News - 2018

 

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10 December 2018, Monday

The University of Ruse awarded a Quality Sign for their work on the Erasmus+ programme

            On 6 December 2018, the University of Ruse  was awarded a Quality Excellence Sign for their work on the Erasmus+ programme, at a ceremony in the Central Military Club – Sofia. The event was part of the traditional Valorisation conference under the Erasmus+ programme, organized by the Center for Human Resources Development (CHRD)– Sofia, which is the National Erasmus agency in Bulgaria.

Mr. Georg Georgiev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Mr. Petar Nikolov – Deputy Minister of education and science, representatives of the Ministry of Youth and Sport participated in the conference. Both Ministers emphasized the extreme importance of the Erasmus+ programme – the largest, most popular and most effective programme of the European Commission in the field of education, training, youth and sport.

The Executive Director of CHRD, Mr. Petyo Kanev, greeted the representatives of the institutions awarded and reviewed projects and activities, implemented in Bulgaria with the support of the Erasmus+ programme. Over 39 million Euro will be granted by the EC under the Erasmus+ Programme for projects and other accompanying activities in 2019. The budget  has a 7% increase compared to this year.

Out of 271 Erasmus projects, selected in 2017, 40 were awarded with Quality Excellence Sign, among which only four are university projects – the University of Ruse, The Medical University – Varna, the Higher school of management – Varna and the national Academy of Music Prof. Pancho Vladigerov.

            The award of the University of Ruse was accepted by the Erasmus Coordinator and Vice-rector of internationalization and communication policy – Prof. Juliana Popova, PhD.

Researchers from the University of Ruse teach rehabilitation engineering to their colleagues in Caza under i-CARE project

The first year of the implementation of the Project „i-CARE Increasing the Conformance of Academia towards rehabilitation engineering, funded by the Erasmus + Programme ended successfully.  Eight universities are partners in this project – four from Gaza and four from the EU, one of which is the University of Ruse. The Al Azar University in Gaza, represented by Ahmed Issa, PhD is the Project Coordinator.

 Within the first year of activities, lecturers from the Public Health and Social Work Department with the Faculty of Public Health and Healthcare presented to their colleagues in Gaza good practices in rehabilitation technologies and provided pre-requisites for starting training in Rehabilitation engineering in partner universities in Gaza.

The project has a budget of EUR 914,469.00 and aims at providing transfer of knowledge and skills in rehabilitation technologies from Established European academic institutions to universities and hospitals in the Gaza strip within the three-year duration of the project.

Next year, lecturers from Gaza are to visit Ruse. They are going to attend a crash course in Kinesiology, led by colleagues from the University of Ruse.

13 September 2018, Thursday

First information and motivation campaign of the Resource Centre for Employment with the University of Ruse andJob Fair: Negotiating employment

On 14 September 2018 at 10,00 in room 2.204 the First information and motivation campaign of the Resource Centre for Employment, established under Project 16.4.2.036 „Integrated interventions for employment in the cross-border region Giurgiu-Ruse (MOBGIRU)". The campaign is in the framework of the event Job Fair: Negotiating employment, which provides a platform for the business to meet young people, looking for job opportunities. Employers will have the chance to present their organisations, the job and career opportunities they offer, the requirements they have and the conditions they offer to the employees.

The aim is to achieve better direct contact between employers and job-seekers; more accurate understanding of about the knowledge and skills the employers are looking for in young people; improved skills for performing at job interviews; clarity about the documents, needed for job application.

         The first information and motivation campaign will be held under the slogan „A successful job tomorrow starts with your action today"

Agenda

9.30 Arranging the stands of the participating companies

10.00 Opening of the event

10.10 Presenting new internet platform for employment for the Ruse- Giurgiu region

10.30 First information and motivation campaign of the Resource Centre for Employment with the University of Ruse

11,00 Meetings between employers and young people

13 Seprember 2018, Thursday

PhD students from 11 Danube countries study Project management and Entrepreneurship at the University of Ruse

In Hall 2 of Kaneff Centre- University of Ruse the summer is still here. For a fifth time in the framework of the project DANUBE:FUTURE, PhD students and post-doctoral students from 11 Danube countries gathered for a Summer School, where they would acquire knowledge and skills in project management and entrepreneurship with the aim to guarantee the sustainable development of the Danube macro region.  

The participants in the Summer School were greeted by the Rector of the host university, COR MEM Prof. Hristo Beloev, DTSc, who expressed his satisfaction from the activities of the young researchers. He stated that the internationalisation of education, manifested through such initiatives, is a successful way of achieving quality of education and finding global solutions of the problems in our countries and regions. Prof. Beloev wished all participants fruitful work and a pleasant stay in our city and the University of Ruse.

The young people are trained by university lecturers from the project partner universities: University of Natural Sciences, Vienna, Austria, Danubius University, Galati, Romania, Sofia University and University of Ruse, Bulgaria, as well as by representatives of the main funding institutions - the Central European Initiative and the Danube Rectors' Conference and the local authorities in Ruse. After the plenary lectures on the topic, the participants formed work groups where they will be implementing the theory into practice and developing research projects on specific problems, to be presented on the last day of the School. On 16 September, after the presentations of the projects, the students will be handed Certificates of Participation.

