The Coronavirus Pandemic and Sustainable Development. Case Study: Romania

The coronavirus pandemic has affected all states in the world and the measures taken by governments to limit the spread of coronavirus have also left their mark on sustainable development goals, slowing their implementation or even regressing to some of these goals. In the context in which the pandemic affected the Romanian economy and all segments of the population in all areas of the country, especially vulnerable groups, leading to an increase in existing disparities, the rapid implementation of sustainable development goals is the core of a sustainable and equitable recovery. This paper presents effects of coronavirus pandemic on the sustainable development in Romania, especially on the objectives like no poverty, "zero" hunger, health and well-being, quality education, decent work and economic growth, industry, innovation and infrastructure and low inequalities, but also the solutions identified by various international bodies to reduce this impact. Thus, the first part of the paper is a theoretical one, which presents the concept of "sustainable development" and analyses specialized studies that have presented the objectives of sustainable development, including studies that have shown the negative or positive effects of the coronavirus pandemic on these objectives. The second part of the paper presents a descriptive analysis of the stage of sustainable development in Romania, after one year of coronavirus pandemic. In carrying out this paper, qualitative research was used, based on methods such as descriptive analysis, analysis of official statistical data, study of reports and reference papers and synthesis of conclusions.

Efficiency Analysis of Graduate Alumni Insertion into the Labor Market as a Sustainable Development Goal

The assumption that greater education levels of a given population leads to better employability levels thanks to higher education institutions (HEI) is widely known. However, most of the research related to HEI is focused on the determination of efficiency levels from an eminently academic perspective. The objective of this research is to carry out a comparative analysis of the efficiency degree of Latin American universities in terms of labor insertion for their graduate alumni, in order to evaluate the Sustainable Development Goal 8 related to decent work and economic growth. The data enveloping analysis (DEA) methodology was implemented. Main results showed different levels of labor efficiency among the studied institutions that were classified into eight groups of universities. Likewise, it was noted that Latin American university students showed employment levels above those of workers with lower levels of education and training.

From Science to Policy: How to Support Social Entrepreneurship in Croatia

Entrepreneurs are constantly looking for new models to address growing global challenges in a sustainable manner. Over the past several decades, those challenges have been identified and responded to through the development of social entrepreneurship. There is a number of research dealing with the theoretical concepts of those topics; however, the definitions and framework for action are different from country to country. Having in mind that the main idea of social entrepreneurship is to enable decent work for employees and to gain broader welfare for communities, the purpose of this paper is to analyse the development of social entrepreneurship in Croatia. The research is focused on recent developments, connecting key definitions and principles of social entrepreneurship with common trends and concrete case studies. This study’s results show that there are different approaches to social entrepreneurship globally. However, social entrepreneurship in Croatia develops within a clear legal framework. The current state of social enterprises is connected with respective public policies, while the number and types of social entrepreneurs are constantly rising in the last few years. The results of the analysis also show that there are still actions to be taken in order to encourage future policy measures aiming to support social entrepreneurs in Croatia.

Analysis of the success level of the Independent Campus Competition Program (PK-KM) on the quality of higher education in higher education in Universitas 17 Agustus 1945 Surabaya

The internship program is able to improve students' soft skills and hard skills as well as solve problems that exist in the industrial world. The student exchange program is able to improve student competence in participating in the transfer of existing knowledge at partner universities. Student certification and training programs are able to improve student scientific discipline in identifying problems and solving problems according to the scientific field. The Thematic Real Work Lecture Program is able to understand the culture, social and economics of the community so that students have the ability to draft village regulations and socialize them. Students' abilities in internships, student exchanges, student certification and training, and thematic Real Work Lecture activities are expected to enable students to achieve KPI 1, namely Graduates Get Decent Work.

Ummah Business Market (UBM): Mosque-Based MSME Empowerment Application for Optimization of SDGs in the Time of Covid-19

During the covid-19 pandemic, MSME business activities have decreased and have received small profits. Operations of mosques and amil institutions also experienced a decline. So, it needs an innovation that synergizes the community with MSMEs and mosques to increase the profits in economic and social activities that can encourage economic recovery. In this case, the mosque becomes the center of religious, economic, and social activities. The purpose of this study is to identify and produce a development model for the use of the Ummah Business Market (UBM) for mosque-based MSME empowerment applications and support post-Covid-19 economic recovery and poverty reduction as stated in the SDGs in goals 1 and 8. This study uses primary data with the type of action research that raises issues, makes solutions, and compiles a review of solutions from the Ummah Business Market (UBM) application process in empowering MSMEs during the pandemic. The results of this study indicate that the use and innovation of the mosque-based Ummah Business Market (UBM) application can increase operations and income for MSMEs and mosques, as well as create new jobs. In addition, able to optimize funds. Thus, benefits are obtained for economic recovery, poverty alleviation, and decent work. Ummah Business Market (UBM) also fosters a new attitude of society towards the economy and society, namely care, safe, and sharia.

The Negative Effects of COVID-19 on the Sustainable Development Goals, Economic Growth, Foreign Trade, and Social Life

COVID-19 affected the health system, education system, production system, foreign trade, social life, and the status quo negatively, and the new normal era will change many attitudes and habits. The pandemic caused the failure of the health system capacity and negatively affected the decent work and economic growth and the fight with the poverty. The pandemic is not a single country's problem anymore; it is a global problem against humanity and human development, which needs a global partnership. As of the end of April 2021, the number of COVID-19-related cases exceeded 150 million, while the number of deaths reached nearly 3.2 million. The vaccination started in December, and more than one billion vaccine doses have been administered all over the world. Whether the vaccine can be accessed by every country will remain another question. This study aims to investigate the negative effects of COVID-19 on SDGs and to analyse the struggle of a rising social nation.