A round table on the topic “Higher education in Burgas and the region – with faith, hope and love” was hosted by the rector of the University “Prof. Dr. Asen Zlatarov”-Burgas, Prof. Dr. Hristo Bozov, MD The forum brought together representatives of the highest state institutions involved in the highest level of education and its administration, people’s representatives, municipal councilors, the municipal and rector’s leadership and representatives of other higher education institutions in Burgas.
Special participants at the Round Table were:
Academician Nikolay Vitanov, Deputy Minister of Education and Science, Associate Professor Silvi Kirilov, Chairman of the Committee on Education and Science of the National Assembly and her deputy Chairman, Academician Nikolay Denkov, Prof. Liliana Valcheva, Chairman of VON-KNSB, Mayor of Burgas Dimitar Nikolov and Deputy. the mayor for education, health care, social activities and youth policies Mihail Nenov, Dr. Ilko Semerdzhiev, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the higher educational institution, the rector of BSU Prof. Milen Baltov and deputy. the rector Prof. Maria Alexieva, representatives of SU “St. Kliment Ohridski”, as well as municipal councilors from Burgas.
Prof. Bozov presented the higher educational institution headed by him in a comprehensive presentation, in which facts proving the prosperity of the Burgas State University were highlighted: a significant increase in the number of students compared to last year, the start of training of foreign students from over 16 countries of the world , introduced 9 new specialties, as well as hybrid specialties with many other higher education institutions in the country, signed memorandums of cooperation with all 13 municipalities of the Burgas region and with the municipality of Dobrich, preparations for the opening of a Faculty of Pharmacy with a large-scale building fund and much more .
Prof. Hovhannes Mekenyan, head of the Mathematical Chemistry Laboratory, presented the most authoritative unit of the university, which offers a model for building effective applied science through molecular modeling of medicinal preparations and toxic effects, as well as simulating metabolic processes.
The Mathematical Chemistry Laboratory sells its innovative products to regulatory agencies, chemical and cosmetic laboratories worldwide, has over 400,000 users in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia and generated over 4 million in revenue last year alone.
The mayor of Burgas, Dimitar Nikolov, pointed out in his speech that there is no other municipality in the country that allocates more funds for higher education than Burgas.
“The financing of higher education in Burgas, the money given for new faculties and specialties are not a luxury, they are a necessity,” he said. “We don’t want to compete with any city and we don’t want to hinder anyone. We want fair, constructive competition”, added the mayor of Burgas.
In the discussion that followed, Deputy Minister Academician Vitanov, Associate Professor Kirilov and Academician Denkov presented the problems and pitfalls to the statesmen and heads of higher education institutions in our country, emphasizing on necessary and urgent legal and administrative changes such as the relationship between the needs of business – the economy and the personnel produced by higher education institutions, the rating system of universities, the introduction of new protected specialties, the linking of the scientific and applied activities of higher education institutions with the funds allocated to them by the state, etc.
The speech of Prof. Liliana Valcheva, who presented the financial results of the trade union’s fight for a decent salary for Bulgarian scientists and for the allocation of more funds from the state for the support of students, was met with particular satisfaction by the audience. She asked for the support of the rector’s leadership to win 880 million BGN from the state for Bulgarian higher education in the 2025 budget.
Dr. Semerdzhiev pointed out that the dialogue about Burgas and Bulgarian higher education with people in such high positions in the state cannot fail to be useful for solving the most pressing problems in it.
Very important for the university and municipal leadership was the categorically stated by the deputy. the Minister of Science and Education a guarantee of support. “On the part of the ministry, I promise you full support in your new endeavors,” stated Academician Vitanov.
The round table ended with an invitation from the rector of the university, Prof. Bozov, to hold its second edition in the late autumn of 2024.
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