A considerable contribution to the practical aspect of the School have the field trips to natural park "Rusenski Lom" and to Giurgiu, Romania, which illustrate the achievements in the field of sustainable development, cross-border cooperation and good practices in implementing the EU Directives. The meetings of the young researchers with leaders from the Municipalities – Dr. Strahil Karapchanski, Deputy-mayor of Ruse and Nikolae Barbu, mayor of Giurgiu, undoubtedly support the theoretical studies with examples from practice, as well as provide opportunities for the promising young scientists to get actively involved in the processes of sustainable development of the Danube region.

10 September 2018, Monday

CompSysTech'18 at the University of Ruse on 13-14 September

On 13.09.2018 (Thursday) at 15:00 in Siemens Hall of the University of Ruse will start the International Scientific Conference CompSysTech'18.

Two companies will present their humanoid robots at the opening of the conference

The plenary session promises to attract the searching minds:

Elena Marinova's talk will answer the question: Internet of everything – what is in store for us? (Elena Marinova is the president of Musala Soft LtD)

Prof. Nikola Kasabov (New Zealand), who has nearly 13 000 citations and h-index = 51 will give a talk on artificial intelligence, based on deep self-study in neuron networks.

The innovative and entrepreneurial universities will be the subject of the plenary paper of Prof. Petar Stanchev.

The complete agenda of the Conference can be seen at:

http://www.compsystech.org/docs/CST18-Programme.pdf

10 September 2018, Monday

THE UNIVERSITY OF RUSE HOSTS THE INTERNATIONAL SUMMER SCHOOL UNDER THE PROJECT DANUBE: FUTURE IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE DANUBE STRATEGY

            The University of Ruse "Angel Kanchev" is the organiser and host of the fifth edition of the International Summer School under the Project DANUBE: FUTURE, declared a key project under the European strategy for the Danube macroregion. The Summer School DIS 2018 will be held in the period 10-16 September in Hall 2 of Kaneff Centre on the topic Project Management and Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Development of the Regions in the Danube Macroregion.  Participants in the School are PhD students and post-doctoral students from the Danube countries, members of the Danube Rectors' Conference and the Alpine-Adriatic Rectors' Conference: Austria, Albania, Bosna and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Italy, Romania, Serbia, Hungary, Ukraine, Croatia, the Czech Republic. The international teaching staff includes lecturers from the University of Natural Sciences, Vienna, Austria, Danubius University, Galati, Romania, Sofia University and University of Ruse, Bulgaria. Managers from the main financing institutions – the Central European initiative and the Danube Rectors' Conference, will be lecturers too.

            The preceding Summer Schools were in Gorizia, Italy and Kremms, Austria, organised by the University of Trieste and the Danube University in Kremms, respectively.

4 September 2018, Tuesday

Vietnamese alumni returned to the University of Ruse after 30 years

A group of Vietnamese alumni of Bulgarian higher schools visited the University of Ruse. Two of the men graduated from our university in 1984. They have had a successful career and are proud of their Diplomas from the University of Ruse.

During the meeting with the Body of Rectors, the group was acquainted with the new degree programmes at the University of Ruse, the partnerships with higher schools from Vietnam and the training of international students. The Rector, COR MEM Prof. Hristo Beloev, shared his satisfaction with the work of the Vietnamese PhD students, who have defended their PhD theses successfully under his academic guidance.

The guests were shown around the University and they expressed their delight at the many positive changes in the facilities. They remembered their student years and voiced their greatest wish to visit the Student Hall of Residence where they had lived more than 30 years ago. They admitted that the nostalgia for Bulgaria was what had prompted them to return to the places where they had studied. They also said that they get together to celebrate 8th December and that they remember and sing songs in Bulgarian. This nostalgia has brought them to Europe and within a week they have visited Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna and Ruse.

August 2018, Tuesday

Greetings to the Rector of the University of Ruse from the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany

The Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Her Excellency Angela Merkel, DHC of the University of Ruse, sent a Congratulatory address to the Rector of the University of Ruse, COR MEM Hristo Beloev on his 60th anniversary.

The text reads: „Most cordial greetings on the occasion of your 60th anniversary! It is common to send a wish for happiness to the birthday person. Happiness cannot be presented as one single mold – it consists of numerous stones, representing the moments of happiness, carefully preserved in the life memories of each person. He, who artfully directs his life, could gather these stones in one mosaic picture, which is the cause of joy and admiration. Be a Master in this art! I am pleased to use this occasion to express my appreciation for your achievements and to wish you all the best for the future, and most of all, happiness, health and success!"

This is another letter in the correspondence, which started in 2008, between the Rector of the University of Ruse, COR MEM Hristo Beloev and the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany - Her Excellency Angela Merkel.

13 August, Monday

The University of Ruse transfers innovative educational technologies from Europe to Central Asia

Brussels approved the 5th proposal of the University of Ruse for creating a university network. This time the network is not just European, but Eurasian because several universities from 5 countries from Central Asia have been involved in it – Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The goal of the project is modernisation of the higher education systems of these countries through active and efficient application of innovation educational technologies. Among the project objectives are the development of a Concept for adapting the education system to the digital generation and, based on this Concept, formulating a Programme for digital transformation of education. For this reason, in the project are involved the Ministries of education of the partner countries, which will be represented by the sectional vice ministers.

From a total of 32 proposals only 6 have been approved. Our University project was second. The Agency has not cut any amount of the budget proposed. The project duration is three years.

The approval of this large-scale project is one more recognition of the leadership role of the University of Ruse in the field of ICT-based innovations, which have been developed and implemented at our University ever since the year 2000.

7 August 2018, Tuesday

The Consul General of the Russian Federation in Ruse visited the University of Ruse

The Consul General of the Russian Federation in Ruse, Andrey Gromov, visited the University of Ruse and met the Body of Rectors. The role of the higher school in the national and international educational space was one of the topics discussed.

