Open Access Conference Proceedings

As mergers between higher education institutions increasingly become a global phenomenon, the existing literature has largely emphasized institutional performance, governance structures, and policy-driven outcomes, while the perspectives of students remain marginally addressed. This study provides a student-centered analysis of a large-scale university merger in Romania, focusing on students from the Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering. In this context, the establishment of the National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest represents both a potential paradigm shift and an illustrative case for universities in Central and Eastern Europe. The study examines students’ perceptions of the merger process, with particular attention to perceived advantages, challenges, and implications for educational quality, access to academic and research resources, and overall student experience. Using a student-centered analytical approach, the findings reveal that students are active and informed participants in the institutional transformation, perceiving the merger not merely as an administrative reorganization but as a strategic initiative aimed at enhancing the university’s national and international positioning. The results indicate a predominantly positive assessment of the merger’s outcomes, especially regarding the diversification of academic programs, improved research and educational infrastructure, increased institutional prestige, and strengthened academic competitiveness within the field of Materials Science and Engineering. At the same time, the analysis identifies critical challenges related to resistance to change, legislative instability, and the absence of a clearly articulated long-term institutional strategy. By foregrounding student perspectives in a technical and engineering-oriented academic field, this study extends the current literature on higher education mergers beyond institution-level metrics and contributes empirical evidence on the sociocultural dimensions of organizational transformation. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of integrating student voices into merger strategies and offer relevant insights for policymakers, academic leaders, and researchers concerned with the sustainable governance of higher education institutions.

Keywords: higher education, mergers, students perspective, management system, metallurgical and materials science.

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