The American International School of Bucharest (AISB), the oldest and biggest international school in Romania, plans
to invest some 2 million Euros in developing a new technology center, in the 2017/2018 school year. 
 

The AISB design & technology center aims to o er students a fully immersive experience by combining traditional learning with modern design processes, allowing students to explore, innovate, and experiment.

“One of its kind in Europe, this will be a state of the art learning hub that will combine academics and creativity with the power of doing,” according to AISB representatives.

The center project will span over 2,500 sqm, which include some existing facilities that will be reconverted as well as new facilities. The school aims to raise EUR 500,000 from donations to cover part of the costs.

AISB has invested EUR 7 million in the school year 2016/2017, EUR 6.5 million of  which went into developing a new early education center for children between two and ve. The school has also invested EUR 0.5 million in modernizing and equipping classrooms with the latest technology, in revamping the physics lab and the new library.

“The money from tuition fees is permanently for investments in increasing the quality of the educational process. We aim to o er AISB students the best learning conditions,” said AISB Director Dr. Robert Brindley.

AISB had revenues of EUR 16.5 million in the 2016 nancial year, EUR 13 million of which came from tuition fees. Most of the money goes to the school sta ’s salaries and bene ts, namely some EUR 10.5 million in 2016. The school has a team of 222 people of 16 nationalities, including 42 Americans, 22 Romanians, and 17 Brits.

AISB has 823 students in the 2016/2017 school year, 169 of whom enrolled in the last 12 months. The students come from 56 countries, with 30% of them being Romanians, 15% Americans, 5% Turks, 5% Israeli, and 4% German.

The demand for enrollments is about 20% higher for the 2017/2018 school year, most of it coming from Romanians. The school’s rules don’t allow it to accept more than 30% of students of a single nationality in each class, so the school can only receive about 5% of the eligible candidates.
 

“Most requests come from Romanian families. We have about 50 such requests each year,” says Catalina Gardescu, Admissions & External Relations Manager AISB. 

The number of Romanians who return from abroad to take managerial positions in local companies has also increased in recent years, as some multinationals prefer to repatriate Romanians instead of bringing expats to run their local subsidiaries, according to Catalina Gardescu. In their case, the company usually pays for the children’s tuition. However, most of the Romanians who want to enroll their children at AISB are wealthy locals who are willing to pay the tuition fees themselves.

The AISB students are aged 2 to 18 and the tuition fees vary from EUR 6,868 to EUR 20,080, depending on age.

Republished with permission from Romania-Insider.com 



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A  CALL TO OUR ALUMNI COMMUNITY 
 

STEP INTO THE EXTRAORDINARY – The Campaign for AISB's Design & Engineering Center, is a great opportunity to show that our community can join forces and partner up to create something truly remarkable.

The goal is to build a state of the art space where students have the opportunity to discover and satisfy their curiosities. With a non-linear method of learning focused towards innovation and creativity, students enter a continuous cycle of experimentation, creation, presentation and improvement.

This type of non-standard education is key for the future and we are very fortunate to have Dr. Brindley steering AISB on this path.

"We are educating tomorrow's leaders. As such, we must nurture principled, open- minded, caring, risk-takers who are balanced and re ective. They will lead through respectful discourse, building conduits across cultures and nding creative solutions to barriers." Dr. Robert Brindley, AISB Director 

Besides excellent academic preparation, our students will have to be innovative and creative in order to achieve their
full potential in the future and compete against the very best. The world is growing, technology is advancing fast, ideas and ideals are overlapping and many issues are arising. This means that with the right individuals, the solutions of the future will be generated though the kind of collaboration that also unlocks value for all parties. Education must change as knowledge and skills will become insu cient; mentality will separate the good from the great.

I firmly believe that AISB's Design & Engineering Center will shape valuable individuals for the international community because it focuses on the nurturing and stimulation of creativity in a cross disciplinary environment with low barriers to discovery.

To the members of our alumni community, I urge you all to support this Center and contribute in any way you can and see t. Contribute with ideas, ask how you can be involved and be part of something truly unique that will set AISB apart from other schools in the region and bene t generations of students to come. Do something extraordinary and donate now. Every contribution counts.

Sincerely,

Alex Cristescu
Association President 

 

Read the entire WORLD Magazine Spring 2017 edition here.