The Rector, COR MEM prof. Hristo Beloev, DTSc, presented the university with its faculties and degree programmes. He emphasized the significance of the high grade given to our University by the National Evaluation and Accreditation Agency for the following six years.

Andrey Gromov acknowledged the strategic role of the higher school in Northern Bulgaria and was impressed by its development through the years. The possibility for exhibiting works of Russian artist in the University was discussed, as well as presenting Russian universities scholarship programmes.

2 August 2018, Thursday

Prof. Alexander Sladkovski became bearer of the title

DOCTOR HONORIS CAUSA of the University of Ruse

The professor in the Silesian Technological University in Katowice, Poland – Alexander Sladkovski was conferred the honorary title DOCTOR HONORIS CAUSA of the University of Ruse at a solemn session of the Academic Council. Prof. Sladkovski is the 45th bearer of this title. He was nominated for this honour by Prof. Velizara Pencheva – Chairperson of the Assembly General of the University of Ruse, Assoc. prof. Vasko Dobrev, Dean of the Faculty of Transport and Prof. Rossen Ivanov, DTSc. Prof. Sladkovski was conferred the title owing to his abundant teaching and research activities. His contribution to the development of transport science and logistics internationally, to the process of internationalisation of education and the support of research and study process of the University of Ruse serve as motives  for conferring the title.

The solemn session of the Academic Council was led by the Rector COR MEM Hristo Beloev, in the presence of the First Secretary of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland to Bulgaria – Jacob Plazinsky and the Vice-rector of the Silesian University – Prof. Boguslav Lazaras.

After the ceremony, prof. Sladkovski delivered an academic speech, partly in Bulgarian, polish, English and Russian, dedicated to the cooperation between scientists, universities, regions and states. Prof. Sladkovski addressed the young researchers with the recommendation not to be put off by the difficulties they face on their way, to strive for cooperation with their colleagues abroad and to set for themselves high goals. In his address to the habilitated lecturers he emphasised the importance of distributing scientific information. "Research in our countries is as successful as that in western countries. And the reason is not the lack or insufficiency of financing although the budget of MIT exceeds the budget of some countries. For example, in 2014 MIT's budget for military research only, was about $1 billion. It is most important to spread topical information and make it accessible to researchers globally".

Prior to the ceremony at the University of Ruse, Prof. Sladkovski met H.E. Krzysztof Kraevski, Ambassador to the Republic of Poland in Bulgaria.

About Prof. Alexander Sladkovski:

Alexander Sladkovski  was born in 1956 in Dnepropetrovsk (Ukraine). He graduated the State University in Dnepropetrovsk (DSU) in the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics but he did some research even in his student years under the guidance of Prof. Mosakovski from the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. He started working as an engineer in the Laboratory on problematic research into robustness and reliability of structures with the same university. He has worked in the Laboratory of diagnostics and holography in DSU as a head of the research sector, then he became senior researcher in the laboratory on research of the environmental economy and an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematical Research and Software. He delivered lectures and seminars in programming and numerical methods. In the National Academy of Metallurgy of Ukraine, he was responsible for a number of research projects on railway and industrial vehicles. Parallelly, he teaches at the university.

Since 2000, prof. Sladkovski has been developing his scientific career in the Silesian Technological University – Katovwitce, Poland. In 2007 he was appointed a professor and since 2009 he has been the Head of the Logistics and Industrial Transport, later transformed into Logistics and Aviation Machinery Department. His scientific achievements in the field of transport and logistics have been appreciated in Poland, Ukraine and Russia, as well as a number of European countries. Since 2006 he has been Editor-in-Chief of the international journal "Transport Issues" (Scopus), he is a member of the editorial boards of several scientific journals, as well as a coordinator, chairperson, deputy chairperson and member of the programme committees of a number of international scientific conferences.

Since 2009, Prof. Alexander Sladkovski has been working actively with the Faculty of Transport in the University of Ruse on the scientific development of PhD students and young researchers, through joint research and mobilities of lecturers and students. He is an international expert for evaluation of quality of education in a number of agencies abroad. In 2018 he was appointed an expert in the Bulgarian National Agency for Evaluation and Accreditation.

10 July 2018, Tuesday

National workshop of francophone universities in Bulgaria held at the University of Ruse

On 9-10 July 2018, a national workshop of francophone universities in Bulgaria was held at the University of Ruse. The topic of the workshop was „Improving the university systems for quality assurance through good practices of internationalization of education". The event was organized by the University of Ruse with the financial support of Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF). The main purpose of the forum is to improve the management capacity of the university governance of the 10 universities in Bulgaria, members of AUF.

            During the first day of the workshop, prof. Kamen Velev, PhD, a member of the Accreditation Council of NEAA, acquainted the audience with the activities of the Agency and the criteria for evaluating the higher schools. The policy of the Ministry of Higher Education for internationalization of higher education was presented by Ms. Ivana Radonova. Representatives of the University of Veliko Turnovo, the Technical University, Sofia, New Bulgarian University and the University of Ruse shared good practices in their work on internationalization of the study process, as well as some problems in applying this principle. In view of finding solutions, COR MEM. Beloev, Rector of the University of Ruse, proposed the development of a document, reflecting the specific ideas of the participants for alleviating the admission procedures for international students in Bulgaria, which will accelerate the whole process of internationalisation.

