The Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding (UEFISCDI) organised, in partnership with the Ministry of Education in Romania, a national conference for the launch and dissemination of the Eurograduate 2022 national study in Romania on 27 March 2024 in Bucharest. Representatives from the Ministry of Education and the National Authority for Qualification in Romania attended the conference among other national stakeholders such as the Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ARACIS) and representatives of higher education institutions.

The conference aimed to outline the major developments on higher education graduate tracking in Romania, as well as the national participation in the Eurograduate and European Graduate Tracking Initiative. Romania participated for the first time in 2022 to Eurograduate and is expected to be part of the third wave in 2026.

Mr. Martin UNGER, head of research group at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Vienna, presented a timeline of the Eurograduate 2022 project, underlining the scope, participation, data collection and reporting, as well as the future outcomes. Initial findings were also presented on the correspondence between work placement and graduates’ degree, or job and study satisfaction.

Mr. Marc GOFFART, policy officer at the European Commission (DG EAC), presented the current situation and future steps that should be taken for the development of the European Graduate Tracking Initiative and Eurograduate 2026.

Mr. Cezar HÂJ, Romanian NRP representative in the European Graduate Tracking Initiative and Mr. Marius DEACONU, national research team coordinator for the Eurograduate 2022 project outlined the most relevant Eurograduate results at the national level. Key findings on the demographics, educational background and geographical mobility of respondents were presented. The survey showed a predominance of female graduates across all cohorts and study cycles, a strong tendency for graduates to remain in the same place after graduation, and an uneven regional representation among respondents.

The conference was part of the “Enhancing Graduate Tracking in Romania: Gathering Qualitative and European-level Compatible Data (EURONES-RO)” project funded by the European Union through Erasmus+.

• Venue: UEFISCDI
• Organiser: UEFISCDI and Ministry of Education in Romania
• Quote and authors: 
• • Cezar HÂJ, Representative of Romania in the European Graduate Tracking Initiative (UEFISCDI)
  • Marius DEACONU, National research team coordinator for EUROGRADUATE 2022 project (UEFISCDI)