Dr Iuliana Sandu

What is so nice about working at RSM?

“RSM is a great environment to develop, both professionally and personally. I have used available resources, such as access to databases, vast university library resources and pleasant working space, and the human resources to develop my career. I have great colleagues, and there are numerous opportunities to network. I guess that other universities have similar resources but I doubt they have the cozy work environment that I have experienced at RSM. Working at RSM has also allowed me to have a flexible schedule in order to support my growing family without having to reduce my working contract.” 

What has been your highlight so far?

“If I had to pinpoint one particular moment of great satisfaction in my job, it would be when I became tenured on the position of senior lecturer. It was a moment when my years of dedication were awarded, and it felt good to have my efforts acknowledged. Actually, my entire job is a highlight. Working in education is a reward in itself.”

Where did you work before?

“Before RSM I worked as a lecturer at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies in Romania. I’m an alumna from that university and, after a brief period of working for an audit firm, I decided to go back to there as a lecturer. It was a valuable and enjoyable experience but RSM turned out to have many more resources that would support my career development.”

What are your interests outside of RSM?

“I enjoy my job very much, but this is not a job that stops at 17:00. Being a teacher and a researcher is a lifestyle rather than a job. So, I spent a lot of my spare time learning how to further improve my teaching and research by reading relevant books and taking additional classes. But since the arrival of my son in 2019, I have been allocating more time to doing fun family activities.”

In what ways are you a force for positive change?

“I’m an educator. I cannot think of a better way in which I can instill positive change around me. I also care about and for my students, and I’m creative as, luckily, this job requires first and foremost creativity. Additionally, in 2018 I started in the role of academic director for the Audit, Accounting and Control Analytics Lab within the Erasmus Centre for Data Analytics. In this role I can help translate how new data analytics tools affect the traditional function of the accountant and how organisations can change positively if they are in control of their data analytics applications.”