On Stewardship & sustainability with Maria Niculiu, Registration Specialist

What is Stewardship all about, beside a fancy name?

Is it of any use for farmers and consumers all across the world?

The answer is certainly YES.

Having agreed that safety comes first, be it for the consumers, operators and the environment, Maria Niculiu, Registration Specialist with Bayer Romania invited students from the Faculty of Agriculture in Bucharest on a journey defined by innovation and transparency. The attendants had the opportunity to learn more on the regulations, the tools and devices and the approach proposed by Bayer in sustainably managing the plant protection products.

The project goes on with more exciting topics in the Life Sciences field.

On April 25^th took place the first edition of LIFE & Science Talks in Cluj-Napoca.

The conference was organized in collaboration with the University of Agriculture of U.S.A.M.V. Cluj-Napoca and was part of the "Pro Career - Career Days" project.

The theme of the event was "Building the Future of Modern and Sustainable Agriculture".

Sorin Daraban - Grower & Channel Marketing Manager CS Romania spoke to more than 80 students of the Agriculture and Horticulture faculties about:

• the general framework of modern agriculture on a global, European and local level (context, problems, trends, macro analysis)
• plant protection products in the context of digital agriculture and biological agriculture
• Bayer's activities in digital farming and trends
• complexity of farm-level challenges (case study)
• customer-focused marketing (customer centricity/ value proposition)

The project goes on with more exciting topics in the Life Sciences field.

About communication, with future specialists in surgery

On 12.05.2018, the "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy’s students, members of the Romanian Surgical Student Societym, met Radu Rotaru - Communication Business Partner Romania&Moldova.

The topic approached was "The Communication Campaign in 7 steps – from Strategy to Implementation". A real interesting subject for future physicians and surgeons. The students learned theoretical, but also practical information about how they could promote more effecient their NGO (Romanian Surgical Student Society) in order to make their work more visible and to contribute to the development of this profession.

The participants could also see some examples of the effect which communication has it into today's society and how a successful communication campaign can change perceptions and behaviors in our world.

The project goes on with more exciting topics in the Life Sciences field.

Do you know where your patients will be?

The answer to this question was given to all the students present at the LIFE & Science Talks conference chaired by Dr. Ovidiu Nicola - Head of Medical Representative Team Bayer Romania, Bulgaria & Moldova. The event took place on June 21st, 2018, in Cluj-Napoca and was organized in collaboration with the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Iuliu Haţieganu from Cluj-Napoca.

Topics like: Dr. Google  - innovation or impostor?; How can we increase patients' adherence to therapy?; And yet, what to do?; invited the participants into an analysis of how the patient's journey to the medical information is taking place today. A very interactive session full of questions and smart answers about what is the future of eHealth, closed the conference.

The project goes on with more exciting topics in the Life Sciences field.

Feeding the world in 2050

On 15th of November 2018 we had another successful session of LIFE &Science Talks at USAMV Bucharest. Pascal Cassecuelle - Cropscience Division Head Country Group Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova engaged around 80 students on the topic of “Feeding the world in 2050”. During the event several topics were tackled, like:

The potential and the responsibility that Ag industry has in dealing with one of the most formidable challenges of the future: providing food to 10 bio people by 2050 (30 harvests away) in a sustainable manner. First challenge is to develop innovation in order to produce more with less while dealing with climate change. The second one is to get that innovation understood and supported by society, maintaining our license to operate.

We also marked some key examples of how we leverage our capabilities in order to develop tailored solutions that address farmers’ individual needs:

• Digital farming: how to optimize what can be controlled and help farmers make better decisions. This is not the future. This is live and available in Romania
• Joyn Bio: helping plants fix nitrogen
• Zero by 40: link between malaria and ag productivity

In the same time, Bayer is opening to society via several initiatives like:

• Forward farming: opening the gates of the far to the public
• Transparency initiative: opening our books for the public
• Good practice guide in Romania: opening the dialogue

All of the above were mentioned in the context of showing the USAMV students the important role as #Agvocates of modern, sustainable agriculture, because Romania still has untapped Ag potential and Romanian consumers ask for more transparency and dialogue.

Leadership and Innovation with the students of the Faculty of Medicine in Bucharest

On 19th of November 2018, at the LIFE & Science Talks event, Cătălin Radu - Country Commercial Lead Bayer Pharmaceutical Romania, spoke to the students of the Faculty of Medicine in Bucharest about ledearship and innovation.

