The Rector Met with the Albanian Ambassador

The Rector Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov held a meeting with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Albania to Bulgaria H. E. Ms. Inid Milo. At the meeting was also Prof. Dr. Svetoslav Spasov, lecturer at the UNWE National and Regional Security Department, Director of the UNWE Nuclear Security Support Center and the UNWE Institute for Enhancing Research Capacity in Nuclear Industry and Nuclear Security.

During the meeting opportunities for expanding the academic and scientific cooperation between the UNWE and the universities and institutions in Albania were discussed.

H. E. Inid Milo emphasized that the education is one of the most important bridges between the societies and the nations and noted the common cultural and historical heritage of Bulgaria and Albania. She expressed interest in establishing a closer communication between the UNWE and the Albanian universities, including the University of Tirana, the University of Durres and the Mediterranean University of Tirana, and highlighted the potential for joint research initiatives in fields such as economics, technology, culture and tourism.

Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov presented the UNWE as the largest business university in Bulgaria and Southeast Europe with nearly 20 000 students and noted that the University has already established partnerships with the universities in Durres and Korçë, and the agreement with the University of Korçë has been renewed two years ago for a new four-year period.

“The UNWE is open to new partnerships and to expanding the cooperation under the Erasmus+ Programme. However, direct contacts between the university lecturers, Departments and research teams remain the most important”, emphasized the Rector, noting that the genuine academic partnership is built through active collaboration between the individual units of the universities.

During the meeting Prof. Svetoslav Spasov presented the activities of the UNWE Nuclear Security Support Center and the Master’s programme in Nuclear Security which has been running since 2015. He pointed out that the Master`s programme is unique in the region and has so far trained over 80 specialists the large part of whom are international students and experts from the public administration working in fields such as energy, border control and customs. 

Prof. Spasov pointed out the opportunities for funding the education through the International Atomic Energy Agency, which provides scholarships to citizens of countries outside the European Union, including Albania, and emphasized that since December of last year, the UNWE has been designated as a collaborating center of the Agency in the field of nuclear security capacity building.

During the conversation some topics were discussed such as the Small Modular Reactors /SMRs/ and the UNWE expertise in the areas of public acceptance and financial modeling of similar energy projects, carried out in partnership with the U.S. institutions.

H. E. Inid Milo stated that she would promote the opportunities for studying in the Master’s programme in Nuclear security among the Albanian institutions, including the Ministry of Energy, the Academy of Sciences, customs authorities and the Ministry of the Interior of Albania.

The meeting concluded with a mutual commitment to deepen the academic relations and develop joint educational and scientific initiatives between the UNWE and the partner institutions in the Republic of Albania.