About the School
A WORLD CLASS EDUCATION AND INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED QUALIFICATIONS
The British International School of Timisoara is the first school with the British International curriculum established in the western part of Romania. This is a cutting-edge project meant to introduce an innovative curriculum, vision and philosophy in the educational field at primary and secondary school levels in this part of Romania.
The British based educational system harmoniously combines a strong and balanced academic curriculum (languages, mathematics, sciences, technology, creative arts, humanities, social sciences, physical education) with extracurricular activities designed to help children develop emotionally, culturally, socially and spiritually.
All teaching will be carried out through the medium of the English Language apart from Romanian that will be taught as first language. The school will employ teachers from the United Kingdom alongside international teachers with relevant experience in similar schools from all over the world. All the teachers recruited locally will attend an intensive and comprehensive training programme, meant to provide them with all the necessary information and tools to enable them to embrace the educational approach promoted within our vision and aims.
Students joining our school are stepping into a world of dreams and opportunities which can grow proportionally with their desire, effort, determination and ambition; they will be able to graduate with a portfolio of achievements recognized by top universities worldwide, including Romania.
BIST aims to become a Cambridge and International Baccalaureate curriculum school and will be accredited by local and international agencies, including the Council of British International Schools (COBIS) which is the highest distinction for a school with a British curriculum outside the UK.
BIST will start in September 2019 and will enrol students with ages 4 – 13 years old (Reception – Year 9). We will have two sets per year group in the Primary School and one set per year group in the Secondary School. The school will develop gradually and will eventually have two sets per year group for all classes. We estimate that we can reach full capacity (600 students) for this location by 2021.
Why British International School of Timisoara?
- Small class sizes (20 students per class with 1 to 10 teacher student ratio in Primary School) to support personalised learning
- State of the art facilities and resources
- Modern classrooms and special designed areas for specialised subjects
- A safe, happy, caring and friendly environment
- A student centred educational system and a modern teaching approach
- British curriculum functioning under the auspices of Cambridge International Examination from the United Kingdom
- All teaching will be carried out through the medium of English language
- Romanian language will be part of the curriculum for natives and non – natives
- Highly qualified teaching staff (recruited from the UK, internationally and locally)
- International and national accreditations
- High standards of personal development care with a focus on fostering students’ self-confidence
- Highly engaging teaching and learning
- Continuous open communication with parents and an open doors policy
- Ongoing personalised academic and career paths guidance
- Rigorous academic standards
- The unique opportunity of graduating with a portfolio of achievements recognized by top universities worldwide
School Board
The School Board at The British International School of Timisora has an important role in setting the educational character and vision for the school.
The Board plans the strategic development of the schools, approves the annual budget, capital and investment strategy and procedures that will ensure the best possible education for the children studying at the BIST.
The School Board members are: Ovidiu Sandor – Founding Member, Sorin Maxim – Founding Member, Animona Hutu – Founding Member, Ciprian Tiplea – Founding Head of School, Alina Barna – Office Manager
School Leadership Team
Ciprian D. Țiplea
PGCE, BSc, MEd
Head of School
Ciprian joined our team at an early stage in our project and has been an integral part in preparing the opening of the school. He is originally from Timisoara, where he qualified as a teacher of Mathematics, before leaving the city in 2002. Since then, he has been working in various teaching and management roles in the international British based educational sector. He has had the opportunity to experience life in international schools in Bucharest and the independent school sector in the United Kingdom.
Ciprian has over 12 years’ experience in the leadership and management of international schools and has been the Academic Head in a prestigious international school with a British curriculum in Bucharest, for over 9 years. Over the past five years he has gained a master’s degree in Educational Management and has recently achieved the status of British Schools Overseas Inspector through Cambridge Education Inspectorate.
Alina Barna
Operations Manager
Alina joined our team as a volunteer this spring and worked closely with her colleagues on the implementation of this project. She has over 12 years’ experience in financial audit and consultancy, as well as financial reporting.
She has had the opportunity to experience life for a year in both Canada and Germany at the Regensburg University. During recent years, Alina became an ACCA member – Association of Chartered Certified Accountants in UK.