            Many of the participants in the workshop emphasised the role of Francophonie for building relationships with the academic communities in the world and the democratic principle of equality, which is defining for the movement. Over 800 higher education institutions are part of the  Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (АUF), which makes it the largest organisation of this kind in the world.

15 June 2018, Friday

The University of Ruse becomes the founder of HEInnovate academic network

 Rector COR MEM Prof. Hristo Beloev, DTSc proposed the establishment of a Network of entrepreneurial universities during the international conference „HEInnovate: Supporting institutional change in higher education"

The international conference dedicated to innovations in higher education convened at the University of Ruse more than 150 representatives of academic communities of European universities, entrepreneurs, politicians and teams of the Directorate General in Education, Youth, Sport and Culture of the European Commission. The forum was organized by the European Commission in partnership with the University of Ruse and the Ministry of Education and Science of R Bulgaria.

Partner training workshops in the first day provided opportunities for establishing contacts between representatives of the academic communities and   start-up companies in Europe. The participants focused onУ two of HEInnovate's dimensions: „Training And support of entrepreneurs", with Emilian Enev of Startup Factory  as a moderator and „Entrepreneurial teaching and learning", moderated by Irina Kostadinova, PhD, from the Faculty of Business and |Management of the University of Ruse.

The "speed dating" format chosen allowed presenters from Poland, Romania, the Netherlands, Croatia, Ireland, Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria to share good practices, exchange ideas and get recommendations for their future work by the participants in the discussion, who kept rotating at the different tables. The heated debates during the sessions and the newly established contacts laid the foundations for future joint endeavours.

During the debate on the regional perspective of higher education, the challenges and the drivers, which could turn innovations and entrepreneurship into reality were discussed in two panels. In the first part the topic was „Measuring the impact of higher education institutions on innovations", with talks given by Mr Koen Jonkers from the Joint Research Centre, European Commission, Ivana Radonova, PhD from the Higher Education Directorate of the Ministry of Education and Science and prof. Daniel Bratanov, Dean of the Faculty of Public Health and Healthcare with the University of Ruse. The second panel was dedicated to the impact higher education has on the local and regional development. The moderator of this panel was Mr. John Edwards from the Joint Research Centre while Svilen Kunev, Phd, from the Management And Business Development Department with the University of Ruse,      Ms Desislava Koleva, 'Projects and Economic development', Gabrovo municipality Ms Agatha Filimon, North-East Regional Development Agency, Romania, and Anne Deloise, University of Orleans, France were the panellists.

            The second day of the forum started with a plenary session in the presence of the Deputy minister of education and science, Mr. Peter Nikolov, Mr. Georgi Dimitrov - Deputy Head of Unit , Innovation and EIT, DG EAC, European Commission, the deputy mayor of Ruse, Mr. Strahil Karapchanski and Assoc. prof. Maria Fartunova from the Council of Rectors, Bulgaria.

In his welcoming address, the Rector of the University of Ruse, COR MEM Prof. Hristo Beloev declared that the academic community appreciates the privilege to host the HEInnovate forum and to be co-organiser. „Ever since 2013, when the University of Ruse was selected by the Ministry of Science and Education to be one of five pilot universities to participate in the implementation of HEInnovate project for Bulgaria, we have seen that it is our mission to be among the entrepreneurial universities in Europe and to direct our efforts towards building entrepreneurial culture among its students and lecturers", stated the Rector. At the end of his speech he announced the foundation of HEInnovate Academic network, where all universities and institutions, participating in the Conference to be co-founders. „Our vision is to start a consortium of the higher education institutions, who share the mission, guiding principles and values of HEInnovate", added, COR MEM Beloev.

In his address to the audience, Deputy Minister Peter Nikolov said that the Conference at the University of Ruse is the closing event of the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council in the field of education. He reported the recent meetings and high-level discussions in the field of higher education and summarised the key results from the forum in Ruse, namely, the conclusions about the needs of further deepening and stimulating the cooperation between universities, businesses and the environment.

The idea for founding HEInnovate Academic network was welcomed by Mr. Georgi Dimitrov, as well as by Assoc. prof. Fartunova. The plenary paper was presented by Prof. Slavica Singer, UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, J.J. Strossmayer University of Osijek, Croatia. She presented the experience of her team and highlighted the importance of cooperation between HEInnovate partners.

            The EU Member of Parliament and creator of the А.L.E.C.O programme – Mr. Andrey Novakov took part in the debate on the digital transformation of universities. He commented that the bureaucratic burden when funding innovative projects and ideas should be reduced while at the same time a balance must be sought between the protection of taxpayers' funds and the access to financial resources for the entrepreneurs. The remaining participants in the discussion - Ms Isabel Schünemann, Hochschulforum Digitalisierung (tbc), Prof. Andrew Szony, University of Toronto and Mr Rahul Bansal, Deputy Director Education, Climate-KIC (tbc) shared their experience and emphasised the idea that computers are only a means for solving problems, but the human factor and the organisational culture are more important. Prof. Angel Smrikarov – Director of the Centre for Innovative Educational Technologies of the University of Ruse – presented the draft of the National programme for digitalisation of education, which has already earned a broad national and international support.

At the end of the two-day conference, the new eighth dimension of HEInnovate tool for digital transformation of higher education institutions was announced. It will supplement the remaining seven – leadership and guidance; organisational capacity; teaching and learning; paths for entrepreneurs; cooperation between universities and businesses; internationalisation of institutions and measuring the impact.

