SDG 1. No Poverty

• Centre of Research and Innovation in Social Services, Faculty of Sociology and Social Work
• Centre for Social Policies, Faculty of Sociology and Social Work

UB – A Modern, Inclusive, and Equitable Academic Community (UB-ACCEPT)

The University of Bucharest has targets to admit students who fall into disadvantaged categories, as defined by legislation and the specific national context in Romania.

• Article 205 of the Higher Education Law no.199/2023, with subsequent amendments and additions, states in paragraph 2 a): “Guaranteeing fair opportunities in education for young people, irrespective of their socio-economic environment or any additional vulnerabilities”. Thus, the Ministry of National Education assigns yearly places to universities for Roma candidates and rural high school graduates (ORDER No. 6737/2023 of 28 november 2023) on the correlation by transfer of the number of places between cycles of university studies and the number of places – study grants-first year- financed from the state budget for state higher education institutions, for the academic year 2023-2024) and who thus can apply separately for undergraduate degree programmes (respectively master and doctorate for Roma candidates), under the same conditions as Romanian citizens, on places financed from the state budget allocated by the Ministry of Education specifically for this category of candidates. For the undergraduate admission session 2023-2024, the University of Bucharest has obtained and made available to the two categories of candidates 142 study out of a total of 4530 places, 80 for rural candidates and 62 for Roma candidates.

• Roma candidates were also offered 34 study places for the Master’s entrance examination.
• Graduates of high schools located in rural areas and Roma candidates can apply both for places subsidised from the state budget allocated specifically for these categories of candidates and places subsidised from the state budget for all Romanian citizens or European Union citizens, or fee-paying places, thus maximising their chances of being accepted to university studies. The University’s strategy is to maximise the occupancy of all available study places.
• At the same time, orphans or candidates from foster homes are exempted from the admission fee to facilitate the access of candidates at high socio-economic risk to higher education.
• Also, the University of Bucharest, through the UB SEED project – Educational Support for Disadvantaged Students, aims to increase the chances of university admission of students from families with financial and material deprivation through actions carried out for over 5 years. As of 2023, the programme supported 84 students assigned as follows: SEED I: 28 students in SEED I (entered the programme in 2021/2022) who are now high school students, SEED II: 26 students in SEED II 8^th grade (entered the programme in 2022/2023) and 30 students in SEED III (entered the programme in 2023/2024), who benefit from 4 types of activities: courses, mentoring workshops, and financial support.

The University is working with clear targets for the completion of studies, which include students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

• The Strategic Plan for the period 2024-2028 sets two complementary indicators: indicator, I. 5. Graduation rate per cohort goal is to increase the graduation rate by 10% until 2029 and I. 1.9. Ratio of students enrolled / bachelor’s graduates (one year after graduation), by reducing dropout with 10%.
• To manage their needs and ensure retention in higher education, an Service for Social and Educational Inclusion has been set up and a strategy to prevent dropouts is implemented.

The University of Bucharest supports students from high-risk socio-economic or socially marginalised backgrounds. Support measures cover the following:

• Administrative and legal support: through the Service for Social and Educational Inclusion created with the following tasks: developing and implementing a mechanism to identify vulnerable students; developing internal institutional mechanisms to support the integration of students from vulnerable groups into the UB university community; implementing and strengthening a monitoring system for students at risk of dropping out; developing a programme to provide assistance, support, monitoring and improving access to quality education for students with special educational needs and other students from disadvantaged groups; identifying and attracting financial resources and using them to provide effective interventions that will increase access to and improve the quality of education for vulnerable groups; in collaboration with UB structures, to carry out programmes and campaigns to raise public awareness on promoting diversity and combating stigma and discrimination.
• Access to free healthcare: the University offers free medical services to all its students through the University Medical Office located in the Mihail Kogălniceanu Student Dormitory.
• Affordable food: the UB canteen offers students low-cost meals, that are affordable to all students.
• Affordable/ free accommodation: the University of Bucharest offered in 2023 students around 4,500 accommodation places in 15 student dormitories, covering approximately 80% of all requests. Additionally, students are eligible for an individual grant for private accommodation.
• Accommodation in student hostels is based on the principle of previous academic performance, but 15% of the places are awarded on social or medical criteria (about 600 places). Students who have obtained the minimum number of credits required to pass the academic year and whose families do not have an average net monthly income per family member higher than the minimum net salary in the economy in the 3 months before the application are eligible under the social criterion. For the academic year 2023/2024, the accommodation fees for budget students varied between 221 lei-350 lei (45-69 EUR). Certain vulnerable categories are exempted from paying the accommodation fee: students orphaned by one or both parents, students under social protection and students with severe disabilities and their companions (Art. 25 of the Methodology on accommodation in university hostels).
• Subsidised transport: in the academic year 2023/2024, students benefit of 90% discount on monthly passes to the public transport network in Bucharest (bus, tram, metro) and train transportation. Our students benefit, on request, from full reimbursement of public transport costs in Bucharest.
• Unrestricted access to educational resources: the students of the University of Bucharest have free access to the central university library and its branches.
• Students are informed of the facilities provided by the university: To this end, a Student Guide has been created with the help of the Students’ Association of the University of Bucharest (ASUB), which includes provisions on accommodation, canteen, transport, scholarships, library, medical office, student mobility, counselling and career guidance and the UB Learning Centre. The guide was updated for the 2021/2022 academic year.
• Access to cultural and sports facilities: Under the Law of Higher Education no 199/2023 (Article 128), all students benefit from a 75% reduction in admission fees to museums, concerts, theatre performances, opera, films, and public sports facilities. They are also entitled to the same reduction for other cultural and sports events organised by public institutions, within the limits of approved budgets.