Paul Jennings
PGCE, BA
Head of Secondary School / English and Drama
Paul is joining the British International School of Timisoara as the Head of Secondary School. He graduated with an Honours Degree in English Literature from Sheffield University and followed this with a Post Graduate Certificate in Education in English and Drama. Paul has extensive experience working at independent schools in the United Kingdom as housemaster, pastoral roles and management roles. He taught in Kent, Hertfordshire and at a rural boarding school in Gloucestershire and, before landing in Romania, he taught in Switzerland.
Paul believes that education is paramount in ensuring a student’s future success: integrity, consistency, respect and a sense of curiosity will be at the heart of BIST’s new generation of life-long learners.
BIST is a new venture and he believes that BIST’s first students have a fantastic opportunity to be participating in this adventure from day one. Hebelieves that they will leave the secondary school in the years ahead not only with excellent examination results but, much more importantly, with a sense of having been on a journey of exploration and discovery.
In his personal life, Paul loves cooking, hiking, cycling, world cinema, reading and supporting Manchester United through thick and thin.
Jodi Ingersoll
PGCE, BA, MA, PHD in progress
Head of Primary School
Jodi is originally from the Maritimes, Canada, where she completed a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and a Bachelor of Education in Primary. Following her move to the UK in 1998, Jodi obtained Qualified Teacher Status and UPS1. In 2009, Jodi completed her Masters in International Education Administration.
During her 21 years as an international educator, Jodi has worked in a variety of teaching and administrative roles, with students from Reception to college level. She has immensely enjoyed learning about other cultures, whilst working in England, Spain, Oman, and most recently, China, where she was a founding principal. Jodi is looking forward to her Head of Primary role at the British International School of Timisoara.
Jodi believes in a child-centred approach with children at the heart of a school’s educational philosophy and practice. The cultivation of a caring and supportive environment enabling children to feel safe and happy in their learning is essential, as it enhances their ability to become fully engaged learners, thus enabling them to maximise their learning potential.
In her personal time, Jodi loves cooking, walking, reading, and spending time with her husband. She enjoys travelling to new places whenever the opportunity arises.
Primary School Teachers
Manuela Constantin
PGCE, BA, EYFS Certificate
Reception
Manuela is joining the British International School of Timisoara as a reception teacher and coordinator. Manuela graduated from university in Bucharest with a bachelor’s degree in geography and has achieved a certificate in Early Years Education (EYFS) from the University of Roehampton, in London. She has been working in the international school sector with a British based curriculum for over twenty years, as an EYFS teacher and member of the management team. Before joining us at BIST, Manuela has been working as the EYFS stage coordinator and reception class teacher in a British international school in Bucharest.
Prior to that, she was part of the management team in one of the first international nurseries with a British based curriculum in Romania.
Manuela loves travelling, reading and going to the cinema. She brings along her expertise wrapped in love and ready to nurture all of our young learners.
Oana Strîmbeanu
PGCE,BA, MA
Reception
Oana graduated Faculty of Psychology and Sociology, specializing in pedagogy from the West University of Timisoara, master’s degree in Integrated Education and Psycho-pedagogical Counseling.
Oana started her career in private preschool 8 years ago at an international school and has worked with children between the ages of 3 and 6.
From her experience with children she has learned that all are good, smart, but different, so that teachers should adapt to children and not vice versa.
She considers empathy, the affection and the smile of the teacher to be essential in early education and beyond.
On a personal level she likes to spend time with her family, friends, reading and travelling.
Claire Bithell
PGCE, BA
Year 1
Claire is joining the British International School of Timisoara as a Year 1 teacher. She graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University with a Bachelor of Arts honours degree in Creative Arts. She then went on to complete a PGCE in primary education at Cheltenham College. Claire has taught in a variety of schools over the last 25 years and has experience in working with children at all ages in primary school. For the past 9 years, Claire has worked in international British schools in Germany, being involved in teaching and management roles.
Claire has successfully led a variety of school initiatives for colleagues, parents and children, using and developing children’s love of the creative arts and writing. She has a passion for reading, writing, painting, photography and exploring new places. She is looking forward to sharing new experiences through the joy of learning with children at BIST.
Natalie Oldfield
PGCE, BA
Year 1
Natalie is joining the British International School of Timisoara as a Year 1 teacher. Natalie grew up in the United Kingdom and Germany, where she attended the Bavarian International School. Natalie is a native speaker of both English and German language.
