Third Scientific Conference for Undergraduates and Doctoral Students on the Economy, Society and Human Resources in the Challenge of Time

Scientific Conference for Undergraduates and Doctoral Students on the Economy, Society and Human Resources in the Challenge of Time was held at the UNWE. The Forum was organized by the General Economics Faculty jointly with the Students Council of UNWE under the patronage of the Rector Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov.

Angel Stoykov, Chairman of the Student Council, Prof. Dr. Margarita Atanasova, Dean of the General Economics Faculty, Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Valery Apostolov, Head of the Human Resources and Social Protection Department, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Galina Georgieva, Scientific Secretary of the Human Resources and Social Protection Department and Prof. D.Sc. Pencho Penchev, Head of the Political Economy Department and Editor-in-Chief of the scientific journal Economic Alternatives /from the left to the right/

The event is held for the third consecutive time and each year the organization of the Conference is given to one of the Departments of the General Economics Faculty. The leading Department for this edition of the Forum is the Human Resources and Social Protection Department.

"Such events help students take a very important small first step in their development. Our university wants to help young people develop professionally while they are still on the student bench. I am confident that at this Forum you will be able to exchange knowledge and ideas useful for your future. Among you may be the people who will eventually publish in the UNWE's scientific journal Economic Alternatives and in Scopus. I wish this Conference bring you new research challenges", said Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov at the opening of the Conference.

"This Conference is a signal not that we fulfill our obligations in the field of the educational process but that we make a serious contribution to the maintenance and development of the environment at the UNWE. Our university builds its reputation not only with the high standards of education but also with the environment where young people meet with such behavioral models that will be useful to them later in their professional life or in business", said Prof. Dr. Margarita Atanasova, Dean of the General Economics Faculty and added that in their research students have really tried to find answers to questions that require a lot of good knowledge but also a lot of thinking.

"In recent years we have witnessed turbulence in sectors such as the economy, finance, health, including military and political conflicts that have a direct impact on these areas. It is required of us as a society to make radical changes in these areas, to analyze the problems and to make adaptations where it is necessary and to create new more advanced systems. Namely in this context the Conference is organized and it is the focus of the reports and discussions at the Forum", emphasized Assoc. Prof. Dr. Valery Apostolov, Head of the Human Resources and Social Protection Department.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Galina Georgieva, Scientific Secretary of the Human Resources and Social Protection Department, expressed thankfulness to the General Economics Faculty for having entrusted the organization of the Conference to them which has happened in a very special year for the Human Resources and Social Protection Department, because on 31 May will be celebrated 70 years since the establishment of the specialty Economics of Human Resources, 50 years since the establishment of the Human Resources and Social Protection Department and 32 years since the establishment of the specialty Insurance and Social Protection.

"It is my pleasure to welcome you both on behalf of myself and on behalf of the organization I represent", said the Chairman Angel Stoykov and added that the Student Council as a partner of the General Economics Faculty is a witness of the efforts that the Faculty's lecturers make to impelement the Conference. He pointed out that the number of students who will have the opportunity to present their papers during the forum, 32 people, is also extremely impressive.

"The big plus for you is that through this Conference you are getting into the underbelly of science, you are getting into a subject that will most likely not make you stars but it is still very important to take that first step because without it there will be nothing further", addressed to the undergraduates and Doctoral students Prof. D.Sc. Pencho Penchevq Head of the Political Economy Department. "And I hope, as Prof. Dimitrov said, that among you there are the future authors not only in our journal but also in international journals because we need our young people to come out and show what they can do, even slowly but step by step.”

Moderators for the Conference were Chief Assist. Dr. Desislava Koleva-Stefanova, lecturer at the Human Resources and Social Protection Department and Chief Assist. Dr. Todorka Kineva, lecturer at the Economic Sociology Department.

The papers within the Conference programme included topics such as the labour market of the future, modern training systems and approaches, dual training, lifelong learning, emotional intelligence in human resources, the impact of COVID-19, the challenges facing young people and their integration into the labour market, current and new technologies and how they affect people, the challenges facing the Bulgarian population, etc.

The Scientific Forum continued its work with the presentation of papers and lively discussions.

The Conference provides an opportunity for students /Bachelors and Masters/ and PhD students from the UNWE to present their theoretical developments in a wide range of thematic areas in the field of economics and sociology.

For the best performing students and PhD students from UNWE within the Conference are provided diplomas. The Conference papers that are accepted for publication will be published in an electronic collection with an Editorial Board and ISBN number.

The Scientific Conference is organized under the contract for partial funding of scientific forum No. НИД НФ-4-2023.