To support students from low-income families in completing their studies, the University of Bucharest offers scholarships and other necessary resources and develops support programmes.

• Students who do not have a good financial situation (whose family has not earned in the 3 months before the beginning of the academic year an average monthly net income per family member higher than the minimum net wage), students with medical problems, orphans or those from children’s homes/family placement can benefit from a social scholarship of 900 lei. The social scholarships are intended to ensure minimum living conditions for the beneficiaries to complete the university study programmes in which they are enrolled and are awarded for the academic year. Of the scholarship funds available at the University, a minimum of 30% of the total is allocated to social scholarships. The existing methodology also provides that social scholarships can be combined with other forms of support, such as performance scholarships. The forms of support offered by the UB also include occasional social scholarships, which involve social aid for clothing, maternity, or the death of a family member. The complete list of scholarships offered by UB is available here. Similarly, a video informing students on existing scholarships was disseminated via university official channels.
• The UB Learning Center developed several activities to support students from low-income and disadvantaged backgrounds to access and complete university education by combining research-informed interventions with direct student support. Through initiatives such as Mind the Gap- Evaluating Transversal Competences in Higher Education, the Center conducted research on transversal skills and structural barriers in higher education, generating evidence-based approaches to improve higher education transitions, retention, and academic successful integration. At the same time, the Pre-Uni Hub programme delivers practical assistance to prospective first-generation and low-income students through mentoring, academic readiness workshops, guidance on university pathways, and tailored transition support.
• In the context of the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine and given the groups of refugees who came to Romania, the academic community supported Ukrainian refugees in various forms, including donations collection, providing accommodation and food for refugees, enrolling refugee students, offering educational support, and others. At the faculty level, there were also remarkable initiatives. It is worth mentioning as a good practice the development of the uni4Ukraine platform, an initiative of students and teaching staff of the International Public Affairs (MIPA) Master Programme of the Faculty of Political Science, and it is coordinated administratively within the faculty’s Centre for International Cooperation and Development Studies (IDC). The platform identifies, monitors and presents in one place and in an easily accessible form to the public existing initiatives supporting people who have left or intend to leave Ukraine via Romania, with a focus on their educational needs. They make efforts to continuously update it, as well as to provide information in several languages.

The University of Bucharest ensures that students from lower-middle-income countries receive the necessary support to complete their studies and offers them support under the same conditions as Romanian students from disadvantaged categories.

• As such, students in these categories can benefit from accommodation in university dormitories, social grants and subsidised transport. The International Relations Department offers students support in this direction.
• To facilitate the integration of international students, the International Relations Department implemented in 2024 the project: “International Networking for Cross-Cultural Learning and Understanding, Support for Integration and Vision in Education (INCLUSIVE)”,that included in its objectives: “developing the synergistic integration of academic and social support services for international students and staff, in line with the University of Bucharest’s strategy”.
• In line with the efforts of the Romanian Ministry of Education to provide educational support to citizens (pupils, students, PhD students) affected by the military conflict on the territory of Ukraine, the University of Bucharest offers detailed information on the website to those interested in transferring to study at one of the programs it offers. It is also worth mentioning as a good practice the development of the uni4Ukraine platform, an initiative of a team of students and teachers from the Master programme ”International Public Affairs” of the Faculty of Political Science, University of Bucharest (FSPUB), which aimed to identify, monitor and present in one place and in an easily accessible form to the public existing initiatives supporting people who have left or intend to leave Ukraine via Romania, with a focus on their educational needs.
• To facilitate access to the Romanian higher education system, University of Bucharest organises preparatory Romanian language courses for international students.

