League of Romanian Students Abroad
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- Romania & Worldwide
| Liga Studenților Români din Străinătate | |
 | |
| Abbreviation | LSRS |
|---|---|
| Formation | January 8, 2009 |
| Location(s) |
|
| Membership | Approx. 14,000 (as of 2024) |
Official language | Romanian, English |
President | Otilia Apostol (Erasmus University Rotterdam) |
General Secretary | Andrada Balmez (University of Cologne) |
| Website | lsrs |
The League of Romanian Students Abroad (LSRS; Romanian: Liga Studenţilor Români din Străinătate) is a non-profit, non-governmental, politically neutral organization led by Romanian students and graduates of universities around the world. It is one of the few organizations of its kind, specifically grouping Romanians who want to study, are studying, or have studied abroad.
The main goal of LSRS is to develop the community of Romanian students and graduates of universities around the world, facilitating their contribution to Romania's democratic future. LSRS affirms that highly trained, young Romanians represent a strategic resource for the country's development and should be promoted within society as decisive factors for Romania's future success.[1]
LSRS was founded by two Romanian students, Sebastian Burduja (Harvard University) and Costin Elefteriu (King's College London), in January 2009, who perceived a need to organize the ever-growing community of Romanians studying abroad.[2] Nowadays, this community numbers tens of thousands of people.[3] LSRS is one of the fastest growing Romanian non-profits, gathering over 14,000 members (defined as registered users of their website[4]) after one and a half decades of activity across the globe. It has signed an official Memorandum with the Romanian Senate, granting it special recognition from Romanian authorities and acknowledging, for the first time, the potential of Romanian students abroad.[5]
Since its founding it has grown into the main organisation of representation abroad of undergraduate and graduate students of Romanian nationality, and has achieved cooperation and recognition with and from the Romanian Government,[6] Romanian diplomatic missions, The European Parliament, The Romanian Academy, multiple private sector actors such as KPMG, BRD, Kaufland or Rotary International.
A history of its press releases, that track the organisation's evolution, may be found on the official LSRS website.
Organization
LSRS is organized into branches on four continents. In 2024, there were 16 active branches, spanning most Western European countries, but also Turkey, China, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and others. Branches are headed by Coordinators, who have nearly complete control over the activities of the branch. The general direction is set by Coordinators together with the executive committee and the Director's Council. The Director's Council gathers the President, the Secretary General, and five Vice-presidents: Internal Relations, External Relations, Projects, Treasury, and Communications. The League is defined by a strong organizational culture. Members and volunteers commonly form strong bonds through shared interests, augumented by regular activities organised by the League, such as teambuilding exercises, conferences, reunions and academic and leisure trips.