She studied Primary Education at the University of Dundee in the United Kingdom and has been working as a primary teacher in the Scottish education system since the completion of her degree.
Natalie is passionate about art and physical education. She has trained as a yoga instructor and has taught yoga at university.
Alina Zorina
PGCE, BA, MA
Year 2
Alina is joining the British International School of Timisoara as a Year 2 teacher. She graduated from university with a degree in Primary Education and has a master’s degree in School Educational Management.
After 3 years of teaching in Ukraine, Alina has spent the past 5 years teaching within the international school sector working in South Korea and Kuwait as a Key Stage 1 Teacher. Alina is IB trained and has TESOL certificate. She brings with her to BIST her passion for education and working with children at young ages, a lot of energy, determination and the joy of being part of building a new educational concept in Timisoara.
Alina loves reading, origami and hiking.
Jane Mihalache
PGCE, BA
Year 2
Jane is joining the British International School of Timisoara as a Year 2 teacher. She graduated from Birmingham Polytechnic with a Bachelor of Arts honours degree in Three Dimensional Design. She then went on to complete a PGCE in art and design at the University of Central England in Birmingham. Jane has 17 years teaching experience, working in Birmingham, London and Manchester in the UK as well as abroad. Before joining BIST, Jane taught at an international British school in Bucharest where she was involved in teaching and management roles.
Over the years, Jane has had the opportunity to develop her passion for holistic education with a strong focus on pastoral care. She has worked on a number of initiatives for example, building global dimensions into the curriculum, organising and running international educational trips, student exchange programmes, community action service, citizenship days, mentoring programmes, organising Model United Nations conferences, school assemblies and shows. Outside teaching, Jane continues to pursue her Interests in holistic living. Her interest in cultural and historical travel continues to influence her own personal creative projects.
Rachel Louise Morgan
PGCE, BEd
Year 3
Rachel is originally from the United Kingdom. She was born and raised in Bristol and has a bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Exeter, United Kingdom. After graduating, she spent her first two years teaching in London. Rachel then went on to teach as a primary school teacher in the international school sector in Singapore.
It was during these 8 years that Rachel developed her skills in teaching children with English as an additional language.
Rachel is passionate about mathematics, believing that students learn through engaging, hands-on and real-life problem solving. She is also knowledgeable in the use of technology devices in the classroom, using digital learning platforms to personalise and supplement teaching and learning.
Karl Bartlett
PGCE, BEd, TEFL
Year 4
Karl is from Nottingham, United Kingdom and is joining the British International School of Timisoara as a Key Year 4 teacher. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours degree in History and Education Studies from the University of Bolton. He has also completed a certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) and other certificates in education and training. After graduating from university, Karl spent 2-years teaching in the UK.
Since 2012, he has worked in a variety of international schools (Bulgaria, Qatar and Egypt) and has taught the British National Curriculum (Key Stage 1 and 2) to a variety of ages in primary school.
Karl loves spending time walking and hiking with his family. He loves history and makes it his passion to learn about the cultural and social history of every country in which he has lived. Karl is looking forward to bringing his passion for, and knowledge of, the outdoors into his classroom at BIST.
Daniela Ene
PGCE, BA, MA
Year 4
Daniela is in her 20th year of teaching and inspiring young minds. Daniela qualified as a primary school teacher after graduating from high school and continued her education by graduating from university with a bachelor’s degrees in Law and Psychology. Following that, she gained a master’s degree in Educational Psychology and School Counselling, in Bucharest.
Daniela has over 19 years of experience in the international school’s sector, having the opportunity to work in both the international British and international American schools’ systems. Over the years, she been able to expand into a multitude of areas in addition to working in the class, such as: after school activities, student mentoring, helping with winter and summer concerts, field trips, themed weeks and assemblies. Daniela has a passion for reading and she is a big promoter of a healthy lifestyle and the growth mindset approach in education and life in general.
Benjamin Shorten
PGCE, BA, MA
Year 5
Benjamin is joining the British International School of Timisoara as a Year 5 teacher. Benjamin grew up in Mallorca, Spain, where he attended Queen’s College International School. He is a native English and Spanish speaker, who spent five years teaching sports in English to Spanish children.