The University of Bucharest proposes and implements projects and initiatives to provide financial assistance to the local community and support the start-up of financially and socially sustainable businesses.

• In 2018, the University of Bucharest established the Student Entrepreneurial Society UNIHUB to offer a series of activities dedicated to developing entrepreneurial skills and initiatives. Some of these activities include support for generating new businesses by students and graduates of the UB; development of entrepreneurial skills and competences; workshops dedicated to the creation and development of professional skills and soft skills; mentoring activities for students who want to set up a start-up; meetings with entrepreneurs, on various topics related to entrepreneurship, creating a business, challenges in developing and managing a business, etc.; workshops dedicated to identifying sources of funding for start-ups; internships for students in entrepreneurial companies; working visits to companies to understand business processes; fairs of entrepreneurial companies to make students aware of their experiences; exchange of experience with entrepreneurs and students from other universities in the country and abroad; support for the establishment of a business incubator. Also, within UNIHUB, teams of students who want to launch a start-up can meet and work on their business plans while receiving advice from experts and teachers. There is also a mentoring and consultancy programme within UNIHUB. Applications for the mentoring and consultancy programme are held annually. These activities aim to connect students who aspire to have their own business (or who have already started a personal initiative) with members of the business community, professors and business specialists who have gained professional experience in this field. Through such actions, UB offers support to direct partners (students) and contributes to developing skills reflected in the wider community through job creation. Moreover, by using the framework provided by UNIHUB, UB provides financial support for student and student association projects that promote entrepreneurship and the development of entrepreneurial Each year, UNIHUB launches a competitive call for proposals, offering up to 3,000 RON per project to cover eligible costs. In 2024, the sixth edition of this competition was organised.
• In autumn 2021, a micro-production was established at the Faculty of Administration and Business, which aims to familiarise the students of the University of Bucharest with the means and equipment for producing promotional items. Since then, constant investments have been made to increase its activity.
• The University of Bucharest contributed to implementing the Digital Skills & Jobs România platform, part of the EU’s Digital Europe programme. As the national academic partner, UB contributed with expertise in digital education, skills assessment, and lifelong learning, supporting the creation and curation of training resources, research insights, and policy-relevant content. Working in collaboration with Skills4IT and EU partners, the University ensures that the platform responds to Romania’s digital-skills needs across diverse groups, including: students, educators, professionals, and vulnerable communities, while also promoting equitable access to digital upskilling opportunities. In practical terms, the platform reunites several financing opportunities together with training resources and opportunities.
• In 2023, the University of Bucharest organised, as part of the project “#UB4friends“, supported by the Embassy of the United States of America and the American Councils for International Education, in the context of the project “4/4 for friends”, a series of activities that aim to recognize the involvement of volunteers in the service of their fellow human beings. These activities included, among others, cleaning green spaces, information sessions on gender equality, activities to prevent school drop-outs and support actions in foster care centres. Later on, activities were continued by developing a podcast, titled „Ceai de zis”, where students are engaged in a discussion with and about young people.
• Between December 2021 and December 2023, the University of Bucharest implemented two projects aimed at supporting entrepreneurship through the implementation and development of businesses, respectively:
• INSPIRE 2020! –Afaceri inovative pentru un mediu antreprenorial de succes! INNOTECH STUDENT / Innovative business for a successful entrepreneurial environment! INNOTECH STUDENT
• UBTECH 2020 – Programme inovativ de antreprenoriat pentru afaceri de succes / UBTECH 2020 – Innovative entrepreneurship programme for successful businesses
• The activities of the two projects aim to increase the employment of higher education graduates in different fields of activity. Beneficiaries of both programmes can obtain financial support amounting to 287.000 lei for implementing the business plans for 12 months while creating at least 66 new jobs within six months after implementing the business plans.

The University of Bucharest implements programmes to improve access to basic services for all. These initiatives can start either from the centralised level or at the initiative of academic community members, including students.

