UNWE Won Funding for Over 4.7 Million under the Procedure Support for the Development of Project Doctoral Studies

The contracts under the procedure Support for the Development of Project Doctoral Studies on the Education Programme 2021-2027 co-financed by the European Social Fund Plus /ESF+/ were officially awarded. The event was held in the Hall “Egg” of St. Climent Ohridsky University of Sofia.

The University of National and World Economy won funding for the implementation of two new projects for a total amount of BGN 4 724 935.

The main objective of the procedure BG05SFPR001-3.004 - Support for the Development of Project Doctoral Studies on the Education Programme is to promote the innovative training of Doctoral students by stimulating the connectivity between the higher education institutions and the scientific organizations to achieve higher quality teaching and scientific results and support the development process of the innovative economy with a focus on Industry 5.0, Green Transition, Blue Growth and/or ISSS /Innovation Strategy for Smart Specialization/ areas and the regional labour market demands.

The project No. BG05SFPR001-3.004-0013 - Doctoral Project 2030 has a total budget of BGN 2 878 949 and it is headed by Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov, Rector of UNWE. The project will be implemented in partnership with the University of Food Technologies /UFT/, Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Its main objective is the development of innovative and interdisciplinary Doctoral training at the UNWE, in partnership with the UFT, to achieve higher quality teaching and research outputs, as relevant as possible to Industry 5.0, Green Transition and ISSS areas, taking into account the regional demands for PhD staff by 2030. On the basis of the identified challenges for higher education in the training of PhD students and the specific demand for PhD holders in the labour market, the UNWE, as the No.1 business university in the Republic of Bulgaria, and UFT - Plovdiv, as a leading university in the field of food and biotechnology, should upgrade the training of their PhD students. Recognizing the necessity to train the PhD students with a focus on Industry 5.0, Green Transition, Blue Growth and ISSS areas, the UNWE will partner with UFT, enabling the sharing of resources and know-how. The establishment of Doctoral Schools for training PhD students will enable the development of innovative and interdisciplinary training to achieve higher quality teaching and research outputs. The implementation of the project will contribute to improve the labour market relevance and quality of higher education as well as to enhance the knowledge and create skills for the transition to a Green Economy at all levels of higher education. It will be complemented by the involvement of associate partners who have addressed specific business necessities through a justified demand for R&D personnel with PhD degree. The implementation of short-term mobilities by the PhD students and academic staff of the UNWE and the UFT in the EU countries as well as in the partner universities of the ENGAGE.EU alliance will contribute to increase the quality and relevance of the envisaged PhD programmes and opening them up for international cooperation.

The project addresses specific identified necessities of the following target groups: PhD students and academic staff from the UNWE in the Professional Field 3.8 - Economics and from the UFT in the Professional Field 5.3 - Communication and Computer Engineering, Professional Field 5.11 - Biotechnology, Professional Field 5.12 - Food Technology.

The project Innovative Doctoral Education 2030 has a total budget of BGN 1 845 986 and it is headed by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maria Vodenicharova. The project will be implemented in partnership with the Agrarian University - Plovdiv /AU – Plovdiv/ and has an objective to correlate the PhD programmes at the UNWE in the Professional Field 3.7 - Administration and Management and 3.6 – Law with those of the AU - Plovdiv in the Professional Field 4.4 Earth Sciences with the priorities for the development of the economy and the labour market and to increase the level of their practical applicability. As a result of the project three PhD schools will be opened at the University of Plovdiv and one PhD schools will be opened at the UNWE.

The UNWE will develop an interdisciplinary Doctoral school that will include a combination of management and law, which are mutually complementary in everyday practice.

The Doctoral School will include the following accredited Doctoral programmes: Administration and Management /Regional Development Department/, Organization and Management beyond the Material Sphere /Public Administration Department/, Governance, Civil and Family Law and Administrative Law and Administrative Process. Associated partners of the project are Green Balkans Association - Stara Zagora, Association of Bulgarian Cities and Regions and AUTEGRI Ltd., which will support the practical orientation of the PhD programmes.

The two universities will share resources: libraries, research databases, consultations with lecturers, the opportunity to take additional courses, and other resources necessary to conduct quality Doctoral training, interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research with high added value, and to develop successful dissertations.

Fourteen PhD students will be enrolled in the new programmes, three of them at the University of Plovdiv. Each of the PhD students will be provided with the opportunity to specialize abroad and work with a partner in practice. The two projects will be implemented by teams of the UNWE and the above-mentioned partners until 31 December.2029.

The Rectors Managing Body greets the teams that developed the project proposals and wishes them successful implementation of the set objectives.