UNWE Won Again the Academic Oscar for the Higher Education Institution with the Highest Institutional Accreditation and Confirmed Its Leadership Position

At a special ceremony at the NV Tower, organized by the newspaper 24 Hours, the Rector of UNWE Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov was awarded for a consecutive year the Academic Oscar for the highest institutional accreditation and the most prestigious higher education institution in the field of economics according to the employers and university lecturers. The rating system is compiled annually by the Ministry of Education and Science and serves as the best guide for young people and their parents about the universities and professional fields providing the best opportunities for success.

Velislava Zaduryan is awarding the prize to the Rector Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov

Velislava Zaduryan, Director of Human Resources at UniCredit Bulbank, awarded the prize to Prof. Dimitrov. "It is a real honour for me to be part of the 10th edition of this event, which is perhaps the most important for the academic community, and to award the prize to the UNWE. This is a higher education institution with a rich history, traditions and a significant contribution to the economic education. This recognition is an evidence of the hard work, professionalism and high standards set by the University", said Velislava Zaduryan, adding: “Continue to inspire and fire the spark in your students”.

The Rector expressed his gratitude for the award and clarified that he was receiving it not only as Rector of the University of National and World Economy, but also as Chairman of the Board of Rectors of the European alliance ENGAGE.EU. "This recognition is a clear sign of the place of the Bulgarian higher education in the European academic space. The UNWE and the universities in the alliance prepare students for the whole of Europe through joint diplomas, educational exchange and joint projects. One of the most important priorities is the real social and economic impact — every year, nearly 5 000 of our Bachelor's and Master's degree graduates find successful professional realization at the labour market with an employment rate of over 98%. We are proud of the trust of the business community, our partnerships and our distinguished graduates who prove that the University makes a strong and sustainable contribution to the development of Bulgaria", said Prof. Dimitrov.

The prestigious ceremony on awarding the prizes for Ranking of Universities in Bulgaria 2025 brought together representatives of higher education, business and institutions.

The newly elected President Iliana Yotova personally greeted the attendees at one of her first public events. “Teach young people, in addition to knowledge, to be good managers. Nowadays the leadership is a frequently discussed topic because it is very important. We have an acute shortage of leadership at national and international levels”, appealed to the academic community the President. "We are partners here. There is a lot of talk about the division nowadays, but there is no such thing here", added Iliana Yotova, emphasizing that the Bulgarian universities are at a European level and seven of them, including the UNWE, are part of the European University Network.

The ceremony was attended by 20 Rectors and among the guests were the Head of the EC representation in Bulgaria Yordanka Chobanova, the Minister of Education Krasimir Valchev, the Chairwoman of the Council of Rectors Prof. Miglena Temelkova, the Chairwoman of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Corr. Memb. Prof. Evelina Slavcheva, the Chairwoman of the National Agency for Assessment and Accreditation Prof. Eliza Stefanova, Prof. Lilia Valcheva, Chair of the Higher Education and Science Syndical Organization at the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria, Kiril Valchev, Director General of the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency, business leaders and former Ministers of education.

The 10^th ceremony on awarding the Academic Oscars paid special attention to the vision of how the higher education prepares the managers to be leaders and which skills should be promoted nowadays. In this relation as participants in the panel discussion The Visionaries were invited Maxim Behar, Chairman of the UNWE Trustees Board, founder of M3 Communications Group and leading PR expert; Tsvetanka Mincheva, CEO of UniCredit Bulbank; Ivan Chernev, CEO of Kaufland Bulgaria and Dominique Hammers, CEO of the Geotechmin Group.

The Visionaries panel discussion

“The problem nowadays is not that the students come to our companies for internships, but their desire to do so. Twenty years ago, I cleaned streets every Saturday and Sunday and during the week I did internships at various media. Nowadays the education moves at 20 miles per hour and the business moves at 100 miles per hour and the problem is the speed discrepancy. We should understand the young people and Generation Z /Gen Z/. For the first time we have a generation that knows more than us because of the media revolution. We should pay special attention to this generation. I call it the easy generation because they haven't had any difficult years — they haven't experienced hunger, crises, queues or wars. Our students must have faced storms and problems but they can do that only in our companies. These storms may be minor, but they can also be severe. 60% of my colleagues are Gen Z but you would never know they are students because they do their jobs excellently. It is important to speak to young people in their language”, said Maxim Behar.