Prof. D.Sc. Lyubomir Stoykov Was Awarded a Commemorative Medal for Contribution to the Communication Science and Media Studies by the Rector Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov on the Occasion of His 70th Anniversary

Prof. D.Sc. Lyubomir Stoykov was awarded the Commemorative medal of Prof. Stefan Bobchev - Founder and First Rector of UNWE and a Diploma for his overall contribution to the communication science and media studies and for promoting the good name and authority of the university by the Rector Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov on the occasion of his 70th Anniversary. 

Prof. D.Sc. Lyubomir Stoykov is a lecturer at the Media and Public Communications Department – Department of UNESCO, an art historian, aesthetician, journalist, PR and a media expert. Prof. Stoykov is a holder of awards such as Honorary Badge of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria for Significant Contribution to Bulgarian Culture, Science and Education, Golden Century - Star” of the Ministry of Culture for contribution to culture and art, Honorary Sign of the Rector for Excellence in Academic and Scientific Activities and Merits to the UNWE, etc. Prof. Lyubomir Stoykov has incorporated for the first time in the Bulgarian university educational system the discipline of Corporate Culture and Communication, and later the subjects of Business Communication, Public Relations Management, Culture and Media, Lifestyle Journalism and Image-Making. He is the founder of TV fashion journalism in Bulgaria and the founder, scriptwriter and presenter of the first Bulgarian TV fashion show - Shine on BNT, the weekly TV style show From Needle to Thread on Nova TV and the TV fashion show The Charming Dictator on 7 Days TV. He has interviewed over 100 global celebrities in fashion design, cinema and pop music, such as Pierre Cardin, Alexander McQueen, Paco Raban, Hubert de Givenchy, Sonia Rickel, Luciano Benetton, Oscar de la Renta, Claudia Cardinale, Anouk Eme, Maria Schneider, Elizabeth Hurley, Paris Hilton and others. He has written dozens of documentaries and correspondences on fashion and style from all over the world.

The former Acting Ambassador of Montenegro to Bulgaria Jelena Filipovic-Stoyanov, Maxim Behar, Chairman of the UNWE Trustees Council, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Stella Angova, Head of the UNESCO Department of Media and Public Communications, Prof. D.Sc. Lyubomir Stoykov, the Rector Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maria Vodenicharova, Vice-Rector for Research, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alexander Hristov, President of the Bulgarian Association of PR Agencies and Vice Dean for Quality and International Cooperation of the International Economics and Politics Faculty

"It is a special honour for me as the Rector of UNWE to award to Prof. D.Sc. Lyubomir Stoykov the Commemorative medal of Prof. Stefan Bobchev - Founder and First Rector of UNWE and a Diploma for overall contribution to the communication science and media studies and for promoting the good name and authority of the University", said Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov. "Prof. Stoykov is a scientist with an impressive academic career, a public and recognizable public figure, he is one of the people who contribute to the positive image and media image of our university. We should emphasize that he incorporated media and communications as a subject and lecture area at the UNWE. Ever since he has joined our University in 1993 he is the first lecturer of Communication and Corporate Culture at the University. He is the founder and Scientific Head of the Master's Programme in Public Relations. The Rector Prof. Dimitrov also explained why the colleagues from the UNESCO Department of Media and Public Communications have chosen to honour him at their Doctoral Seminar. "At a time when the development of young scholars is coming to the front not only on a national but also on a European scale, we must highlight the contribution of Prof. Stoykov to the several dozens of PhD students he has supervised. He is a man of exceptional empathy and care for students and young people, so it is an honour for us that he is part of the chronicles of our university."

"I am excited and touched by the attention and this high award. I am grateful that my work at the UNWE has been noticed, appreciated and admired with dignity", said Prof. D.Sc. Lyubomir Stoykov. He pointed out that "the award has a triple recipient and I will dedicate it to my family, to my beloved UNESCO Department of Media and Public Communications and to my wonderful students and PhD students, present and future". Prof. Stoykov reminded some of his favourite phrases such as "Sympathy is mutual" / "Not only students should learn from their lrcturers, but also lecturers should learn from their students" / "Success is achieving your goal on time". Prof. Stoykov outlined that he has always tried to be interactive and that "the most important thing is to have inspiration, and my inspiration is the students. I am extremely happy that such a large and important part of my biography - creative, scientific and lecturing - is connected with the UNWE. I will be glad if with my activity I have also contributed to the establishment of communication values. The UNWE has built me up, it has revealed my potential, it is an honour for me to be part of the academic college of the Bulgarian Harvard".

