A qualitative inquiry into the europeanization of Romanian higher-education

In this paper, we look at Romanian higher-education through the lenses of Europeanization, with the specific aim of identifying key trends, actors, and improvements needed to bridge the gap between the Western and the Eastern higher-education systems. As a "new" member-state, Romania underwent many structural changes. Our aim is to understand whether and how these changes have contributed to the Europeanization of the Romanian higher-education; we will do this by looking at its main beneficiaries, namely the students. In order to build a clear case, we perform this analysis in comparative terms - by taking, as a baseline, the Belgian higher-education, highly renowed for its European orientation, given its very proximity to Brussels and to the European institutions. Our study reveals that, in order to be wired to the European job market, Romanian higher-education must europeanize horizontally, by involving actors from both the academia and the external environments (i.e. businesses, governamental actors), with the aim to create the best learning and career path for the Romanian students. (C) 2016 Published by Esevier Ltd.