14 June 2018, Thursday

Third innovative Youth EXPO at the University of Ruse

The forum is part of the International conference "HEInnovate: Supporting institutional change in higher education"

The innovative Youth EXPO was opened by the Rector of the University of Ruse, COR MEM Prof. Hristo Beloev, who recalled its history and emphasized the fact that it keeps attracting more and more participants. The third edition of the forum is part of the International conference "HEInnovate: Supporting institutional change in higher education" (14-16 June 2018), which is held under the auspices of the European Commission and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) with the UN and has been coordinated by the Ministry of Education and Science of Bulgaria (MES).

The forum was greeted by the Deputy Mayor of Ruse, Mr. Strahil Karapchanski, Mr. Georgi Dimitrov - Deputy Head of Unit, Innovation and EIT, DG EAC, European Commission, Ms Angelina Lambreva – director of Higher Education Directorate in MES, Ms. Rositsa Georgieva – Head of Regional Management of Education in Ruse and Yana Vangelova – Chair of the National Representation of Student Unions in Bulgaria.

The participants in the HEInnovate Conference and the Youth EXPO III were greeted by the students from the high school of Mathematics with the performance "Mothers and Sons.

All 38 participants – research teams, student companies, university student professional clubs and start-ups – presented their developments, models and prototypes during the EXPO.

A life-saving drone, providing first aid to patients with cardiac arrest was demonstrated by the team from the University of medicine and Pharmacy in Cluj Napoka, Romania.

Some of the most attractive participants were the members of "Trenvio" team, students in the digital master degree programme of the European Institute of Innovations and Technologies, part of the Sorbonne University. They presented a group travel shipping company, where travelers buy local quality products and deliver them to customers. On one hand, travellers earn pocket money, on the other hand, their customers obtain locally inaccessible goods. The services are offered by creating and administering a secure, user-friendly and powerful platform, guaranteed both parties.

The project NEVROtech of the University of Lisbon connects virtual reality and neurosciences for treatment of phobias. The innovative method, together with the traditional ones, allows the optimization of the therapy. It combines virtual reality and EEG-signals, providing objective indicators for qualitative measuring of therapeutic efficiency.

The start-up company of the institute for higher education Saint Martin, Malta showed to the public in Kaneff Centre the project INTACT, which won the European Junior Achievement challenge for 2017 in Helsinki. The team presented a technology, increasing the safety for bikers. Shock sensors, mounted in the biker's helmet, are connected to a smart phone application, which automatically alarms the emergency services and the relatives of the injured person, identifying the location of the accident.

The High School of Mathematics in Ruse was represented by three school companies - „VICEM", „Retyres" and „Mаster Minds". One of the school teams has developed a biopesticide, which protects the bees, another one has developed a technology for producing motor oils from old tires, and the third team is working for better communication between officers in the institutions and people with hearing impairment, creating a kind of Call Centre with sign language interpreters.

Students from "Vazrazhdane" High School showed a model of electrical bicycle with an auto locking system and possibility for tracing through a mobile app while their peers from the English Language School demonstrated a system for cleaning of aquariums. Students from the Vocational High school for Clothes „Nedka Ivan Lazarova" demonstrated transforming clothing from the collection "Bulgaria – part of the colourful world of Europe".

Different teams from the University of Ruse showed their developments, dominated by automobiles. The Automobile driver club showed a proto-type of electric car, „Four Wheels" – karting automobiles with alternative drive, while HydRU demonstrated a prototype of urban car driven by a fuel cell. Robots, airplane models, made by students, technologies for digitalisation and visualisation of historical and cultural monuments, prototypes of systems for measuring environmental parameters and physiological parameters of the human body were only some of the developments seen by the audience.

17 May 2018, Thursday

The University of Ruse will host a Francophone seminar at the end of June

Representatives of the University Agency of Francophonie (UAF) and the Body of Rectors of the University of Ruse discussed the organisation of a National workshop in our university. The event is to be held at the end of June. The possibility of establishing a Francophone Centre at the University of Ruse by 2020, expanding the Bulgarian network of such centres, was negotiated.

Participants in the meeting were the regional director for Central and Eastern Europe of UAF – Mohamed Ketata and the head of the office for Bulgaria and Turkey – Petar Topalov while the University of Ruse was represented by the rector, Cor. Mem. Prof. Hristo Beloev, DTSC and the vice rectors Prof. J. Popova, Prof. D. Antonova and Prof. P. Daskalov.

The guests were shown around the facilities – the library, the publishing centre and the design studio.

16 May 2018, Wednesday

The tenth edition of Global Village at the University of Ruse

The Annual workshop „Global Village 2018" on the topic of „The international activity of the Department of Machine Science, Machine Elements and Engineering Graphics" was held for the tenth time at the University of Ruse. At the beginning of the workshop, the Rector of the university, Cor. Mem. Prof. Hristo Beloev, DTSc greeted the participants and said that this initiative is indicative of the integration between the Departments in the higher school in the fields of research and teaching. During the event, both the research achievements and the international activities of the Department were presented and the participants witnessed the positive effect of these activities on the quality of the teaching process.

Prof. Antoaneta Dobreva – Head of the Department of Machine Science, Machine Elements and Engineering Graphics with the Faculty of Transport, summarized the international activities and reported that the team is in cooperation with more than 15 universities from different European states. Caliopa Stilinovich and Nurten Syuleimani from "St Kliment Ohridski" University in Bitola, Macedonia talked about the relations between the two universities while Daniela Schults from the Technical University Vildau answered the questions of students, related to academic exchange and research in Germany.