• A concrete action aimed at supporting groups in financial difficulty is the UB SEED (Educational Support for Disadvantaged Students) programme. As of 2023, the programme supports 84 students assigned as follows: 28 students in SEED I (entered the programme in 2021/2022) who are now high school students, SEED II: 26 students in SEED II 8^th grade (entered the programme in 2022/2023) and 30 students in SEED III (entered the programme in 2023/2024), benefit from 4 types of activities: courses, mentoring, workshops, and financial support.
• The yearly event Entrepreneurship Week (2023 and 2024) offered young people with entrepreneurial initiatives access to various workshops and learning opportunities while allowing interaction with experienced entrepreneurs.
• The University of Bucharest finances and encourages student-led promotional projects aimed at high schools located in rural areas and towns with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants, as part of its “UB-ACCEPT” project. These projects must promote UB’s educational offerings and student support services, and at least half of all campaigns must take place in rural high schools or small towns located within UB’s recruitment area. Beneficiaries may be student associations or student groups, which will benefit from scholarships and support to implement these activities. In 2024, 16 high schools were visited as a result of this activity.
• Another active engagements is represented by the activities organised by the student circle Business, Ethics and Social Responsibility (AERS), which implements social responsibility projects that result in numerous donations for those in need.

The academic community members get involved through research that fundaments certain policies and projects that promote concrete change or by initiating or participating in dialogue with policymakers. Some examples for the 2023-2024 include:

• In May 2024, the University of Bucharest, in partnership with Kaufland Romania and the iSense Solutions agency,released the findings of the study “Romanians’ Attitudes Towards Volunteering”, conducted by members of the Faculty of Sociology and Social Work. The study is one of the most comprehensive recent analyses of volunteering in Romania and was designed to support a large-scale national campaign to promote volunteering.
• The Center for Risk Studies within the Faculty of Geography implements the European Paratus project, financed by Horizon. In this international consortium, the University represents Romania and collaborates with institutions from ten European countries, including universities, research institutes, NGOs, SMEs, and local and regional authorities, to develop a decision-support platform for managing dynamic risks and systemic vulnerabilities that may trigger multi-hazard disasters. Among the tangible results is an updated version of the digital guided tour “Bucharest and Earthquakes,” which integrates these analytical models. The project contributes to raising awareness of seismic risk and enhancing the city’s preparedness for future emergency situations.
• Researchers from the University of Bucharest conducted a study on The access of refugees and migrants to essential social services (health care and education) in Romania, part of a collaboration on a  CIVIS Open Lab addressing Transnational Project on Migration and Civic Engagement in CIVIS Universities. In this CIVIS Open Lab, six member universities of the alliance collaborated to develop initiatives to help people in vulnerable situations. Those six alliances were: the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Aix-Marseille Université, Sapienza Università di Roma, Universitatea din București, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid și Université Libre de Bruxelles.
• The Carousel Association and the Faculty of Sociology and Social Work of the University of Bucharest organized the twelfth edition of the Summer School “Risk Groups and Social Support Services“, from 23 to 29 July 2023, in Eforie Nord, Bucharest. The event, which brought together students from various fields such as sociology, social work, psychology, and others, aimed to better understand current social phenomena and environmental challenges and promoted a proactive response to disasters. Kaufland Romania sponsored the event.
• The University of Bucharest is a partner in the Erasmus + Evidence Informed Practice for School Inclusion – EIPSI 2020-1-ES01-KA201-082328 project with a three-year running period (October 2020-September 2023), aims to design and test innovative solutions for teachers and stakeholders – such as school counsellors, inspectors, policy makers – to improve equity and inclusion in schools through the use of evidence-based practices. UB coordinated a work package to develop a development and coaching plan for schools to implement evidence-based inclusion practices. The target group are schools in disadvantaged areas with a high number of immigrant pupils, pupils with special educational needs, and pupils from low socio-economic backgrounds. In each school, the coordinators (management team members, working group coordinators, and school counsellors) participate in the coaching plan, being REIPA promoters in their institution.
• In November 2022, UB hosted the launch of the first results of the studies of the “Romania Agenda 2050” project. This project, which brings together experts from academia and the private sector, aims to kick-start a national conversation on key public policies for Romania’s long-term future based on Romanians’ opinions gathered through a series of national opinion polls. Specific topics discussed include:
  • Society of the future: education, health, population/demographics, pension system, migration, values, identity.
  • Infrastructure of the future: mobility, urbanization, connectivity
  • Environment and resources for the future: climate change, pollution, resources and raw materials, clean energy
  • Economy and business of the future: globalization and localization, taxation, rural economy, debt challenge
  • Technologies of the future: jobs of the future, value of technology, digitalization, people, machines, artificial intelligence
  • Romania’s place in the world of the future: type of republic, country brand, diaspora.