Cluj Future of Work — Creative Industries Urban Lab

Cluj Future of Work (November 2018 – October 2021) was a €5.6 million European Regional Development Fund project (€4,429,450 ERDF contribution) led by the City of Cluj-Napoca, addressing the fact that roughly 2,000 Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI) graduates leave Cluj-Napoca's universities each year, yet only 7% find employment in their trained field.

The project piloted a transdisciplinary model bridging CCI talent with Knowledge-Intensive Business Services (IT, outsourcing, finance) through shared laboratories, joint prototyping and co-incubation, while also serving Pata Rât's Roma residents and workers at risk of automation.

Three fully equipped laboratories were established at the Regional Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries (CREIC); the Culturepreneurs programme trained participants in creative entrepreneurship, with all 51 who reached the pitching stage receiving a €1,200 award; Cluj Experimentation Vouchers let cultural actors trial curriculum modules in real settings; and companion pilots addressed sanitation, transport, digitalisation and start-up support for approximately 1,500 Roma residents of Pata Rât.

The project trained and funded 51 Culturepreneurs and created six permanent positions in the CREIC ecosystem; it was featured by the European Commission's Inforegio as an example of EU-funded urban innovation in Romania.

Evidence of impact is primarily qualitative, with a comparatively low outcome-to-investment ratio (51 awardees and 6 jobs from a €5.6 million budget); the project closed in October 2021, and while CREIC's infrastructure remains in place, continued programming and funding beyond the project period are not publicly confirmed.