Students, why have participated in academic exchange and practice within the Erasmus Programme, shared their impressions from their stay in European universities and companies, and gave some recommendations top their colleagues, who are planning to participate in this programme.

15 May 2018, Tuesday

The connectivity of generations in the digital world discussed at an international conference in the University of Ruse

University lecturers, students and teachers, representatives of research institutes, government and non-government organisations from Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia, as well as pensioners discussed the role of the different generations in the digital world at the conference "Three generations together in the digital world", held at the University of Ruse on 13.05.2018.

In his greeting address to the participants, the Rector, Cor.Mem. Prof. Hristo Beloev, DTSc emphasized the importance of digitalisation in the field of education and the adaptation of study content to the digital generation. The Conference received greeting addresses from the Mayor of Ruse, Mr. Plamen Stoilov and the Governor of Ruse Region, Mr. Galin Grigorov. The European Commissioner on digital economy and digital society, Mrs. Maria Gabriel, sent a greeting address, in which she has pointed out that digital transformation is a unique opportunity for economic growth and innovations. Mrs. Carmen Stadelhofer, President of the Institute for virtual and real education of third age (ILEU,e.V.)  with the University of Ulm, Germany, sent a video greeting to the participants in the conference, where she elaborated on the inclusion of third age citizens in the civil society and their personal growth as they acquire skills, appropriate for the digital world.

Assoc. prof. Emilia Velikova, PhD from the Faculty of Education and Natural Sciences, and a Board member of the International Association Danube Networkers for Europe (DANET) e.V., presented the work of the Centre for Education of Third Age with the University of Ruse, focusing on cooperation between representatives of the three generations – high school and university students, lecturers and pensioners, expressed in their successful participation in internationally recognized European and national projects. Mr. Yordan Kazakov, MEng, Chairperson of the Regional Council of the Union of Pensioners - Ruse'2004, shared the experiences of the third age generation in using the new technologies for communication and distribution of information.

Students from the Vocational High School of Economics "Elias Canetti", presented their study company while another group of students from the German Language High School "Friedrich Schiller" demonstrated how the digital technologies connect us. The project "Bread Connects" was introduced to the audience by students from the Vocational High School of Tourism in Ruse.

Prof. Angel Smrikarov introduced the concept for digitalisation of education, implemented by the University of Ruse through training teachers in using the digital technologies in the teaching process. Assoc. prof. Desislava Atanasova spoke about the future construction of a Centre of Excellence in the field of IT – a project involving 5 universities. Another project presented digitalisation of historical artefacts from the lower Danube district, thus allowing different generations to be in touch with them from their homes or any other location, thanks to the innovative technologies.

Mrs. Ana Zlibut, from The Association The Writers` League Timisoara Banat Branch, Romania, General Secretary of International Association Danube - Networkers for Europe (DANET) e.V presented in an original way how literature serves as a bridge between generations. Together with her were Ms. Diana Zlibut, a representative of the young generation, who read an emotional essay on the topic, and Mrs. Doina Dragan, President of the "Writers' League" – three generations together in the digital world. Ms. Lidija Jevremovic, training organizer, National Foundation for Human Aging "Dr Laza Lazarevic", Belgrade, Serbia, spoke about the Inter-generational cooperation, which is a priority and leading strategy of her organization.

The conference was organised by the Centre for Education of Third Age (CETA) with the University of Ruse „Angel Kanchev", the Union of Pensioners – Ruse'2004 and the Institute for virtual and real education of third age (ILEU,e.V.) with the University of Ulm, Germany as well as the Foundation "Ruse – a free spirit city".

14 May 2018, Monday

Fifth International Erasmus week at the University of Ruse

The Fifth International Erasmus week at the University of Ruse started today. On behalf of the academic leadership, the guests were greeted by Prof. Plamen Kangalov, Vice-rector of Education, and Prof. Juliana Popova, Vice-rector of internationalisation and communication policy, presented the University of Ruse. The topic of this year's event is "Internationalisation of higher education – opportunities and challenges"and it concerns all institutions of higher education on a global scale.

A total of 25 participants from nine countries (Romania, Lithuania, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Macedonia and Great Britain) will take part in trainings and give lectures at the University of Ruse between 14 and 18 May. The Agenda of the Fifth International Erasmus week includes presentations of different universities, sharing experience and exchange of good practices in the field of international relations.

Later today the guests will visit the Exposition of the University of Ruse History and the historical part of Ruse. The Fifth International Erasmus week will finish with a field trip to the medieval capital of Bulgaria, Veliko Turnovo.

10 May 2018, Thursday

A robot for inspection of ship hulls was created by Bulgarian researchers

The "ARMUS" system solves a problem case posed 10 years ago by the Pentagon

An innovative system for inspection of ship hulls (ARMUS) was presented at the University of Ruse. It is a collaborative development of researchers from the University of Ruse and the Institute of Metal Science, Equipment and Technologies with the Centre of Hydro- and Aerodynamics "Acad. Angel Balevski" at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Its first presentation was during the visit of the presidents of Bulgaria – Rumen Radev, Romania – Klaus Iohannis, and Austria – Alexander Van Der Belen to the University of Ruse.

The invention pertains to the robotic ship inspection systems, explained its designer, Prof. Daniel Bratanov from the University of Ruse. ARMUS can move on the outside of the hull – above and under the water line, as well as on the inside of the sailing vessels – cargo holds and tanks.

