My one-month secondment in Bucharest was conducted within the HORIZON-MSCA-2023-SE-01 STAR project, focusing on sustainability transformation and ESG reporting. The secondment strengthened my research skills in sustainability data analysis and ESG disclosure practices. During the Research & Innovation Week hosted by UNSTPB, I participated in workshops, training sessions, and interdisciplinary knowledge exchange. Together with Politechnika Łódzka academic staff, I co-taught a lecture on ESG reporting practices, integrating Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory to analyse cross-cultural differences in sustainability disclosures. The academic programme also included a guided visit to the National Village Museum, which provided insights into sustainable heritage preservation. In the following week, during the Joint Interdisciplinary Workshop hosted by ASRO, I contributed to thematic sessions discussing the role of standards and international instruments in shaping sustainability reporting. I engaged in institutional meetings at ASRO to better understand its structure, activities, and contributions to sustainability-related standardization work, and again co-delivered a lecture on ESG reporting and cultural factors. The secondment included research field visits to JTI Romania SRL and PepsiCo Romania, offering practical exposure to ESG practices within multinational enterprises and enabling the integration of theoretical and practical perspectives. In the later phase of the secondment, I conducted intensive desk research, collecting a comprehensive dataset of sustainability reports and analysing secondary data from non-financial statements, company websites, and internal sources. With supervisory guidance, I examined how social transformation, activism, and SDG priorities influence global sustainability reporting practices. Our research team also held a progress meeting to evaluate ongoing work and coordinate next steps. Overall, the secondment provided a highly productive, interdisciplinary, and academically enriching experience that strengthened both my methodological and theoretical competencies in sustainability research.
