Dear all, we are excited to be welcoming you in Cluj in July! In preparation for the Summer School, we summarised below the most important things about the schedule and getting around in Cluj.
When you land in Cluj-Napoca, you will have to go through border control (Romania is not in Schengen). Please make sure you have a suitable travel document with you.
Romania uses the RON (1 EUR = 4.95 RON). Cards are widely accepted and it is possible that you will not need cash at all during your visit.
Once you are in the arrivals part of the airport, there are several options to get to downtown Cluj:
The express airport line, A1E, leaves every 30 minutes (04:00 to 24:00) from outside the Arrivals terminal of the airport. You can buy a ticket on the bus (6RON). More information: https://ctpcj.ro/index.php/en/timetables/express-line/information-a1e-express-line/1617
Bus 8 is a “regular” line has its stop outside the airport complex (https://goo.gl/maps/jLWqeUypXGWeFnvq9), called “Aeroport Sud”. It has several stops, in the center: “Regionala CFR“ and “Piata Mihai Viteazu”. For detailed route see: https://ctpcj.ro/index.php/en/timetables/urban-lines/line8
Bus 5 has a similar route to Bus 8 but, after “Regionala CFR”, it heads to the Train Station (“Piata Garii”).
A ride from the airport should cost around 10-20 euros depending on the destination (City Center or more western part of the city). Taxi drivers will sometimes add the cost of short-time parking inside the airport to the ride (1-2 euros) but beyond this, there is no special fee for rides starting at the airport.
Card payment in taxis is typically possible, but ask beforehand if they have a POS. Make sure that the taxi clock has been started.
Ride sharing apps (Bolt and Uber) are also good alternatives. Typically, the prices are identical to the taxi but in the 22:00-01:00 time period, when many flights land, their cars can be in high demand and surge-pricing is often applied.
The scientific program of the Summer School will take place at the “Aula Domsa” lecture hall of the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca: https://goo.gl/maps/QL5CQnx5Wd3m6iD39
Lunch and dinner will take place at the Maimuta Plangatoare restaurant: https://goo.gl/maps/Y1Ank42NXwyyg6eAA – the cost of these meals, as well as the coffee breaks, are included in your registration.
The preliminary program is shown below:
All student participants of the Summer School will present their ongoing/future research work in a poster session on Monday and Tuesday. We will split you between the two days. For the poster session, please prepare and bring with you a printed poster in size A1. We will not have the opportunity to print posters at the summer school.
The goal of the poster session is for you to receive feedback and advice on both the technical aspects of your research, as well as career development. The speakers are all senior researchers in Data Management and related fields, so they will be well positioned to give you advice. If you have not prepared a poster before, think about “What problem are you solving?”, “Why is this problem relevant?”, “How do you propose to solve the problem?”, and “How will you evaluate your solution?”. Also, this tutorial might be useful: https://guides.nyu.edu/posters.
As part of the Summer School, we will have a social event on Wednesday late afternoon / evening. The location is outside of the city (we will have a bus shuttling us) and it will take place outdoors. The weather in July can be quite warm and possibly humid (https://weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-Rainfall-Temperature-Sunshine,Cluj-Napoca,Romania). Mosquitos and ticks would be “in season”, so please dress in airy clothes, and use sun and insect protection.