The assignment for creating a robot that can inspect a moving vessels has been on the website of one of the Pentagon's Institutes for nearly 10 years as an unsolved challenge. The Bulgarian team has been working in the course of three years and has designed a system that can be attached to a moving ship's hull and perform an inspection while the ship is landing. The inspection includes crawling, investigating, filming and inspection of the hull in changing weather conditions, precise diagnostics of its state, check for smuggled goods and lime mines, as well as monitoring its fouling with marine organisms. In addition to the visual inspection, the team has included a feature for ARMUS to check the quality - for Екипът е предвидил освен визуална инспекция на корпусите, АРМУС да проверява и качеството – presence of welding faults on the surface finish, etc.

An application for patent has been submitted and the first expertise has shown that there is no similar system, said Prof. Bratanov. Companies from Panama and Malaysia have already show3n interest in ARMUS.

Link to the presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_V7p2teeus

8 May 2018, Tuesday  

Participation of students and lecturers from the University of Ruse in a Mental Health forum in Romania

For a third year in a row, the University of Ruse participated in the international module for mental health „Let's Assemble the Puzzle", organised by the University in Bacau. Traditionally, the event gathers lecturers and students from higher schools in Belgium, Finland, Romania and Bulgaria for a three-day intensive work in the sphere of community based mental health services.

This year's lecturers were Chris Collier and Petra Speleers from the University College Artewelde in Gent. The lecturers shared their rich practical experience in working with individuals, having mental health problems while the students were actively engaged in the study process through solving tasks and problems, case study work, reflection, etc.

The University of Ruse was represented by the students Seda Ziyadin and Joana Vladimirova from the degree programme Occupational Therapy, together with Assoc. prof. Lilia Todorova, with the financial support of the Consortium of Institutes of Higher Education in Health and Rehabilitation in Europe (COHEHRE).

The possibility for the University of Ruse to host the module every other year was discussed at a work meeting. This will provide better opportunity for participation of more students from our university.

4 May 2018, Friday

The presidents of Bulgaria, Romania and Austria took part in the conference „Sustainable Development of the Danube Region" at the University of Ruse

 The University of Ruse hosted the conference „Sustainable Development of the Danube Region". The presidents of Bulgaria, Romania and Austria – Rumen Radev, Klaus Iohannis and Alexander van Der Belen took part in one of the panels. 

            The first panel of the forum was dedicated to the role of higher education for the sustainable development of the Danube region. Moderator of this discussion was the Chairperson of the Assembly General of the University of Ruse – prof. Velizara Pencheva, PhD. The three panellists were: the Chairperson of the Council of Rectors in Bulgaria and Rector of the University of Mining and Geology – prof. Lyuben Totev, Assoc. prof. Oktavian Tarabuca – Rector of the Naval Academy in Constanta and the Member of Bulgarian Parliament – Mr. Iskren Veselinov, Chairperson of the Regional Development Committee of the Parliament.

In the second panel, topics on the connectivity between the countries along the Danube region were discussed.

„For the people living in this region, some of whom are the citizens of Bulgaria, Romania and Austria, the economic growth, transport connectivity and preservation of the unique natural and cultural heritage on the territory along the Danube are issues of vital importance. The University of Ruse has always accepted as its mission to be the driver for the development of the Danube Region", mentioned in his introduction the Rector of the University of Ruse, Cor. Mem. Prof. Hristo Beloev, DSc, DHC, mult. He added that „…cooperation with the universities in the Danube space is our natural priority and a major milestone in our international activity.

„I am an optimist for the development of the Danube Region because you, the young people, are its main resource. I am convinced that Bulgaria, Romania and Austria will be drivers for the development of the Danube idea". This is what the president of Bulgaria, Mr. Rumen Radev, stated in Kaneff Centre of the University of Ruse. According to him, huge regional differences can be observed along the River Danube – „here are the richest and most developed, as well as the poorest regions in Europe – the latter in North-western Bulgaria. That is why our common goal is to work for the implementation of the Danube strategy. We need to re-focus Europe's attention on the Danube region", added the president in the hall, overflowing with people. In the course of the lively discussion and in response to the many questions raised, the Bulgarian president noted that enhancing the standard of living should be the main instrument for keeping the young people in the smaller settlements in Bulgaria.

            According to the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, the connectivity between the people living along the Danube is still far from what is desired and what is possible. "We have a lot of work to do. I believe it is time to revise the Danube strategy and make it more visible for the citizens", said the Romanian President.

In his turn, the President of Austria – Alexander Van der Belen stated that the River Danube is a resource, which should be used more efficiently for the development of tourism and transport. He emphasised to the audience that the young people should be responsible and thoughtful of the future, which belongs to them.

            At the end of the forum, the Rector – Cor.Mem. Prof.Hristo Beloev handed the Crystl Sign of the University of Ruse to each of the three presidents – Rumen Radev, Klaus Iohannis and Alexander Van Der Belen. After the official part of the conference, President Radev had a meeting with the academic leadership of the University of Ruse and expressed his satisfaction with its achievements, the innovative developments and the work of the multidisciplinary teams.

The three presidents viewed the latest developments of robots, radio-controlled models and the bolide cars, which will represent the University of Ruse at Shell Eco marathon in London this year. A special attention attracted the robot for rescue operations and bomb disposal "Rescuer" and the system for inspection of ship hulls "ARMUS". The latter is a robotic system for inspection of ship hulls – on the outside, along the board, and on the inside - cargo holds and fuel tanks.