He studied Primary Education at the University of Dundee, in the United Kingdom and taught in Scotland after receiving his degree.
Benjamin is an enthusiastic rugby and football player, with a passion for physical education and a love of mathematics.
Edward Bithell
PGCE, BSc
Year 6
Edward is joining the British International School of Timisoara as a Year 6 teacher. He graduated with an Honours Degree in Biology and followed this with a Post Graduate Certificate in Education from Birmingham City University. Edward then spent eleven years teaching in schools both in Birmingham and in Devon, United Kingdom. During this time, he was subject leader for mathematics, science and design technology, as well as Key Stage 2 leader.
Subsequent to this, he was employed as a specialist teacher for a local authority working with children with complex needs who were unable to attend mainstream school. He then moved to teach at international schools within the British military community in Germany, where he has worked successfully for the past nine years. During this time, he has taught across the entire 5-11 age range, and has been subject leader for science and geography. He has also undertaken forest school training and has successfully implemented this at his school. Edward is passionate about using the outdoors to inspire learning with the children he works with.
Joanne Gogelescu
PGCE, BA, MA, NPQH
Year 6
Joanne is originally from the United Kingdom. She grew up in Nottinghamshire, but has also lived and worked in Romania, Australia, Nigeria, Kenya and the Netherlands. Joanne obtained her bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies and later obtained a Post Graduate Certificate and a master’s degree in Education from the University of Nottingham.
Joanne’s first experience of teaching was in Cluj-Napoca where she met her Romanian husband. Before coming to the British International School of Timisoara, Joanne held many different responsibility posts in the United Kingdom and internationally and taught a range of age groups.
Joanne is passionate about pedagogy and likes to inspire students to develop their thinking skills and creativity and encouraging students to think about how they can contribute to their local and global communities through service.
Primary School Specialist Teachers
Maria Dolores Martin
PGCE, BA, MA, TESOL
ICT and Spanish
Maria obtained her bachelor’s degree in Primary Education at the University of Granada in Spain. She started her teaching career in the United Kingdom, where she lived for twelve years. In 2011, she moved to Spain and taught KS2, following the British Council and Spanish Ministry of Education bilingual curriculum.
Before coming to the British International School of Timisoara, Maria taught in an independent school in the Bahamas whilst gaining her Master’s in Education and Information Computer Technology. She loves working with young learners and is passionate about empowering them to become confident and successful individuals. She integrates digital technology into the classroom to enhance learning and provide meaningful learning opportunities.
Outside her teaching life, she likes volunteering, running, diving and exploring the outdoors.
Fabiana Merișanu
PGCE, BA
Physical Education
Fabiana is joining the British International School of Timisoara as a teacher of Physical Education and Sport. She grew up in Timisoara, the city in which she finished her studies and in which she is still carrying out her professional activity.
After her studies, Fabiana worked in the education system for over 8 years, teaching Physical and Sports Education to pupils of all ages.
At the same time, Fabiana has been teaching swimming and skiing courses and organising sports competitions and skiing camps for her students.
Fabiana loves dancing, all types of sports and travelling. Her optimism and her professionalism make her courses both pleasant and useful. One of her purposes is to inspire the students to live a healthy and joyous life.
Adelina Veturia Leanca
PGCE, BA
Romanian language
In 1994 Adelina graduated from the “Carmen Sylva” Pedagogical High School in Timișoara, and in 1999, she obtained a degree in philology at the Faculty of Letters, Philosophy and History, within the Western University, Timișoara.
She has 25 years of experience in primary education, years in which she has trained and educated 6 generations of students between the ages of 6 and 11, at the Bănățean National College.
Adelina’s philosophy with the students it seek to cultivate their creativity, to discover and highlight their skills and talents, as well as to apply the education for each one, based on the development of emotional intelligence. Besides the teaching profession, Adelina is a mentor, a good counselor. On a personal level she is passionate about traveling, discovering places and people, and enjoys meeting friends.
She is looking forward to starting work at BIST where she will come with heaps of ambition, creativity, experience and optimism.
