UNWE and EO Southeastern Europe Will Organize a Competition for Entrepreneurs - Global Student Entrepreneur Awards /GSEA/

The Rector of UNWE Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov and Janka Nikolova-Lazarova representing the Association EO Southeast Europe signed a Memorandum to jointly organize a competition of series Global Student Entrepreneur Awards /GSEA/ of the Entrepreneurs Organization.

The Global Student Entrepreneur Awards /GSEA/ is the world's leading competition for students who own and manage a business while attending a college or university. Nominees compete against peers from around the world in a series of local and/or national competitions aiming to rank for the GSEA finals.

"UNWE as the еldest and the largest higher economic school in Bulgaria and Southeastern Europe maintains an extremely high standard in education and prepares professionals in specialties that cover the entire spectrum of socio-economic life", said the Rector Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov pointing out that hundreds of our distinguished compatriots who form the elite of the nation, including 10 Prime Ministers of Bulgaria as well as the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva, who was also a lecturer at the University, have taken their first steps in knowledge at the UNWE.

"Organizing a competition of Global Student Entrepreneur Awards series is a natural continuation of our work to prepare our students for the real working environment", outlined the Rector and added: "at the UNWE we maintain long-term partnerships with the business to conduct internship and mentoring programmes. In order to develop the entrepreneurial and innovation skills of our students and to help them start a business, we have opened a University Startup Hub at UNWE. Young people will be able to learn about the opportunities for funding startups, will get training on how to prepare business plans and how to present their ideas to investors, will receive legal information."

"Entrepreneurs Organization is the world's largest entrepreneurial organization founded in America. It has more than 16 thousand members and among its founders are Richard Branson, owner of Booking.com, Jeff Hoffman and other famous persons from the business. The idea of the Organization is to support the young people development and the mentoring programme was developed for student entrepreneurs. Mentors are people who have gone through the whole entrepreneurial way and have become leaders in the business world", said Yanka Nikolova-Lazarova.

At the signing also attended Prof. Dr. Tsvetana Stoyanova, Vice Rector for Institutional and Business Cooperation and Student Policies and members of the Board of EO Southeastern Europe.

Prof. Dr. Tsvetana Stoyanova /the second woman from the right to the left/, Yanka Nikolova-Lazarova, Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov and members of the Board of EO Southeast Europe

This Memorandum lays the foundations for the organization of the first national competition of the EO Global Students Entrepreneurs Awards series in Bulgaria in spring of 2023. The competition is open to student entrepreneurs from all Bulgarian public and private universities as well as to students of Bulgarian nationality studying abroad.

Founded in 1998 by Saint Louis University, GSEA is a programme of the Entrepreneurs Organization /EO/. Nominees present their businesses to a panel of judges at all stages of the Competition starting at local level. Finalists then continue at a regional competition and at the final stage - at the World Finals.

According to the terms set in the Memorandum the National Competition for Bulgaria will be held on 17 February 2023 at the UNWE. Students apply for participation on the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards website by 31 January 2023.

The guests took a photo in front of the Wall of Fame - "UNWE Lecturers and Alumni - Heads of International and National Bodies and Institutions".