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Porsche Engineering Romania strengthens employee-driven community effortsSupporting local communities and the people within them

Cluj/Timișoara. Porsche Engineering, international technology partner and wholly owned subsidiary of Porsche, took a different approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR) during the pandemic in Romania – by listening and responding to their employee’s initiatives and their desire to help local communities. Based on the company’s values, the culture and the commitment of the employees, the CSR initiatives all revolved around two topics – education and health, both for children and adults.

"Because of the ongoing pandemic, we wanted to find new ways to strengthen our commitment towards the community surrounding us as well as continue building and cultivating our organizational culture,” says Marius Mihailovici, Managing Director at Porsche Engineering Romania. “In fact, joint social responsibility projects have proven to be one of the most effective ways for us to join forces among colleagues for a greater cause, especially in times of hybrid or mobile working conditions. This year, more than ever, we collected our colleagues' proposals, identified the causes that meant the most to them, and followed through on those.”

“As part of a very active social community, we take our commitment seriously when it comes to supporting programs and initiatives that make lives better and provide renewed opportunities for children and adults alike,” adds Monika Pál, Senior Manager HR and Marketing at Porsche Engineering Romania. “Giving back to this community through the most suitable social causes that are reflecting our values and culture is our main priority. These enable us to make a strategic contribution to communities while also raising awareness about them.”

Commitment to education

In collaboration with CERT Transylvania, Porsche Engineering Romania encouraged children from rural areas to think creatively by challenging them to write a story or create an artistic expression for a change in their village. “Many of these children are living in disadvantaged areas of Romania's Apuseni Mountains and are frequently discouraged from continuing their studies,” says Irina Nuț, Senior Manager Finance, Purchasing and IT at Porsche Engineering Romania and one of the initiators of this CSR effort. “They must travel long distances on rough roads to even get to school, so they prefer to stay at home and help their parents with chores. With this initiative, we aimed to provide some encouragement and motivation so that the children could continue to believe in themselves.” As reward for their hard work, the little champions have received technological equipment and other practical goods, which were financed by Porsche Engineering Romania and their employees. The company doubled the donation amount, which was collected from employees via an internal fundraising campaign.

Other examples of their commitment to supporting education is the very first Model-Based Academy and a student mentorship program. Through the Model-Based Academy, ten students of the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca had the chance to learn from professionals about in-depth modeling techniques. During the mentorship program with Transylvania College, 15 high school students had the opportunity to learn about the company for seven days and develop their skills in technology and engineering. "We are committed to invest time and effort in developing young talents, and the best way to do so is to help them at every step while also giving them just enough space to overcome challenges on their own," says Marius Mihailovici.

Investing in health – in these special times

Every year, approximately 400.000 children and adolescents aged 0 to 19 are diagnosed with cancer worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. When it comes to the recovery and well-being of children in this situation, every support counts. This is why Porsche Engineering Romania has donated 8,900 Euros to the intervention plan of the “Little People Association”. “The project covered psychological services, playground furniture and educational toys to assist children and adolescents affected by cancer in overcoming their fears, improving their self-esteem and familiarizing with medical procedures and the hospital environment,” says Irina Nuț.

About Porsche Engineering Romania

Porsche Engineering Romania SRL, headquartered in Cluj-Napoca, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Porsche Engineering Group GmbH and therefore firmly integrated in the global network of Porsche Engineering, with locations in Weissach, Bietigheim-Bissingen, Wolfsburg, Leipzig (all Germany), Prague, Ostrava (both Czech Republic), Shanghai (China), Cluj-Napoca and Timișoara (both Romania) and Nardò (Italy).

Porsche Engineering is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Stuttgart (Germany) based sports car manufacturer Porsche AG. Therefore, the work of engineers in Cluj and Timișoara results into improvements and innovations incorporated in the Porsche sports cars, sold all over the world.

06.12.2021

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