2.1. Activities

Now, when six years elapsed since ICI regained its position, defined 25 years ago, its distinct features are a matter of large acknowledgement.

ICI keeps its position of an important centre for advanced researches and knowledge dissemination in IT, given its scientific achievements and qualified personnel. Its position strengthening has also been due to getting the right to organize doctoral theses preparation periods, and doctoral dissertations, to publishing the Romanian Journal of Information Technology and Automatic Control, and to getting involved in the activities of "Information Science and Technology" Section of the Romanian Academy. A special note should be made on its acting as operator of the National Research and Higher Education Network - RNC (enabling about 8,000 Romanian researchers to get access to scientific information), and on the six TTCs set up in 1993, specializing in DSS, CIME, CASE, Open Systems, Standards, Information Systems for Public Administration, and also on the participation in the CEC-ESPRIT Programme.

Most research projects finalized in (both deliverable and prototype) software, experimental systems, models and algorithms, methodologies, standards and technical recommendations. Studies were conducted and reports were produced to orientate further researches in the IT field. Samples of them are given below.

Applied software meeting the economic agents' requirements:

1. technology development based on adaptive and generative method
   • production capacities location
   • DSS for continuous production control and resource allocation under competitive terms
   • spectroscopic signals processing
   • financial analysis and decision-making
   • DSS-a prototype for agricultural management
   • DSS- a prototype for marketing.
2. Software Tools and Software Engineering meant for IT Departments and Software Houses:
   • methodologies and associated tools for strategic planning of informatization
   • methodologies and associated tools for software quality assurance and reliability testing
   • experimental model for documents' retrieval under WINDOWS
   • methods and tools guaranteeing data privacy
   • OCR system based on neural networks
   • experimental system for handwriting recognition
   • prototypes for knowledge acquisition, representation and processing for 2nd generation expert systems
   • experimental system for multimedia complex objects management.
3. Standards, guides, technical recommendations and norms for IT users:
   • recommendations on the public administration informatisation
   • recommendations on hardware procurement
   • standards and application manuals for open systems
   • legislative drafts and specific recommendations for the IT field (fraud prevention, electronic documents authentication, public information).

2.2. Distinct Features

The institution's distinct features will include:

• keeping a high scientific level and sticking to professional orientation;
• partnership with some reputed companies: GMD-FOKUS (network management), FhG (applied research in industry), ERNST & YOUNG (consultancy on management and privatisation), CSC (consultants and large scale systems)
• total independence of any computing technique suppliers. So ICI specialists are altogether unbiassed when producing solutions, they think the best, for the protection of Romanian customers, the more so, if considering its contract-based partnership with most of the important computer manufacturers: IBM, DIGITAL, HP;
• "genuineness" and fair-play in dealing with partners and customers are steadily pursued by ICI management
• limitation of vacancies: ICI has hardly dispensed with technical staff for the last five years
• export orientation and scientific integration into the European research community
• co-operation with small- and medium-sized system software houses (GLOSSY, SINORG Romania, UNISYS, SIVECO Romania)
• inviting the Romanian professionals resident abroad to join the ICI activities
• international contacts:
  • operational node for three European NOEs ( modelling and simulation -SiE, Intelligent Control and Integrated Manufacturing- ICIM, computational linguistics- ELSNET).

2.3. Profitability

The 1995 turnover covers:

• Research & Development 76.5%
  1. Research projects carried out under the national R &D Programme 86%
  2. Direct contracts: 14%
  3. b1) in Romania 12%
  4. b2) European research projects 65%
  5. b3) export contracts 23%
• Scientific and technological services 8.2%
  1. RNC services 73%
  2. External services 27%
• Production and sales 15.3%
  1. in Romania 72%
  2. in other countries 28%

2.4. Priorities of the year 1996

• ICI sets out for becoming a national public institution.
• Focal points will be on
  • advanced researches characterized by priority, international impact and participation in European joint research projects
  • R&D on emerging topics at the European level
  • development of TTC in IT, informatics and control series, organisation of doctoral dissertations
  • nation-wide and strategical non-transferable information systems
  • applications for the state institutions (strategic planning, general-purpose systems development for central and local administrations)
  • specific technologies development, consulting and expertise in public behalf and in IT users' behalf (software and systems quality control, to comply with international standards)
• Export enhancement.
• Keeping the status of internationally known excellence centre .
• Quality and fair competition in national and international partnerships.

Information provided by: ICI INDIS team
Last modified: 1996 May 24