The Ninth AESB National Meeting with the Directors of the Economic Schools Was Held at the UNWE Facilities in Ravda

The Ninth National Meeting of the Association of Economic Schools in Bulgaria /AESB/ gathered the Directors of the economic schools at the UNWE Educational and Rehabilitational Facilities in Ravda.

The UNWE was represented personally by the Rector of UNWE Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov. The meeting was attended by Prof. Dr. Matilda Alexandrova, Vice-Rector for Educational Activities and Prof. Dr. Tsvetana Stoyanova, Vice-Rector for Institutional and Business Cooperation and Student Policies. The National Meeting was attended by 32 Directors of AESB member schools as well as by the teachers involved in the preparation of secondary school pupils.

Prof. Dr. Daniela Feschian, Chairperson of AESB, opened the meeting and outlined that for one year, 4 new members have joined the Association and currently there are 41 members - the University of National and World Economy and 40 secondary schools from all over the country.

Prof. Dr. Daniela Feschian is opening the AESB National Meeting

The Rector Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov greeted the participants in the meeting with "Welcome back to the UNWE Educational and Rehabilitational Facilities in Ravda!" and emphasized: "There is an apostolic and visionary mission in the cooperation between the economic schools in Bulgaria and the largest business university in Southeastern Europe in order to help pupils and future students in the field they have chosen to develop. This year we have taken many initiatives to inform prospective students, their parents, municipalities and the business about the specialities and opportunities that our university provides to young people. I would like to thank the Association of Economic Schools in Bulgaria for their support to spread this information to the school leavers", said Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov and added that at the last meeting of the European University ENGAGE.EU in Bergen, the main focus of the discussions was on the third important function of universities, in addition to teaching and research - the social function aimed at communities and businesses, the impact on their environment. Prof. Dimitrov encouraged the AESB members to participate in the initiatives of the European University ENGAGE.EU. "These are new development opportunities for the high school pupils and future prospective students in a multicultural environment. That is why the cooperation with the representatives of secondary education is very important for us and it is good that our joint work gives such good results", said the Rector.

Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov

Prof. Dr. Daniela Feschian presented the Annual Report for the AESB Activities in the period 2022-2023. She noted that during the past reporting period, all the initiatives of AESB set out in the Action Plan were implemented. In addition to these, visits of secondary school pupils from AESB to the UNWE have been carried out, the National Competitions organized by the AESB have been held with great interest by the pupils, and a Competition on Innovative Entrepreneurship for secondary school pupils within the European university network ENGAGE.EU has been held. Visits to lecture courses by pupils from the AESB member schools have been carried out to promote the academic traditions of UNWE and to support the secondary school pupils in making a smoother transition between the secondary and higher education. Prof. Feschian emphasized on great interest of the business community in the AESB National Competitions by providing internships, scholarships and cash prizes. "For business, a winner of an AESB National Competition is a guarantee of quality", outlined Prof. Dr. Daniela Feschian. She pointed out that for the first time in the current year the Association have also organized a National Table Tennis Tournament for the AESB Cup for high school pupils which was held in high interest with the participation of 100 high school pupils from three AESB member schools.

Prof. Dr. Daniela Feschian presented summary results of the National Competition in Finance and Accounting, National Competition in Economics and National Competition in Economics and Management.

The participants in the National Meeting highly appreciated the results achieved and adopted the Annual Report of the Association with a full majority.

The meeting had a rich agenda that included interesting presentations, fruitful discussions and many shared ideas.

The presentation of Prof. Dr. Matilda Alexandrova was on the Student's Life Cycle: UNWE's Policy for Student Inclusion through Learning and Practice. She presented the university activities related to the prospective student campaign, the organization created for the attraction, admission and adaptation of Bulgarian and foreign undergraduates and Doctoral students, the strategic objectives set for implementation in the educational activities and emphasized that the UNWE provides modern education in the field of social, economic and legal sciences, based on the modern teaching methods in 53 Bachelor`s degree specialities and over 90 Master's degree programmes.

Prof. Dr. Matilda Alexandrova

University - Business: Opportunities for Development and Realization of the UNWE Students was the topic of the presentation of the Vice Rector for Institutional and Business Cooperation and Student Policies Prof. Dr. Tsvetana Stoyanova. She presented the partnerships of the UNWE with the business and employers' organizations and emphasized that the University has signed over 200 memorandums of cooperation with business organizations and institutions. "The cooperation with the business is a priority for us because the higher education - practice relationship gives more opportunities for career development and growth of our students", outlined Prof. Dr. Tsvetana Stoyanova.

Prof. Dr. Tsvetana Stoyanova

The Annual Report by Mrs. Emilia Ivanova, Director of the National Trade and Banking School and Deputy Chairperson of AESB, was focused on the Problems and Prospects for the Bulgarian Vocational Education and provoked great interest.

Mrs. Emilia Ivanova, Deputy Chairperson of AESB

Mr. Alexander Popov, Chief Expert at the Directorate of Vocational Education and Training at the Ministry of Education and Science /MES/ presented the MES policies for vocational education in the field of business management and administration.

Mr. Alexander Popov

Mrs. Lilia Velinova, representative of Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company, sponsor of the National Competitions of AESB, delivered a presentation on the Partnerships and Best Practices with Coca Cola HBC, BSO.

Mrs. Lilia Velinova

Mrs. Maya Gesheva, member of the Consultative Council of AESB and Director of the National High School in Finance and Business, expressed her contentment with the reported results of the AESB activities, the new ideas and opportunities outlined by the Forum.

The National Meeting unanimously adopted the Action Plan for the academic year 2023/2024 proposed by Prof. Dr. Daniela Feschian.

The participants in the Ninth National Meeting took the traditional group photo showing their increase and sustainability over time