Primary School Teaching Assistants
Romina Guran
PGCE, BA
Reception
Romina graduated from the Faculty of Applied Modern Languages in 2006. Because she likes to work with children, she also followed the second specialization as a Professor in Pre-school Education at the University of Vasile Goldis in Arad, where she graduated in 2013 from the Faculty of Sciences of Education. In the same year she signed up for the master studies at Aurel Vlaicu University in Arad, specializing in Early Education Pedagogy and Small Schooling.
From 2007 until the summer of 2019 she worked in the kindergarten Primii Pasi in Timișoara as a teacher in pre-school education. She loved working with children and felt that it was so nice to have theopportunity to assist with their development. The motto which guided her and still guides her is the following: “Teach the child the path to follow, and when he grows up, he will not deviate from it.”
In her free time she likes to read, to visit new places, to make decorations using the watermark technique and to participate in social and swimming dance courses.
Ștefania Negrea
PGCE, BA, in progress
Year 1
Ștefania graduated in 2018 with an Interior Design Diploma. And now she studies Ceramic Design. Also she attended the Pedagogical Training Course. Then she realised how much she likes to work with the little ones.
During university she participated in various volunteer programmes where she engaged in a variety of artistic activities with children.
She is passionate about art and beauty. In her spare time she attends dance and yoga classes.
Alexandra Recășan
BA, MA
Year 1
After spending over 10 years inside the Communication and Advertising industry, Alexandra decided for a career revamp, driven by her passion for education. She is joining our team as a Teaching Assistant.
Alexandra holds a Bachelor Degree in Advertising and Public Relations. Along her career experience Alexandra acquired a generous know-how on creativity and lateral thinking. She is currently attending a training on Outward Mindset in Education held by Arbinger Institute.
She is also involved in voluntary work in the education field, periodically organising workshops for children on social, emotional and moral development.
She heartily believes in the power of the positive relationship between student and teacher to inspire the love for lifelong learning.
Elena Sellei
PGCE, BA, MA
Year 2
Elena Sellei is joining the British International School of Timisoara as a Teaching Assistant. She graduated from the West University of Timisoara with a bachelor’s degree in Philology and a master’s degree in American Studies.
Elena started as a kindergarten teacher, working with children ranging from three to six years old. Then, for the past two years, she worked as a teacher of English for the primary school classes. She likes to encourage, motivate, and help children in the process of developing their own skills, as well as showing them that learning is fun, especially when you really love what you do.
In her personal life, Elena loves reading, cooking and spending time with her family.
Daiana Popan
BA & PGCE in progress
Year 2
Daiana joins the British International School of Timisoara as an assistant teacher. She graduated from the University of the West of Timisoara, obtaining the bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, specializing in Commerce, Tourism and Services Economics.
Passionate about sports, since the 8th grade, she has specialized in handball and is currently a player at the University Sports Club in Timisoara.
She likes photography and spends her free time in nature, travelling, and participating in charitable events (in 2018 she ran a distance of 6 km to Herneacova for sick children, obtaining 2nd place).
Adriana Dragne
BA, MA
Year 3
Adriana Dragne joins BIST as a teaching assistant to year 3. Adriana has lived most of her life in Bucharest where she qualified as psychotherapist. She has worked in an international school in Bucharest and brings a wealth of experience to her new role at BIST.
Adriana is looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead and hopes to develop her role at the school. She believes that listening to students and having good qualities of empathy will get the best out of the students under her guidance.
Adriana believes that our children are the key to a successful future and if we can produce flourishing, happy and curious students then this is a good sign for our future.
Mădălina Scrob
PGCE, BA, MA
Year 4
Mădălina is joining the British International School of Timisoara as a Teaching Assistant. She obtained her Level 1 Teaching Certificate and her Bachelor’s degree in German and English Language and Literatures at the West University of Timisoara. After graduation, she moved to the United Kingdom to pursue a Master’s degree in Creative Writing at the University of Portsmouth.
Mădălina wishes to learn as much as possible both from her more experienced colleagues, and from the students, so that she will develop her teaching skills.
Mădălina is a volleyball and cycling enthusiast, while she also loves capturing moments in photographs and in writing.
Octaviana Darie
PGCE, BA, MA
Year 4
Octaviana has spent her college years working with children and teens while studying Languages and Literature at the West University of Timisoara’s Faculty of Literacy.
