P13 - ’Is a topic that matters to us locally relevant for a wider audience?’ - an exploration of Romanian researchers’ adjustment to international research practices

The complex needs of researchers at the semiperiphery and their efforts to become accepted members of the international research community in their field of specialisation has generated the need for programmes which prepare multilingual scholars to perform at internationally accepted standards in their fields of research (Corcoran, Englander & Muresan, 2019).

The experience of training professional researchers within the framework of an academic development MA programme established in the Bucharest University of Economic Studies has provided the context for investigating and documenting researchers’ efforts to enhance their academic skills - teaching, research and educational management - and primarily their ability to communicate research outputs to international audiences. Such a programme brings evidence of Romanian universities’ attempts to harmonise their practices with international standards and of the underpinning recognition that researchers’ efforts towards higher international visibility call for institutional support.