Raiffeisen Bank and the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science at Babeș–Bolyai University (UBB) in Cluj‑Napoca have announced the winners of the third edition of the Think Tank Lab mentorship program, an initiative dedicated to students passionate about technology and innovation in the financial‑banking sector.

This year, 100 students from the university registered for the program. The selected participants worked in teams and benefited, over several months, from mentorship provided by Raiffeisen Bank’s technology experts, developing innovative software solutions for the banking industry.

Throughout the program, participants had the opportunity to develop their programming skills, apply agile practices with clear objectives and deadlines, and work effectively in teams, all guided by experienced technology mentors from Raiffeisen Bank.

The 2026 edition focused on topics such as the development of banking, financial, and insurance products dedicated to students, the concept of the banking agency of the future, sustainable banking, and the use of innovative technologies with impact in the financial sector, including artificial intelligence.

At the end of the program, the participating teams presented their projects in front of a jury composed of representatives from the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science at UBB (Lecturer Dr. Ioan Badarinza and Associate Professor Dr. Dan Mircea Suciu, Vice‑Dean of the Faculty) and from Raiffeisen Bank (Bogdan Popa, Vice President, Operations and IT Division; Carmen Petrean, Retail Zone Director Cluj; and Andrei Pavel, IT Delivery Director).

Each team delivered a live demonstration of the software product they developed. The projects were evaluated based on business value, degree of innovation, and technical implementation.

Following the evaluation, the jury selected three winning teams:

• 1st place was awarded to the team R‑AI‑FFEISEN with the project SmartLeads. The team includes Andrei Daniel Bălan (master), Ștefan Cătălin Dobrincu (year II), Raluca Pășcuță (year II), and Alexia Cristiana Turcu (year II), mentored by Robert Sumaracov, Guild Lead – Agile Engineering Delivery at Raiffeisen Bank.
• 2nd place went to the team The Guardians, with the project Safety Center, comprising Darius‑Lucas Balogh (year II), Codrin Gabriel Lateș (year II), Vasile Pleș (year II), and Andrei Pușcaș (year III), mentored by Mihaela Voicu, Engineer Coach – Agile Engineering Delivery.
• 3rd place was awarded to the team Mind Your Decisions, with the project Connect & Grow, formed by Rareș‑Marius Fodorca (year II), Sonia Andreea Zăgrean (year II), Alexia Marchiș (year II), and Beatrice Crețu (year II), also mentored by Mihaela Voicu, Engineer Coach – Agile Engineering Delivery.

“We are pleased by the growing interest of students in the Think Tank Lab program and by the quality of the projects developed in this edition. The initiative reflects our commitment to supporting education and creating environments where young people can develop innovative solutions with real potential for the financial industry,” said Bogdan Popa, Vice President, Operations and IT Division, Raiffeisen Bank Romania.

“The Think Tank Lab program, developed by UBB in partnership with Raiffeisen Bank, has already become a tradition that shows not only the firm commitment of our university to sustainable partnerships with the business environment for the clear benefit of the student community, but also the culture of excellence that we cultivate day by day in our students. We are glad to see increasing interest among students, as well as the steadily higher quality of the ideas and projects they present,” said Associate Professor Dr. Christian Săcărea, Vice Rector of UBB for German‑language studies, Non‑traditional forms of education, and Relations with Society – socio‑economic component/fundraising.

The Think Tank Lab program is facilitated by Raiffeisen Bank through the setup of a dedicated collaboration and networking space within the Administrative Operations Center in Cluj‑Napoca. The hub, inaugurated in 2023, is dedicated to education in the field of technology and innovation with applicability in banking and provides students with an environment where they can collaborate, experiment, and develop solutions with real potential for implementation.