A Celebration for Car Enthusiasts
In early June, the town of Pitesti hosted the 6th edition of POLI AutoFEST, Romania’s largest festival dedicated to the automotive industry.
Ana-Maria Cononovici, 23.06.2026, 11:52
In early June, the town of Pitesti hosted the 6th edition of POLI AutoFEST, Romania’s largest festival dedicated to the automotive industry.
We spoke with Alin-Daniel Rizea, Dean of the Faculty of Mechanics and Technology, to find out more about this event:
“Poli AutoFest Pitești 2026 is a technical, scientific, and educatioal event organized by the National University of Science and Technology, Politehnica Bucharest, through the Pitești University Center and the Faculty of Mechanics and Technology, with the aim of promoting technical culture, on the one hand, and fostering dialogue between academia, industry, and the community, on the other. Although automobiles and mobility were the central themes of the event, it brought together a broader range of related fields, such as design, manufacturing, production technologies, road safety, industrial process management, and technological innovation. Poli AutoFest provides a setting where students, high schoolers, and the general public can interact directly with industry specialists, representatives of public institutions, and the technologies shaping the future of transportation and industrial production. Through this event, we aim to highlight the essential role of engineering in modern society, to increase young people’s interest in technical professions, and to strengthen collaboration between the university and our industry partners. This is, in fact, one of the missions undertaken by the Faculty of Mechanics and Technology: to train specialists capable of responding to both current and future technological challenges.”
Alin-Daniel Rizea told us that for students, it is an interesting and motivating experience:
“From the students’ perspective, Poli AutoFest is an opportunity to see beyond what happens in the classroom or lab. They have the chance to interact directly with technologies, equipment, vehicles, and engineering applications that they often only encounter through classroom activities. The event gives them the opportunity to see how the theoretical concepts they learn in college are transformed into real products and solutions and to better understand the complexity of the fields they are preparing for. Students do not participate merely as visitors; many of them are involved in presenting technical projects developed at the university, ranging from vehicles built by student teams to other engineering applications. In this way, our students have the opportunity to showcase the results of their work.”
The first edition of this event was organized in 2019 under the name Student Auto Show. The name changed in 2024 following the merger with the University of Bucharest.
Associate Professor Cătălin Zaharia, from the Department of Automotive Engineering and Transportation, a member of the organizing committee for Poli AutoFest Pitești 2026, told us:
“This year we organized the sixth edition, which proved to be a success, with 110 vehicles on display and over 20 exhibition booths. In every edition, we have showcased the technical achievements of our students, university graduates, and faculty members. For example, vehicles conceived, designed, manufactured, and tested by student teams were presented. Two examples of this are the Easter single-seater and the Baghi-type vehicle, both designed by our students as part of their bachelor’s thesis projects. We also felt it was appropriate to showcase go-kart-style vehicles built by our students for participation in international competitions at such events. Each time, we invited automobile dealerships from Pitești and companies specializing in the automotive industry.”
Cătălin Zaharia also spoke about the new features introduced this year:
“As a new feature, we held workshops providing technical presentations on the vehicles used and specific work techniques. We strive to improve year after year, and here are some new things we did: we were honored by the presence of our colleagues from the Argeș County Police Inspectorate; their technical workshop presented important information about vehicles equipped with various devices, such as a spectro-kilometer, a forensic kit equipped with instruments and consumables for search operations, a spectral field lighting kit specifically designed for trace detection, and vehicles fitted with cage-type compartments specially designed for transporting emergency response dogs. The Argeș Romanian Vehicle Registry participated in the event, bringing a specialized vehicle for on-the-road technical inspections, emissions testing, vehicle lighting system checks, etc. The Argeș County Emergency Situations Inspectorate (ISU Argeș)—in their case, attention was drawn to the aerial rescue platform capable of reaching heights of 45 meters.”
Alin-Daniel Rizea, Dean of the Faculty of Mechanics and Technology, concluded:
“There is always room to improve the connection between education and the job market, but we, at the Faculty of Mechanics and Technology, are constantly striving to keep this connection as close and relevant as possible for our students.”
At the end of three days of exhibitions, demonstrations, workshops, and professional meetings, Poli AutoFest Pitești 2026 closed its doors, once again confirming its status as the most important event dedicated to mobility. (MI)
