State Agrarian University of Moldova INNOVATION MANAGEMENT IN THE AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION SYSTEM OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA Master’s student: Reitca Rodica Scientific advisors: PhD., Associate Professor I. Volentiri Dr.hab., Associate Professor Aurelia Litvin

Questions What does it really mean to be “educated”? And what is the role of institutions of higher education? Are our universities institutions of vocational training, funded to prepare students for jobs? Or are they institutions whose purpose is something a bit higher than that, perhaps loftier? Or both? Or neither?

Whatever our answers to these kinds of questions might be, the fact is that we are in the midst of an increasingly rapid transformation in education, across dimensions of purpose, content, pedagogy and methodologies. Technology, social change and the decades-long trend of ever-increasing cost have left us with many unanswered questions, multiple challenges and, of course, the need to be highly innovative in an educational culture that tends to be wary of change.

Objectives I would like to offer, in my thesis, the analysis of the key aspects of innovation in education field: dimensions, dampening factors, triggers, places and contexts in which it occurs etc. In the thesis structure, a special place has the innovation in assessing the situation of the agricultural education system before and after 1990, the importance of the reform and innovation in the educational system as well as how innovation could be fostered in our education system.

Structure of the thesis Introduction Part I. Management effectiveness in agrarian higher education 1. Changes in institutional decision-making 2. Financial management and funding 3. The diversification of higher education 4. Leadership 5. Assessment of performance 6. Managing people Part II. The management of innovation and change in institutions of higher education 1. Are institutions of higher education resistant to change? 2. The main sources of innovation in higher education 3. Institutional readiness for change 4. The implementation of change in higher education 5. Strategies for innovation and change References

Thank you!