2024

Access to quality education 

• Support for school students during the transition between high-school education and higher education with the implementation of grants for bridge summer programmes, as well as support for university students at risk of dropout in their first year at university by implementing projects for learnings centre and student support in universities (funded under the Romanian Secondary Project).
• Implementation of the call for proposals First one in the family going to university under the Education and Employment Programme, which provides funding for prevention, intervention and compensative measures contributing to the establishment of a framework allowing a fair access to quality university studies for any youth irrespective of their socioeconomic background while providing support to prevent and address university dropout.
• Implementation of the call for proposals Interventions for Tertiary Education – Systemic measures to prevent and reduce university dropout (funded under the Education and Employment Programme). This aims to implement measures to prevent and address university dropout by developing a tool for monitoring the transition to higher education and university dropout as an early warning mechanism for focusing interventions in the area related to increasing the access to and participation in tertiary education.
• Participation in Erasmus+ projects involving Romanian and Ukrainian higher education institutions in order to promote the integration of learners and staff from Ukraine into their new learning environments.

A correlation between the higher education provision and the needs of the labour market  

• Implementation of the project Adapting the educational provision to the needs of the labour market by evidence-based policies under the Education and Employment Programme, which aims to develop systemic tools (including digital tools) and institutional mechanisms within universities in order to ensure a coherent framework for the development and monitoring of public policies on graduates’ employability
• Implementation, under the Education and Employment Programme call for proposals Promoting the development of high-quality tertiary programmes that are flexible and correlated with the needs of the labour market – Traineeships for university students, of 10 projects distributed across less developed regions.
• For piloting a full dual route (levels 3 to 8 in the National Qualifications Framework), within the call for proposals A pilot programme for developing regional consortia for dual education (funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plans), there are 23 higher education institutions involved in its implementation (with 11 of them being partnership leaders), distributed across the development regions as follows: Bucharest-Ilfov Region  – 2; North-East Region – 3; South-East Region – 2; Central Region – 2; South-West Region – 1; West Region – 5; North-West Region – 6; South Muntenia Region -2. 

Internationalisation of the higher education system  

• An increased presence of Romanian universities in European alliances with the inclusion of other four Romanian universities in networks of European universities.
• Participation of Romanian universities in cooperation partnership projects and higher education mobility projects in the programme countries and third countries within the Erasmus+ programme.
• Implementation of the call for proposals Romania on the horizon of 2030: Increasing international relevance through the internationalisation of higher education (with funding under the Education and Employment programme). Its goal is to enhance the quality of Romanian higher education and the educational provision by implementing a programme for the internationalisation of higher education with a view to increase its quality, efficiency and relevance.
• Perfecting promotional tools through participation in fairs under the umbrella StudyinRomania and a cooperation with the project StudyinEurope, as well as through participation in the competitions “European School” and “Made for Europe”
  Obtaining a positive endorsement for accession to OECD’s programmes in the field of education, as well as a memorandum adopted on the topic Romania’s participation in the second cycle of OECD’s Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) 2024-2029.

Improving the capacity of academic management to implement national policies  

• Ensuring the sustainability of the Human Capital Operational Programme project A Career Start with a Master Degree in Teaching by providing funding from the state budget for places in the teaching master programme in each of the eight higher education institutions which are partners in the project.
• The projects concerned with the digitalisation of universities and their preparedness for the digital professions of the future (funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan) aim to improve the digital infrastructure, to develop university students’ and university teachers’ competences and to create and operationalise some innovating technological centres for the creation of the new skills of the future. Departments/centres/laboratories/digital libraries will be established for students to acquire competences that are specific to emerging professions and for strengthening entrepreneurial skills in the digital sector.
• Modernized documents of studies: QR codes and a bilingual format. As from 2024, diplomas issued in Romania have included QR codes for validation and conformity checking in the database of the Ministry of Education. From the 2024/2025 academic year, all documents of studies will be drawn up in Romanian and English and will be accompanied by a diploma supplement with the Europass format.
• A Single National Integrated Register for Diplomas and Documents of Studies (RUNIDAS). This provides an integrated digital system for the management of documents of studies in Romania. Funded under the 2021-2027 Education and Employment Programme, RUNIDAS will ensure traceability and efficiency in the handling of official documents.

Development of university infrastructure  

• Contracting, implementing and monitoring projects (funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan) related to the university infrastructure (hostels, canteens, recreational facilities). The intention is to create new recreation and reading facilities in university campuses, especially for disadvantaged students, and to build/extend/modernise canteens and accommodation places for students from a disadvantaged socioeconomic background, students with disabilities, ethnic minority students or students from single-parent families.
• Continuation of the investment programme of the Ministry of Education for the construction of student hostels, funded under the National programme for constructions of public or social interest – Construction of student hostels, the sub-programme Public higher education institutions, which is handled by the National Company for Investments. 

2023

Improving the quality of higher education and its correlation with the labour market 

Quality in higher education: internationalisation and databases for the development of Romanian education

In the project, co-funded from the European Social Fund through the human capital operational programme, the Executive Unit for Funding of Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation (UEFISCDI) developed and distributed, in a partnership with the Ministry of Education, a national questionnaire on the employability of higher education graduates. UEFISCDI also drew up a Study on the employability of Romanian graduates.

