Project oriented university – an emerging concept

The purpose of this article is to introduce a brand new concept, that of the project-oriented university, as a university that explicitly uses projects and programmes to perform processes of medium to high complexity, thus allowing it to better handle the increasing turbulence and dynamics of its environments. An analytical grid for assessing the maturity of a university in terms of its project orientation is offered, taking into account both hard and soft factors. The National School for Political Sciences and Public Administration from Bucharest is analysed in this perspective, the assessment being the basis for explaining the paradox of having projects, but no project management. The findings are considered representative for the Romanian higher education system as a whole, with due nuances and exceptions.