The John Scott Award for the Best Bachelor's Thesis in Structural Engineering at UPT's Faculty of Civil Engineering
Faculty of Civil Engineering
The Faculty of Civil Engineering at Politehnica University Timișoara awarded the best bachelor's thesis in the field of structural engineering during the traditional competition "The John Scott Traveling Award." The competition brings together selected candidates from the bachelor's degree committees for CCIA, ICE, and ICG study programs, with the awards granted by the "The John Scott Memorial Trust" Foundation based in Edinburgh, UK.
According to the specific rules of this competition, set by engineer John Scott at its inception, the prize winner is expected to use the money for a documentary trip with a technical focus, participate in a conference in the field of structural engineering, or engage in practical training at a company abroad to familiarize themselves with modern civil engineering technologies. After completing the documentary trip, the awarded graduate presents their findings within the faculty to their fellow students who will be graduating in the following academic year.
Following the competition, the winner of the 1500 GBP prize was announced: Răzvan Andrei Mura, from the CCIA study program - Civil, Industrial, and Agricultural Engineering, with the thesis "Comparative Study between a Reinforced Concrete Frame Structure and a Structural Masonry Wall Structure for a Collective Housing Building P+3," supervised by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eng. Simon Pescari, Ph.D.
The competition jury was chaired by Academician Dan Dubină, the president of the Romanian Academy - Timișoara branch and a faculty member at the Faculty of Civil Engineering within UPT. The other members of the jury were Dr. Eng. Cornel Farcaș, Ph.D., Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eng. Mircea Georgescu, Ph.D., Prof. Dr. Eng. Valeriu Stoian, Ph.D., and Prof. Dr. Eng. Raul Zaharia, Ph.D.
John Scott, a Scottish engineer from Edinburgh with a remarkable career in structural engineering, has been a long-time friend of the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Timișoara. His first visit dates back to 1991 when he established a professional and friendly relationship with the faculty's dean at that time, Prof. Dr. Eng. Liviu Gădeanu. He significantly contributed to the success of the Civil Engineering in English program (ICE) by supporting individual documentary internships for students and faculty members from Timișoara in the UK.
John Scott was also the founder of SRUE (Scottish Romanian University Exchange), a British foundation established to support technical education in English in Romania. Shortly after, an SRUE branch was created in Timișoara, with the main role of supporting Romanian students and academics in the field of civil engineering through exchange experiences in the UK and encouraging educational excellence through awards for Romanian students.
Over time, through this program, dozens of Romanian students had the opportunity to study at the University of Edinburgh, and British students came to study at Politehnica University Timișoara. The program also facilitated several faculty exchanges. The funds provided by SRUE to Romanian students were collected publicly, and John Scott contributed personally from his income. As the Socrates/Erasmus scholarships were insufficient to cover all expenses related to Romanian students' internships in Edinburgh, SRUE granted each student 1500 GBP as a supplementary scholarship throughout the program.
After his passing in 2012, John Scott left, through his testament, the sum of 180,000 GBP to support technical education in English for students and faculty members at the Faculty of Civil Engineering at UPT (in the field of structural engineering). To gain access to this testamentary inheritance, the John Scott Memorial Trust Foundation was established in February 2014, with the support of UPT. The link between the foundation and Politehnica University Timișoara is represented by a group of four Romanian custodians (Academician Dan Dubină, Prof. Liviu Gădeanu, Prof. Valeriu Stoian, and Assoc. Prof. Mircea Georgescu) who decide, through a vote, on how to allocate the funds.
Currently, the John Scott Memorial Trust is dedicated to financially supporting two Romanian students per year who benefit from Erasmus+ mobility at the University of Edinburgh, awarding the top three theses in the field of structural engineering, and the students with the best academic results in years 2-3-4 of the ICE study program.
As a token of appreciation for his significant support to Politehnica University Timișoara, the UPT Senate awarded Mr. John Scott with a Diploma of Excellence in May 2004.
