While many young Romanians also check the educational offer outside the country's borders when choosing their higher education options, increasingly more foreign students put Romanian universities on their list of preferences.

And Bucharest comes with a diversified offer of programs and faculties with courses taught in foreign languages or adapted for foreigners, but also with Erasmus opportunities. Some of these offers were presented at RIUF - the Romanian International University Fair, the largest educational event in South-East Europe, organized in October at Sala Palatului.

It’s Saturday morning and dozens of students, parents and teachers gathered in front of Sala Palatului in the center of the Capital for RIUF. The fair started not long ago and some of the participants are queuing at the entrance, eager to discover the best educational offers. Meanwhile, the early risers are already going out of the building, but they are not in a hurry to leave: they sit on the stairs or nearby benches, talking about faculties and comparing offers. Many others are still present at the stands inside.

“I’m starting to realize that we’re going to university soon,” says a young girl laughing. She is still a high school student and came to RIUF to find the best programs of study in Romania and abroad. She hopes to find the right faculty here, the universities in UK topping her list.

More than 170 universities and educational institutions from 13 countries got ready to meet the young people at Sala Palatului, where the visitors were able to find information on over 7,000 bachelor's, master's, doctoral and MBA programs in fields such as business and management, IT, arts and design, law, mathematics, medicine, hotel industry management or tourism.

We also enter Sala Palatului, cheered by the enthusiasm around us. A noisy atmosphere greets us right from the start. We soon realize that this edition of the fair also attracted a large number of participants. Most young people gather at the UK universities’ stands, which are upstairs, but also at those presenting the study programs and conditions for admission to faculties in the U.S., Canada, Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands or Germany. At the stands we hear conversations in Romanian, English, French or even German.

But the Romanian universities are also very popular. Every year, there are over 20,000 foreign students in Romania. Public or private, these universities are ready to provide participants with the information they need to make the best choice. The stands of the Bucharest University of Economic Studies (ASE) and the University of Bucharest seem to attract most students, but there are also young people who want to find out the offers of the University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine (USAMV), of the University of Architecture and Urbanism "Ion Mincu" or of the National University of Arts. They are young Romanians who want to continue their studies in Romania, but these institutions are also ready to welcome foreign students.

The Academy for Economic Studies ASE, for example, one of the Romanian state universities best ranked in global tops, offers study programs in English, French or German in fields such as economic sciences, administrative sciences or sociology (human resources). Students can get a bachelor's or master's degree at this university. For citizens of the European Union the application procedures start in July, while for non-EU citizens the procedures start in April.

Things are similar at the University of Bucharest, another top educational institution in Romania. University representatives tell us about bachelor’s programs in English for those who want to study business administration, physics, political science (teaching in French as well) or international relations. USAMV also has on its stand a guide dedicated to foreign students, who can study here in English or French. And the list of faculties includes, of course, the faculty of veterinary medicine.

At one of the stands of state universities present at RIUF we also ask about their participation in the Erasmus program. "Of course we participate, we expect many foreign students, we’re ready,” the university representative says. Romania is among the countries participating in Erasmus +, which means that it is eligible for all actions of this program, including those dedicated to students. And the universities in Bucharest are ready to help foreign students to develop and improve their knowledge and to discover the local culture.

There are also several private educational institutions present at the fair, and the list of those that also offer study programs in foreign languages (mainly English) includes the Romanian-American University, the Spiru Haret University, the European Nursing Academy and The Entrepreneurship Academy.

Time passes quickly and the first day of RIUF is almost over. However, the number of young people and parents present at the fair is still high: while the students still ask questions to representatives of universities, parents take a few moments to rest nearby. “It’s good that we’ve come now, next year we will already know what to choose,” says one of the parents attending the fair.

Education plays an important role in the life of the youth and the opportunity to study in a foreign country is an experience that comes with many benefits. As for those who choose to study in Romania, the universities in Bucharest have always been among the first on the list of preferences.

Useful:

ASE, the University of Bucharest, the Polytechnic University and the Technical University of Constructions are on the list of higher education institutions in Romania that also organize the preparatory year of Romanian language for foreign citizens. This list, published by the Ministry of National Education, plus other useful information for foreign students who want to study in Romania can be found online at Edu.ro/studiaza-in-romania.

Annual taxes for foreign students at state universities in Romania range around 2.000 de euro.

The Study in Romania platform (Studyinromania.gov.ro) also offers detailed information on study opportunities in Romania, including the Erasmus + program.

For specific information, it is best to consult the websites of the universities you are interested in. They provide data on faculties and study programs or enrollment methods. It’s never too early to start gathering information about registration procedures, especially when you plan to study in a foreign country.

Information on how to obtain a study visa in Romania (for citizens of a state outside the European Union and the European Economic Area) can be found at Igi.mai.gov.ro/en/content/studii

This text is part of a project under the program of promoting the touristic heritage "Destination: Bucharest", carried out by the Bucharest City Hall through the Public Monuments and Touristic Heritage Administration (AMPT).