site.btaVarna Free University Maintains 66 Partnerships with Institutions in Other Countries

Varna Free University (VFU) maintains 66 partnerships with institutions in other countries, its Vice President Yani Yanev told a discussion on Monday. Partners in non-EU countries such as Turkiye, Moldova, Ukraine, and Bosnia and Herzegovina have participated in some of VFU’s past and present projects. Yanev added that VFU also works very well with other higher education establishments in Varna as well as the University of Plovdiv and South-West University in Blagoevgrad.

He was speaking at a regional conference of the series “Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills”, organized by the Bulgarian News Agency under a project supported by the European Commission.

What matters more than the number of the projects is the building of relationships and the chance to attract foreign students, doctoral candidates and lecturers, Yanev said. He stressed that VFU created Europe’s first master’s programme in circular economy.

The VFU Vice President said Varna should be advertised abroad more vigorously, especially its prehistoric Necropolis, where the oldest worked gold in the world was discovered. “It is a unique archaeological asset, but the excavations are underfunded,” he said. “In addition to viewing things in a museum, tourists want to see the site itself, but it is not easily accessible.” He urged other participants in the conference, among them Labour and Social Policy Minister Borislav Gutsanov, Varna Regional Governor Andriana Andreeva and Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev, to help advertise the Necropolis. VFU has devised a concept of what the site should look like, Yanev said.

Minister Gutsanov spoke in favour of joint work for the Necropolis. According to him, the funding available for developing the national scientific potential is scarce. The economy cannot thrive without science and education, Gutsanov said.