atmosphere, they get the chance to know each other better and they can learn more about colleagues and
An important result of the collaboration between Siemens PSE RO and "Transilvania University" is that the percentage of students who remained to work within the company between 2005 and 2008 as employees is 17 %.
As said before, at the end of the summer practice period, the department/team leaders together with the students they have supervised are asked to fill in an evaluation form. According to the results form the evaluation that took place in 2008, the students` opinions are favorable. Here are some examples of what they liked most:

• "The fact that I managed to learn a lot of new things and at the same time to broaden the existing knowledge in a pleasant working environment, with nice colleagues."
• "The development process within the company."
• "The tasks and the colleagues."
• "Teamwork, pairing and the fact that I could ask the more experienced employees for support."
• "I enjoyed learning about configuration and environment management and also the collective at HPS Siemens."
• "I thought it was particularly interesting to see, understand and take part in the development of a project according to a well established methodology."