She is passionate about education, especially discovering different approaches to learning foreign languages. Most of her free time is dedicated to volunteering and personal development.
Denisa Bulearcă
BA, MA
Year 5
Denisa joins the British International School of Timisoara as an Teaching Assistant . Being passionate about the beauty of English, Denisa graduated from the Faculty of Letters, the Department of Language and Literature, the Romanian-English section of the Western University of Timișoara in 2017. Moreover, her passion for study pursuaded Denisa to continue pursuing the master’s studies from the same university in the field of the translation program – Translation Theory and Practice – which she completed in July 2019.
For the sake of children, Denisa is eager to evolve spiritually, to cooperate and to share ideas.
Denisa is of the opinion that the main base that the child learns are established from the first years of education.
On a personal level, Denisa is passionate about studies regarding the history of Christianity. The way the children relate, the genuineness of the innocence of an early age, the stages of childhood are the strengths that Denisa appreciates from the heart with much generosity and consideration.
Corina Sporea
PGCE, BA, MA
Year 6
Corina is originally from Timisoara and has a bachelor`s degree in English Language and in History graduating from the Letters, History and Philosophy Faculty within The “West University” of Timisoara in 1997.In addition, she has a master`s degreein Management and Marketing in Mass-media.
During her over 20 yearsof teaching experience she taught in some prestigious high schools in Timisoara and in 1999 she achieved the “Definitivat” Degree in the Romanian Education System at “Babes-Bolyai” University from Cluj-Napoca.
Her professional development has been extended by obtaining a Certificate as an Authorized Translator and Interpreter from the Ministry of Justice; also she has participated in a number of ‘perfection’ courses, somein connection with different teaching methods, others on British and American culture and civilization.She attended the Summer School “Crossing Cultures” organised by the British Council and the training programmes organised by the Fulbright Commission and ‘Education USA’.
She considers that education is a lifelong learning experience and she loves nature, readingand travelling, being a tour guide in her free time, too.
Iuliana Căpălnăşan
PGCE, BA, MA
Year 6
Iuliana is joining the British International School of Timisoara as Librarian and Teaching Assistant. She graduated from the Faculty of Letters, English- Spanish section, West University Timisoara.
She taught English for two years in primary and middle school and Spanish to adults, in a language centrein Romania.
For professional development she took an Intensive course of Spanish in Valencia. She has completed a certificate in teaching; TrinityCertTESOL in Great Britain. She continued her professional development with the postgraduate course“Librarianship and the Science of Information and Documentation”, West University Timisoara.
Outside her teaching life she likes to travel, read, write (she published a book in English) and swim.
Secondary School Teachers
Diana Stănică
PGCE, BSc, MA
Mathematics, ICT
Diana is joining the British International School of Timisoara as a mathematics and computer science teacherin the secondary school. Diana graduated with a Degree in Mathematics and Computing Science from the West University of Timisoara. After graduation she spent four years teaching mathematics in secondary schools in Romania and then decided to try the British school system.
Diana moved to England to teach mathematics to secondary school students in a multicultural school in Dagenham. For the past five years Diana has been working within the British school sector, teaching children from 11 to 16 years old. She has experience with preparing students for the IGCSE exams and has been successful in assuring very good exam results for her students.
Diana is passionate about reading, logical games and gardening.
Silviu Năstase
PGCE, BSc, MA, PHD
Combined Science
Silviu is joining the British International School of Timisoara as a teacher of science with responsibilities in the areas of examination and timetabling. Before coming to our school, he worked for an international British school in Bucharest where he taught science at Key Stages 3,4 & 5 and held the positions of timetable officer and examination officer, respectively.
He has obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Chemistry at the University of Bucharest and he continued his PhD studies at the same institution. As a researcher at both University of Bucharest and Politehnica University of Bucharest, he has published numerous scientific articles in international journals, has been involved in several international projects along with receiving grants to study abroad at the Universität Karlsruhe (Germany), the University of Manchester (UK), and the University of Pavia (Italy).
Silviu loves reading and enjoys cycling and one of his major passion is photography.
