Mr. Octav Marcovici, Project Coordinator, is a senior researcher specializing in youth research, with specific focus on youths’ transitions to adulthood, constellations of disadvantage and their impact on participation, and substantiation of youth policies. He has university degrees in both sociology and law, and has afterwards participated in training courses provided by prestigious training organizations such as Setym International (Canada), PM Professional (UK), World Bank Institute (USA) etc., especially in the areas of project management and monitoring and evaluation.

He has substantial expertise and extensive experience in international youth research projects (both as researcher and national coordinator), most of which financed by the European Commission and including as key components participation in education, both formal and non-formal, access to and participation in the labour market, constellations of disadvantage and corresponding policy measures (e.g. YOYO, DISSYOUTH, UP2YOUTH).

He has also hands-on experience of youth migration research (e.g. Economic migration of young Romanians – ANSIT 2008, which included in-depth interviews and focus groups with Romanian migrants in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany and the UK; member of the working group on “transition to work of young people with an ethnic minority or migrant background” within the UP2YOUTH project 2006-2009, including comparative analysis of the situation in 6 European countries).

For almost 15 years he was a member of the European Network of Experts in Youth Research (National correspondent for youth research and documentation of the Youth Directorate, Council of Europe – 1997/2003, then member of the Network of Experts in Youth Research under the Youth Partnership between the Council of Europe and the European Commission – 2003/2010). He is also a member of the European Sociological Association and secretary general of the Romanian Sociological Association.