Developing Economics Students' Research Skills - A Step Towards Increasing Employability Chances

The present paper aims to show how higher education institutions can contribute to the increased employability of their students by engaging the latter in research activities. We first examine the skills which 21st century employers are looking for in job candidates (as highlighted by leading Romanian and international publications). Next, we show the way in which student research skills are linked to the labour market demands for professional competences. The most extensive part of the paper is dedicated to the examination of the research activities undertaken by Bachelor's and Master's students at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies (ASE), Romania. More specifically, we undertake a descriptive quantitative analysis of the programmes of the Annual Students' Conferences organised by ASE during 2016-2019, focusing on issues such as the number of student papers, the weight of student papers in foreign languages, the choice for single or collaborative authorship, and the financial incentives provided for student research. We show that, at University level, 4.5% of students submitted papers for Annual Students' Conferences editions, with 1st year Bachelor's students and 2nd year Master's students submitting the highest number of papers; student papers were written in a variety of languages (Romanian, English, French, German, as well as Romanian for foreigners, Italian, Russian, Japanese and Spanish); there was a clear preference for single authorship at University level; and the University tries to stimulate student research through a variety of (financial) incentives.