Adriana Mocuța
PGCE, BA, MA
Art
Adriana is from Deva, Romania. She graduated from the Faculty of Art and Postgraduate Studies, Graphics section in Timisoara, within the UVT. She joins the BIST team as an art teacher for years 7.8 and 9.
In the last 8 years he has taught arts as an optional subject in kindergartens, after school, state schools and private clubs for children. She worked with children between the ages of 3 and 14 years. She also held art workshops in children’s camps.
She firmly believes that any child can create when he/she feels free and confident.
Her passions are children, art and interior design.
Milica Ergic
PGCE, BA, MA
Humanities and PSHEE
Milica graduated from the University of Philology, Department of English Language and Literature and earned her master’s degree from the University of Belgrade. During her studies, she was involved in teaching at primary and secondary schools as a part of her education courses and that’s when she discovered her passion for teaching.
Before joining our school, Milica spent the last five years teaching in the international school sector in Malta where she has gained experience in working within the international curriculum. She has worked with secondary school students teaching geography, history, literature and technology.
Milica enjoys delivering lessons that are creative, dynamic and she thinks it is important to give students freedom to express themselves.
Raluca Bembe
PGCE, BA, MA, PHD
Romanian Language
Raluca joins our team as a teacher of Romanian language and literature. She graduated from the Romanian language and literature section of English language and literature, at the Western University of Timișoara and is a doctor of philology at the same university. Raluca is interested in the multicultural environment, otherwise, during her doctorate, she benefited from a scholarship at the University of Vienna and participated in various summer schools abroad with a multicultural theme.
Throughout the course, Raluca had the opportunity to work with students of all ages: with preschoolers, teaching English at different kindergartens, she taught Romanian in secondary schools and high schools, and in the university environment, Romanian as a foreign language.
Raluca is passionate about theatre and is ready to introduce students to local cultural events.
Cosmin Cioriciu
PGCE, BA
Physical Education
Cosmin joins the British International School of Timisoara as a teacher of physical education and sports. Graduate of the Western University of Timisoara, the specialization of physical education, the promotion of 2000, has worked in the last years in education teaching in all age categories.
After a 6-year collaboration with the Romanian Rugby Federation, as coach of the national junior teams, he will base his teaching on the values of the rugby game: respect, integrity, discipline, passion and solidarity.
Lavinia Elena Barbu
PGCE, BA
Spanish and EAL
Lavinia graduated from the University of West in Timisoara in 2009 where she studied English and Spanish language and literature. Right after graduating she moved to Sweden where she has lived for the past 10 years. In Sweden Lavinia studied Swedish and did some completing studies at the University of Malmo to be able to teach in a Swedish school. After graduating she spent the next 5 years teaching Spanish and English in a middle school in the town where Lavinia lived called Kristianstad.
She loves traveling and spending time with friends and family.
Alina Baciu
PGCE, BA, MA
German Language
Alina is joining the British International School of Timisoara as one of our German teachers. She graduated in German and English from the West University of Timisoara. After graduation she has spent four years teaching German to the students of the Politehnica University in Tim In this time, she has engaged in rerearch in sociolinguistics, having two research scholarships at a research institute in Tübingen, Germany, and at the University of Vienna, Austria.
After this experience she decided to widen her perspective by working in the cultural field, promoting the German culture and language to adults and children and working in both fields very closely with the Goethe-Institute Bucharest. Thanks to her two daughters she found out about the Waldorf pedagogy, where she got involved in the last five years, at first by volunteering and in the last years by becoming associate teacher of German in the local Waldorf school. There she found out and got to believe that teaching is an art, for which you need as much passion, creativity and patience as for any other art.
Alina likes reading, drawing, photography and gardening and enjoys skiing in the winter.
Mihai Bîzgan
PGCE, BA, MA – in progress
Teacher of Music
Mihai Bîzgan, was born in Timisoara, where he attended specialised studies at the National College of Art Ion Vidu Timisoara between 2002-2014. In 2014 he was admitted to the music conservatory in Timisoara at the Western University where he received his license in 2018.
He is currently pursuing a master’s degree at the Western University of Timisoara. Pianist, clarinetist and composer, Mihai is noted nationally and internationally in the field of music through awards, compositions and concerts. From 2008 until now he has won numerous musical competitionsand enjoyed public appreciation.