The main purpose pursued was to enhance the link between the academic system and the dynamics of the labour market by some research into the routes taken by graduates. 

These are some of the conclusions of the study: 

• higher education graduates have a high capacity of gaining initial employment which increases in time, from 81.1 % (one year after graduation) to 92.4 % (five years after graduation)
• half of the university students who work have a contract for at least 8 hours a day
• female graduates, graduates born in rural areas and university students for the first time in their families earned a lower income from their first job after completing their studies
• for graduates of bachelor programmes, a higher grade at the final examination brings in significantly better opportunities in the future. 

Career start with a master degree in teaching

The project Career start with a master degree in teaching, funded through the human capital operational programme 2014-2020, is implemented by the Ministry of Education in a partnership with eight higher education institutions (Politehnica University of Bucharest, University of Bucharest, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Babeș Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca, Ovidius University of Constanța, University of Craiova, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, Western University of Timișoara) and the Executive Unit for Funding of Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation. 

The project aims:

• to improve the quality and the efficiency of tertiary education through a diversification of the educational provision in university tertiary education
• to improve the skills of teachers in university tertiary education in connection with:
  • innovatory educational content and modern and flexible learning resources,
  • encouraging access to higher education. 

The project had the following outcomes:

• the profile of the graduate of a master's degree in teaching (partially completed),
• 510 master students,
• 354 certified people following the completion of the teaching master programme,
• 14 educational provisions,
• 80 trained and certified teachers,
• an impact study on the implementation of the teaching master programme (partially developed),
• an innovative virtual network developed and in course of implementation.

The support for the adaptation of the curriculum to the requirements of the labour market continued with specific institutional development projects funded from the Fund for Institutional Development of Public Higher Education Institutions. 

In 2022, a distinctive funding line was introduced – D7 Labour Market – in connection with the correlation between the educational provision and the demand in the labour market and career counselling and guidance.

In 2023, higher education institutions conduct 39 institutional projects concerning the correlation between the educational provision and the demand in the labour market and career counselling and guidance.

Equal access and participation

In order to support university students from rural areas, disadvantaged groups and non-traditional university students to participate in tertiary education, the Ministry of Education continues to implement its social programmes: special places for students from rural areas, scholarships, subsidies for accommodation and meals, partial reimbursement of transportation costs.

For the 2022/2023 academic year, distinct allocations of enrolments were made for places dedicated to graduates of high-schools situated in rural areas (2 000 places, out of which 1 207 places have been occupied), places for Romania’s priority development areas (5 000 places – bachelor programmes, 4 500 places – master programmes, 300 places – doctorate programmes), as well as 400 places for initial teacher training (the teaching master programme). 

For Romanian citizens belonging to the Roma minority, special places have been allocated for bachelor studies (312 places), master studies (64 places) and doctorate studies (six places). 

The ROSE Project concerning the secondary education

To encourage graduates of upper secondary education to continue their studies in tertiary education (higher education or other forms of post-secondary education), the implementation of the grant scheme for high schools has continued in the framework of the ROSE project for secondary education. 

In the ROSE project, 105 grants have been implemented under the grant scheme for universities Summer programmes, in order to support the participation of high-school students at risk in summer programmes organised by universities. Thus, the students can become familiar with the academic context, and they can initiate the development of relevant skills for a successful completion of tertiary education. 

The universities’ internationalization

As far as the mechanisms for promoting Romanian higher education are concerned, the mobile phone application StudyinRomania was launched in June 2022. The application is addressed both to young people abroad and young people in Romania, aged between 18 and 30 years, who are interested to enroll in a programme in Romanian universities for a whole cycle of study or for a semester. The application can be downloaded from online shops for users of Android and iOS, being interconnected with the platform StudyinRomania. 

Furthermore, at the end of 2022, the VR application StudyinRomania Journey was also launched. The application includes 46 videos about public universities, a Trivia game about Romania, an exploration of Romanian towns based on the model of “Google street view” and a VR clip promoting the application. 

The application may be accessed both by downloading from online shops (Google Play, Sidequest) and at the link direct through VR glasses.

2022

The report on the Educated Romania project, published in July 2021 and endorsed by a Memorandum of the Romanian Government, underlies the main strategic guidelines and sets out the vision of higher education for 2030, outlining a set of public policies and a governance model in line with the demands of a constantly changing socioeconomic environment.

The Educated Romania project makes up the national strategic framework for all levels of education and training and is validated by the European Commission as a favourable thematic condition which needs to be met for the 2021-2027 European funding. 

The general objectives of the Educated Romania project relate to participation in forms of higher education and lifelong learning, efforts for the internationalisation of the Romanian education system, the capacity of the academic management to implement national policies, universities’ autonomy, doctoral studies, as well as the ethical climate in the education system.

Actions plans for the implementation of the Educated Romania project have been developed, as well as monitoring plans, organised by educational field and level. 

