site.btaNikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy Launches Pilot Programme With Mentoring Style

Starting from 2025, the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy (NVNA) in Varna will launch a pilot programme of training students in small groups, in which the academic style is replaced by a mentoring style, said NVNA Head Fleet Admiral Prof. Kalin Kalinov during the 5th international educational forum, which was held in the seaside city on Friday.

"Professions are changing, technologies are developing, AI is entering, and all of this is shaping our present," Kalinov pointed out. He specified that for these reasons, the Academy's management reviewed and made changes to the curricula in 2023. He highlighted the problem that many young people turn out to be unable and unwilling to study once they enter a higher school. "Therefore, our task is to teach young people to study wisely, not spontaneously, and to pass on their knowledge to others," Kalinov stressed.

He emphasized that AI must be used competently, because it is still full of shortcomings, adding that the NVNA has a wide range of specialties related to AI and professors at the school are encouraged to use models that require competent use of AI. Kalinov specified that combining the capabilities of natural and artificial intelligence can lead to wonderful results. He pointed out that a paradox arises in society, since individual families most often make efforts to discipline their children, but afterwards the values of their surroundings in the big cities take over. "This is a constant war and we must realize that there is no second line behind schools and universities, making their responsibility that much greater," Kalinov noted.

The fifth international educational forum is organized by Varna Municipality in partnership with the Education and Science Ministry, the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria and the ICT Cluster. The event is hosted by the Varna University of Economics.