From 2014 until now he has taught music in several educational institutions in Timisoara and has been a collaborator in various social and student development projects through music. In 2013, together with his band, he appeared on Romanian Television participating in a popular cultural show.
Mihai loves art and music, and this he wants to pass on to the children.
Kristina Danciu
PGCE, BA, MA
EAL coordinator and Teacher of English
Kristina was born and raised in New York City, in the United States of America where she finished high school.
She graduated from the West University of Timisoara receiving a Bachelor’s degree in English and Serbian Language and Literature. Kristina has also obtained her Master’s degree from the West University of Timisoara in Theory and Practice of Translations (Romanian-English). In addition, she has also completed a certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) and a certificate in Teaching English to Young Learners.
Before joining BIST, Kristina has worked with children from 3-13 years old teaching English as a second language.
Kristina loves reading, spending time outdoors, art, and watching movies. She enjoys producing lessons that are thought-provoking and creative.
Liliana Lazăr
PGCE, BA, MA
School counselor
Liliana Lazar joins our team as a psychologist, a profession that she has gained by graduating from the Sociology and Psychology Faculty, at the Western University of Timisoara, in 2007, with a bachelor degree in Psychology. Since 2012 she has worked as a psychoterapist, specialized in Systemic Family Therapy. From this perspective she describes herself as a passionate therapist about relationships.
While working with children, she developed the programme “Looking for Wishes, finding Needs”, for preschoolers and young pupils. As for teenagers, she is developing a program called “From the multitude of questions, dreams are born”, designed to facilitate the encounter with yourself and others.
What Liliana brings at BIST is competence and kindness in exploring, respecting and validating the encounter of the person with oneself and also with other selves; values that she had reinforced through training.
Admin non-academic staff
Lia Corlan
Admission Officer
Lia joined our team as Admissions Officer. With 7 years of experience in marketing and public relations. She is mainly responsible for the admission process of students in our school.
She is a communicative person, often involved in charity and voluntary work. Originally from Timisoara, Lia holds a Bachelor Degree in Public Relations and Communications and a Master’s Degree in European Studies.
Elena Bălgrădean
Admin Support
Elena joined our team as administrative support. During her studies she was a member of an NGO for 5 years and 2 years in its management, being largely responsible for the administration and human resources of the organization.
In recent years she has worked in an international company teaching English online.
Elena is a sociable person who likes to read, visit new countries and spend her free time in nature with her family or friends.
Alin Jerca
Facility Monitor
Alin joined our team as Facility Monitor. He worked for 9 years as a veterinary technician/engineer and in the pharmacy sector for 5 years, later in thefield of selection, respectivelyresearch/genetics. During this period he participated for 6 months in an exchange of experience in Germany.
In the last 12 years he had been in the military service in the human resources at the “Banat” Emergency Situations Inspectorate of Timis County.
At present he is also involved in the Solidarity without Borders Association and International Police Association.
Andreea Hepeș
School Nurse
My name is Andreea Hepeș, I am originally from Timisoara, I attended the courses of the Post-secondary Health School becoming a general medical assistant in 2002.
Over the years I have been a nurse in the family medicine and cardiology practice, and before joining the BIST team I worked for three years at a kindergarten and international primary school in Timisoara.
I am a communicative person, cheerful, I love children and time spent with family.
Florin Unguru
IT technician
Florin is originally from Timisoara, Romania. In 2007 he moved to Singapore to start a new life and career. In Singapore, Florin worked as an IT specialist for two large corporate companies, Hewlett Packard (HP) and Atlas sound and vision (Bose). For the past 5 years, Florin has been working as part of an IT team for a large International School. During this role he developed his skills in supporting and trouble-shooting school based IT devices and systems. More recently, Florin has been working more directly with students as part of his role as the Innovation Centre Lead Technician. Through this role, he combined his IT knowledge together with his creativity skills; in order to inspire students to design and create using the most recent and innovative technology.
Florin is knowledgeable with Apple products and has obtained his Apple Teacher Certification. He is currently in the process of becoming Google Educator Certified. Florin enjoys playing soccer and has contributed to the wider school community through coaching students aged between 5 and 12.
Florin is looking forward to returning back to his home country and joining the British School of Timisoara as an IT Technician.