Equal access and participation

Measures concerning access to and participation in tertiary education:

• support for exemptions from tuition fees for students with outstanding achievement, scholarships for the best performing students
• supplementing the exemptions from merit-based fees with a programme designed to support those in need – need-based grants – mainly at institutional level
• subsidies for accommodation and meals (additional funding)
• encouraging the attraction of students from underrepresented and non-traditional groups, including Romanian people living abroad
• increasing the transparency of information and providing guidance related to educational opportunities and outcomes, which should underlie the choice of an educational path and help reduce dropout
• stimulating public higher education institutions to supplement the scholarship fund from the state budget, for each category of scholarships, with funds from their own revenues. The share of funds allocated by universities for scholarships from their own revenues in a univrsity’s total fund for scholarships is a performance indicator taken into account in the institutional evaluations conducted by the Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ARACIS) and also a performance indicator for the additional funding granted to higher education institutions.

To support the policies of the Ministry of Education to increase the capacity of universities to ensure access to programmes of study for people from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, the National Council for Higher Education Funding (CNFIS) put forward proposals concerning the integration into funding methodologies of some provisions designed to ensure the equality of opportunity and lead to social inclusion (encouraging universities to take steps to improve access and equity). 

The Public policy framework on the improvement of access, participation and graduation in Romanian higher education concerns the development of systemic measures to improve access and for the completion of studies by higher education students from vulnerable categories.

The ROSE Project concerning the secondary education

In the framework of the Secondary Education Project – ROSE, 105 projects have been funded under the grant scheme “Bridge summer programmes”, organised by universities for high-school students. The scheme proposes such activities as:

• courses
• career counselling and guidance
• special training for the baccalaureate examination
• workshops in specific fields
• study visits
• sports competitions
• recreational activities
• events, etc.

The universities’ internationalization

• Promotion of the educational provision.
  • The platform Study in Romania promotes Romania as a destination for studies, offering information about the Romanian educational provision, and it supports Romanian universities offering them an umbrella image, an aegis under which they can promote to international level.
  • A digital platform for applications to the annual programme of scholarships offered by the Romanian state to citizens from third countries through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The module for the digitalisation of the application process for scholarships offered by the Romanian state is an integral part of the platform Study in Romania. The call for scholarships was open in the period 20 December 2021 - 15 March 2022 and its purpose was to attract students from abroad to programmes in the three cycles of bachelor, master and doctorate studies, at accredited universities from Romania. Applicants could apply to any fields of study except for medicine, dentistry and pharmacy. For the purpose of promoting Romanian language and culture, the beneficiaries of scholarships awarded by the Romanian state for bachelor and master programmes will only study in Romanian.
  • A marketing study on the promotion potential of Romanian universities. Its objective was to underlie evidence-based policies, designed to contribute to an increased visibility of Romanian higher education globally and to attract international students, who can benefit from quality academic education, relevant to their development as responsible and engaged citizens and also good professionals in their future fields.
• The European Higher Education Area. An important role in Romanian higher education is played by foreign language lectors. Thirty-eight teachers from 20 countries teach the language and literature of their country in 11 university centres.

Support for Ukraine

In higher education, special measures have been taken for the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 academic years, to enable the academic mobility in Romanian universities in the course of the academic year, and to offer scholarships for those who wish to continue their studies in Romanian universities. In higher education, there are 525 Ukrainian students (physically present in the territory of Romania).

University students from Ukraine receive scholarships from the Ministry of Education. Therefore, Ukrainian students enrolled in a higher education institution recognised in Ukraine may continue their studies in Romanian public higher education institutions, without paying tuition fees and benefiting from a monthly scholarship, accommodation in student hostels, medical assistance according to the national legislation in force and local public transportation under the same conditions as for Romanian students. The state budget provides funding to cover for tuition fees, tuition fees for the preparatory year for learning Romanian, if applicable, as well as for scholarships, and they have access to psycho-pedagogical assistance and counselling.

At the request of Romanian higher education institutions, the Ministry of Education offered scholarships for the Ukrainian citizens who wanted to continue theirs studies with programmes delivered in English. 

Romanian higher education institutions are supported by the National Centre for Recognition and Equivalence of Diplomas – a specialised department of the Ministry of Education to implement the European Qualifications Passport for Refugees (EQPR), which provides information about their academic training, professional experience and language skills. The document is issued based on an assessment process carried out by specialists from the EQPR partner countries based on the refugee’s documents and an interview.

Romanian universities coordinated their actions with partner Ukrainian universities to provide opportunities for Ukrainian teachers to teach and continue their research work in Romanian universities. Moreover, the universities offer online Romanian courses for free for Ukrainian refugees.

Following a request from the Ukrainian authorities, two test centres were established in Romania at the University of Bucharest and Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca, in the period July-August 2022, for online admission tests for Ukrainian higher education. In July, in the two centres, test sessions were organised for admission to bachelor programmes for more than 300 Ukrainian citizens with temporary residence in Romania, and in August, at the test centre in Cluj-Napoca, test sessions were organised for admission to master studies for more than 20 Ukrainian citizens.