From an idea, to over 1500 students mentored
How Tinu Bosinceanu, a Harvard graduate, founded Upgrade Education in 2017 and why he chose Romania over America.
A night on Sperantei street
After almost seven years in the United States and a Harvard degree, Tinu Bosinceanu had come home. It was his first day back in Romania. An apartment on Sperantei street, a street that, like the story about to begin, was full of possibility.
He talked all night with an old friend. About life, about choices, about the uncertainties of the present. About what a person can do when they have every reason to stay where they had it good, yet feel their path lies elsewhere.
The next morning, he made a decision that would change not only the direction of his own life, but also the path of thousands of young Romanians: to bring home the learning methods he had mastered at Harvard and to shape the future of young people in his home country.
Constantin (Tinu) Bosinceanu
An education entrepreneur, Tinu founded Upgrade in 2017 with the conviction that a Romanian student can compete at the highest international level if given the right support. Under his leadership, Upgrade grew from 26 students mentored in the first year to over 1,500 students mentored to date. Today he leads a team of mentors who graduated from the best universities in the world.
How we grew, year by year
From a night in September 2017, to an academy of the future in 2026.
Upgrade Academy is born at Tudor Vianu
Tinu goes from classroom to classroom at Tudor Vianu high school, convincing students that there is another way to learn. His return to Romania is seen by many as a step backward. Investors say no. "How can you leave America for Romania?" He carries on regardless. 26 students choose to follow him in the first year.
-2021
The first years of growth and results
The first admissions to prestigious universities: Cambridge, Bocconi, UC Berkeley, TU Delft, Imperial College, ETH Zurich. The team expands with mentors who graduated from Harvard, Yale, Oxford, St. Andrews, MIT. The community grows organically: every admitted student brings other students who want the same path.
Upgrade Academy becomes Upgrade Education
Rebranding and expansion: not just admissions mentoring, but also academic courses built on alternative pedagogy. Students say they experience an education that goes beyond the norms they were used to in Romania.
The Agora platform and a 200,000 euro investment
We launch Agora, our proprietary online mentoring platform. It brings together student, mentor and family in a shared dashboard. Over 500 students and 150 mentors use it in the first year. Romanian technology for Romanian education.
+
The academy of the future
We develop the HUMAN Framework, a set of meta-skills that go beyond admissions: heuristic learning, communication, mentored problem-solving, agile collaboration, navigating change. We prepare students for life, not just for university.
HUMAN, skills for life
As we guided students toward prestigious universities, we realized that academic success alone is not enough. That is how HUMAN was born, a set of meta-skills that stay forever with those we prepare.
Heuristic Learning
Learning through discovery and direct experience
Understanding Communication
Empathetic, authentic, effective communication
Mentoring Problem-Solving
Guided mentoring in solving real problems
Agility in Collaboration
Agility in teamwork and adaptability
Navigating Change
Resilience and navigating constant change
The results speak for themselves
From the first year to today: the same mission, a whole new level.
Discover more
The story continues in our day-to-day work: the method, the people and the results behind Upgrade.
The Upgrade method
How we turn the learning methods from Harvard into a mentoring process tailored to Romanian students.
See our methodUpgrade mentors
Over 100 mentors who graduated from the best universities in the world, ready to guide you step by step.
Meet the mentors2025 admissions report
The numbers, the offers and the universities our students reached in the most recent admissions cycle.
Read the reportA dream that began on Sperantei street and that keeps growing, transforming and inspiring entire generations of Romanian students toward a brighter future.
Want to be part of the next story?
Book a free 1-hour session with an Upgrade mentor. We talk about your profile, your goals and the concrete steps you can take right now.
Talk to a mentor