Upgrade Education Announces Completion Of The €200,000 Investment In The “Agora” Educational Platform

Upgrade Education, a local player in personalised mentoring for admissions into Top 150 universities worldwide announces the completion of its investment in Agora – a new mentoring platform. It allows students to access courses anytime, plan mentoring sessions, complete homework assignments, as well as assess their knowledge after completing a course through model surveys developed to boost students’ progress.

“Our EdTech platform, Agora, is currently addressing two key needs that we have identified in our relationship with clients over the years. The first of these is focused on student performance, which we plan to keep up through a structured program. The team receives automated notifications if there is any syncope in their progress, so that we can promptly act and fix the situation. The second need focuses on the transparency that the parent needs to benefit from, and here we have developed a series of automated mechanisms whereby the parent receives real-time feedback on the student’s progress,” says Constantin Bosinceanu,  founder of Upgrade Education.

According to internal statistics, more than 15,000 Romanian students travel annually to study at universities across the European Union, the UK or the USA. The market is valued at more than €5 million, but the EU as a whole is 100 times bigger – about €503 million.

Most Romanian students prefer universities in the European Union (approx. 80%), while the remaining 20% are divided between the United States and the United Kingdom. In recent years, as a result of Brexit and the tightening of financial conditions for EU students, those who would normally opt for UK universities are now switching to the Netherlands, Italy or Spain. Across Europe, around 20% are directly interested in studying in the US.

“Upgrade is currently performing the best it ever has. The Agora platform is live and solid. For the next version which will be up and running by the end of the year, we are planning to integrate an AI-based module by making it available through a subscription, for resource maximisation. Since the beginning of this year we have been working intensively on international expansion, and this quarter we managed to generate about 15% of revenue from non-Romanian students. Our personalised business model relies on mentors who have completed the same degree the student is interested in, at their university of choice. Therefore by the end of the year, we aim to have at least 30% of our revenue generated by the international market, and eventually open up another office in Europe”, added Constantin Bosinceanu.

In 2022, among the Romanian students who benefitted from Upgrade Education services, most were interested in Business & Management (30%), Computer Science (27%), Law (11%), Medicine, Economics, Psychology, Social/Political Science and Engineering.