The Rector of UNWE Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov took part in the Regional Conference in Scopje: Europe in the Balkans: Together through Knowledge organized by the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency /BTA/. Meetings were held at the BTA National Press Club between the representatives of different sectors working on projects related to the policy of cohesion between the countries of the European Union and North Macedonia, focusing on the education and knowledge.
In the work of the Conference took also part the Ambassador of Bulgaria to the Republic of North Macedonia /RNM/ Zhelyazko Radukov, the Head of the EU Delegation in the country Michalis Rokas, the Vice Rector of St. Climent Ohridsky University in Bitola Jasmina Bunevska as well as Vesna Garvanlieva from the Center for Economic Research and Maria Demishkovska from Edu Center, Skopje.
On behalf of the UNWE the Conference was attended by Dr. Gergana Kirilova, Director of the Rector's Office and Desislava Paunska, Head of the Public Relations and Marketing Division.
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| The Director General of BTA Kiril Valchev, the Rector Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov, Dr. Gergana Kirilova |
The Conference was opened by BTA Director General Kiril Valchev who pointed out that the BTA brings to Skopje Bulgaria's knowledge about the EU and the opportunities in the Union for Bulgarian citizens in the RNM. He noted that especially valuable are the relations in the field of education that the EU gives to the European citizens and therefore the highlight of the meeting in Skopje is the participation of the Rector of the UNWE - one of the leading European universities in Bulgaria - Prof. Dimitry Dimitrov and the Vice Rector of St. Climent Ohridsky University in Bitola - Jasmina Bunevska.
"The key word of the Conference is not education, but knowledge, which is a much broader concept", outlined Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov and pointed out that "the communication and relations not only with the universities of the RNM, but also with other universities involve many aspects and the education is only one of them. When people have mobility the students participate in conferences and then they also gain knowledge about the transport, logistics and the culture".
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The Rector pointed out that 112 Bachelor`s and 2 Master`s degree students from the Republic of North Macedonia studying at the UNWE. "The UNWE has over 200 agreements on the Erasmus+ Programme all over Europe, which are of different scale and scope, usually involving several lecturers and students, who on an exchange basis carry out the so-called academic mobility. Exchanges of students from non-EU countries face more difficulties - visa and diploma recognition, application". He expressed hope that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bulgaria would hear about these problems and assured that the UNWE make great efforts on this issue. Prof. Dimitrov presented the Joint Programmes of the UNWE with three Chinese universities, with Italian universities, and added that negotiations with Uzbekistan to start a joint programme are in progress. "The UNWE also participates in a large European consortium, an alliance of ten leading business universities in Europe - ENGAGE.EU. It includes universities from France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Finland, Norway and Bulgaria and it is funded by the European Commission. The direction is towards a single common European diploma valid everywhere in Europe", clarified the Rector.
"The Bulgarian part is interested in developing the two neighbouring countries together", said Zhelyazko Radukov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Bulgaria to the Republic of North Macedonia. "The process is not always easy, but we have to lay the foundations, to build the relations between the peoples to overcome the differences. One of the ways to do this is through the education. Through the knowledge and adequate opportunity for young people we can achieve social development and normal relations between the two countries."
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BTA's project entitled Europe in the Balkans: Together through Knowledge has an objective to provide independent and detailed information for giving an accurate and comprehensive picture of the European Union's cohesion policy, including the Just Transition Fund, relevant support under the EU Recovery Plan or the Technical Support Instrument. Special emphasis is placed on the education and skills as a driver for regional development.