“Assoc. Prof. Dr. Stella Angova, Head of the UNESCO Department of Media and Public Communications and former student of Prof. Stoykov, told us more about the incredible memories of the time when he was her lecturer and later colleague and pointed out that her interest in journalism has not faded. "Prof. Stoykov is the man who paved the way for business communication, public relations, image-making - all important disciplines that are included in the curricula of the Department. He created a great school in the Bachelor`s, Master's and Doctoral Programmes. All of our colleagues have learned from his experience as a lecturer, researcher, and practitioner.

Maxim Behar, Chairman of the UNWE Trustees Council and PhD student of Prof. Stoykov, pointed out: "As a man of business, I appreciate in him the professionalism he puts first and his proverbial integrity and openness. He is ethical, transparent and accurate with respect for other opinions - some rare qualities."

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alexander Hristov, Chairman of the Bulgarian Association of PR Agencies /BAPRA/,Vice-Dean for Quality and International Cooperation of the International Economics and Politics Faculty and former student of Prof. Stoykov, pointed out that "the University is the place where we keep our youth in the spiritual sense of the word and Prof. Stoykov is a great example of that. He greeted the jubileer on behalf of the Association of PR Agencies and on behalf of the Dean of the International Economics and Politics Assoc. Prof. Dr. Svetla Boneva. "Prof. Stoykov has a huge contribution to the development of the Bulgarian PR business, his drive, in-depth knowledge in the field of both media and communications. Together we have the power to make the profession perfect."

"Prof. Lyubomir Stoykov is an epoch in the media of fashion in Bulgaria and what he has is the fruit of a lot of hard work and dedication", said  Prof. D.Sc./Econ./ Pano Lulansky /in the picture above on the left/, a long-time lecturer and Head of the Management of Socio-Cultural Activities Department /1993-1999/, to which Prof. Stoykov`s first appointment was made.

He expressed thankfulness to Prof. Stoykov for everything he has done for the University and for the Media and Public Communications  Department , which exists due to him. "He went far because he had grasped theory with his right hand and practiced with his left, which brought him high. Students can go a long way with him, but it is worth it." Prof. Lulansky wished the jubileer "clarity of the present and light for the future".

Prof. D.Sc. Ivaylo Hristov from the Media and Public Communications Department /in the picture above - the fourth man from the right to the left/, outlined that "Prof. Lyubomir Stoykov loves to help, he is open to the concerns and career growth of his colleagues. I am impressed by the diversity of his many talents and that he is a supporter of the idea of the socialization of science".

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Svetla Tsankova from the same department /in the picture above - the fourth woman from the left to the right/, said: “Prof. Stoykov is my teacher in efficiency and business approach to tasks, my teacher in my work with students, my teacher in spirit and vitality and in life wisdom".

Prof. Dr. Petko Todorov, two-term Head of the Media and Public Communications Department /in the picture above - the second man from the right to the left/, said that it was "a pleasure to work with Prof. Lyubomir Stoykov and the Media and Public Communications Department has the spirit due to him and his academic style of work to combine practice with theory".

Congratulatory address to Prof. Lyubomir Stoykov and to the Doctoral Seminar was also delivered by the Economics Department in the person of its Head Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ivaylo Beev.

Prof. Lyubomir Stoykov was also greeted by his other former students, now lecturers in the Department, such as Chief Assist. Dr. Maria Nikolova and Chief Assist. Dr. Ivan Valchanov. Kind words were also addressed by Dr. Magdalena Ivanova, PR manager of the Bulgarian Hospital Association, former student and former PhD student of Prof. Stoykov, Dr. Eva Tsvetkova, university lecturer, Senior Programmer at Accenture Bulgaria, former student and former PhD student of Prof. Prof. Stoykov, as well as by the PhD students of Prof. Stoykov: Lyuboslava Mitkova, Albena Alexandrova and others.

The celebrations for the 70th Anniversary of  Prof. D.Sc. Lyubomir Stoykov was part of a Doctoral Seminar No.5, where various topics were also discussed - from the impact of artificial intelligence on strategic communication planning in the technology sector by Lyuboslava Mitkova, through the perspectives and challenges of artificial intelligence in sports event management by Helena Todorova and its impact on television by Maria Konstantinova, to the challenges in the work of journalists in covering the war in Ukraine by Svetoslav Metanov and the impact of the conflict in Gaza on the war in Ukraine by Boryana Raicheva-Danailova and others.