The event was a special one for the warming and friendly atmosphere that was created during the 2 hours of free discussion and the interaction between the students and Cătalin, but also for the space setup: a reading room arranged as a living room.

Participants were able to get a better understanding, through the examples given and through the questions they asked, what authentic leadership is and how it blends naturally with the notion of innovation. The discussion included examples from medicine and the digital field, but also an exercise on how things will evolve in the future and what remains, however, unchanged.

How to deliver more than products?

On January 31 2017, the first conference was presented by Sorin Daraban, Marketing Manager in the Bayer’s Romania Crop Science Division and brought together about 30 students from the University of Agronomical Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Bucharest.

"I was very motivated to expand my boundaries and to work hard in order to reach my goal."

"I appreciated the transparency of the speaker, the amount of practical information transmitted and the diversity of topics (marketing, psychology, agriculture). The conference was very productive, I’ve received a lot of information, distributed fairly and consistently. I found no minuses. "

These are just some of the thoughts shared by the participants at the end of the event. Their proposals for the next sessions were also collected.

On ethics in business, at the 2nd edition of LIFE & Science Talks

How can a company like Bayer make sure that integrity is the rule of thumb? By defining a set of crystal clear rules at global level, adapting them to the local legal requirements, be open for dialogue and continuously inform the whole team.

On February 22nd, 2017, students of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Medicine & Pharmacy and Law found out more on the ethics and compliance standards which position Bayer as a successful company for over one century, on the requirements in place at global and down to individual level, but also the risks and consequences of breeching.

The presentation was held by Mihai G. Popa, Country Head of Law, Patents and Compliance with Bayer Romania.

Why we dislike science but find pseudo-science captivating

The answer is quite simple – because science is complex and cannot be based on assumptions. Each answer science provides is based on extensive and well-documented research. At the opposite pole stands pseudo-science, with its flexibility and capacity to take the shape of our beliefs and preferences.

So, how can one tell if a particular piece of information belongs to pseudo-science? Dr. Bogdan Pantelimon, Medical Director with Bayer Romania offered to attending students from the Faculty of Agriculture (USAMV Bucharest) and the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy (UMF Carol Davila) a set of 15 questions, during  the third LIFE & Science Talks conference, which took place on March 29^th, 2017.

The presentation titled «Critical thinking and scientific information» involved participants in an analysis of thinking patterns and how to take information with a pinch of salt, concluded with a Q&A session.

The next LIFE & Science Talks conference is scheduled for April 25^th, 2017.

When it's better NOT to sell yourself

Honesty and the desire to learn are by far the most looked-for qualities by an HR specialist during an interview.

But, until meeting stage, both parties have to come a long way.

• What should a young candidate question before applying for a job?
• What do HR professionals look for in a CV and what makes the difference between two candidates?
• Dos and don'ts during an interview and why is better simply not to sell yourself
• Why companies invest in an extensive recruitment campaigns and what does it mean?

Ana Maria Căldăruşe, Human Resources Business Partner with Bayer Crop Science, invited Bucharest Faculty of Agriculture students on the other side of the fence, in the shoes of a Human Resources professional committed to set up a sound, performant and enthusiastic team.

This is what LIFE & Science Talks is all about: useful information delivered to students, in an interactive format, by top professionals in their field.

The situation every communication specialist fears

Making your activity known outside the company is, most of the times, a pleasure. Should everything go as planned, of course.

But what happens when you are a communication specialist in a global company and an emergency situation starts worrying the entire team? Or, even worse, when all signs point to a crisis?

Which is the path leading from an issue to a crisis and how can it be diminished by efficiently tailoring your communication strategy? How do journalists work and which are their expectations?

All secrets were revealed to the students in the Medical Communication programme organized by the National School of Political Science and Public Administration, by Mrs. Ruxandra Pirojoc. Communications Director for Bayer Romania and Bulgaria.

Zoom on: fall crops, with future specialists in agriculture

On November 14th, 2017, students of the University of Agronomical Sciences in Bucharest had the opportunity to meet Marius Stanciu, Head of Seeds with Bayer Cropscience Romania, Bulgaria &Moldova.

The topic?

A key one for the future specialists in agriculture – seed and successful technology on winter oil seed rape.

Details on canola technology, seeds production techniques and breeding – all were explained to the over 100 students attending the event.

Futhermore, participants got an overview on the world’s key crops, the evolution of canola crop in Romania and Europe, as well as few perspectives on the future.

Images speak for themselves.