24 April 2018, Tuesday

The Head of the Political Department of the British Embassy talked with the students of the University of Ruse

Mr. Tom Hines – Head of the Political Department of the British Embassy in Bulgaria, talked to students from the University of Ruse. The current foreign policy topics covered by the diplomat provoked the young people to participate in the discussion actively. What is happening with the relationships between the EU and Great Britain, between Bulgaria and Great Britain and will Brexit affect the opportunities for student mobility, were among the issues discussed.

The governance of the University of Ruse was represented by Prof. Juliana Popova, PhD – Vice rector in International Relations and the Chairperson of the Assembly General, Prof. Velizara Pencheva, PhD.

Mr. Hines was accompanied by four associates of the Political department, who presented their responsibilities and also answered questions from the audience.

13 April 2018, Friday

PhD students from the Faculty of Transport participated in a workshop with a visiting lecturer from Poland

Prof. Alexander Sladkovski of the Silesian University of Тechnology in Katovitse, Poland was a lecturer at the workshop for PhD students from the Department of Transport with the University of Ruse. The training was part of the project BG05M2OP001-2.009-0011-С01 „Support for the development of Human Resources in the field of research and innovations at the University of Ruse.

The workshop "Transport issues and opportunities for joint training and research" was directed to the young researchers who had the opportunity to draw experience from and to communicate with the prominent Polish professor. Prof. Sladkovski presented interesting facts about the specifics of the Polish system of accreditation and funding of state higher institutions and about the training and research in the Faculty of Transport, where he is working as the Head of the Department of Logistics and aviation technologies, as well as Erasmus+ project coordinator

Prior to the lecture, the researcher met the Body of Rectors to discuss opportunities for cooperation and joint work on future projects between the two universities.

21 March, 2018 Thursday

Cooperation between the University of Ruse and higher schools from Azerbaijan was discussed by the Rectors of the University of Ruse and Her Excellency, the Ambassador of Azerbaijan Nargis  Gurbanova

The Ambassador of Azerbaijan, H.E. Nargis  Gurbanova visited the University of Ruse and had a meeting with the Body of Rectors. Opportunities for expanding the cooperation between the higher school and universities in Azerbaijan were outlined at the meeting, with the participation of prof. Juliana Popova, PhD – vice-rector of European Integration, prof. Plamen Kangalov, PhD – vice-rector of Education and prof. Plamen Daskalov – vice-rector of Development, Coordination and Continuing Education.

H.E. Gurbanova outlined the interests in the cooperation between her country and Bulgaria. Focusing on the sphere of education, she offered cooperation with several Azeri universities. In their turn, the vice-rectors informed her that there are two frame agreements signed between the University of Ruse and the Khazar University and Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University.

In 2015 the University of Ruse supported the opening of a Bachelor degree programme in Automation at the Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University  and  provided a comprehensive training programme in English, methodological support and exchange of students and lecturers. This useful cooperation could be enhanced with a Master degree programme in the same field.

The Ambassador of Azerbaijan invited representatives of the University of Ruse to the annual Exhibition on Education in Baku, in October, 2018, where universities from Russia, Turkey, Iran, the USA, thye Central Asian countries, etc. participate.

7 March 2018, Wednesday

A visit from Galati

The Vice-rector of Danubius University in Galati, Romania, prof. Emanuel Marinesku was on a visit at the University of Ruse. At the meeting with Cor. Mem. Prof. Hristo Beloev, DTSc, the guest extended his congratulations to the newly elected rector. Issues of cooperation between the two universities were discussed. This cooperation dates back to 2013 and is growing more and more intensive. The University of Ruse was invited to become co-organiser of the International conference "European integration – reality and perspectives", which will be held on 18-19 May 2018 at the Danubius University http://www.conferences.univ-danubius.ro/index.php/EIRP/EIRP2018

            For five years noe the two universities have been co-organisers of the International conference "The River Danube – an axis of European identity", which is held annually on the Day of the Danube – 29 June, and is quite popular with lecturers and PhD students.

2 March 2018, Friday

Excellent presentation of the University of Ruse at an International conference in Brussels

At the end of February, in Brussels, the International conference "HEInnovate: Make Innovation Work in Higher Education" was held under the patronage of the European Commission and the United Nations Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. The University of Ruse was invited to share their experience in stimulating entrepreneurial attitude among its academic community.

At the workshop in the frames of the forum, the Head of the Centre for Entrepreneurship at the University of Ruse, Assoc. prof. Daniel Pavlov, pointed out the key benefits from the activities undertaken from the higher school in 2014 in response to the initiative of HEInnovate. The students were also given the chance to present their expectations for the improvement of the performance of EU Universities. During the conference, "Student HEInnovate Hackaton" was held for the first time. At this event, the Chairperson of the Student Council of the University of Ruse, Stanimir Boyadjiev, took part together with 30 other students from 19 countries.

Besides the two representatives of the University of Ruse, Bulgaria was represented by Ivana Radonova, PhD (Ministry of Education and Science) and Dimka Mihajlova-Radeva (Center for Human Resources). Dr. Radonova announced to the participants that the next international conference will be held at the University of Ruse, 14-16 June 2018. The event will be coordinated by the Ministry of Education and Science within the framework of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of Europe.

1 March 2018, Thursday

Chinese Lantern Festival at the University of Ruse

Confucius study hall in the University of Ruse decided to welcome the Bulgarian Baba Marta with the Chinese Latern festival, which took place in the connecting unit to Building 2.

The Lantern Festival is celebrated everywhere in China on 15 January from the Lunar calendar, immediately after the Spring festival, and is part of the holidays, connected to the coming of spring. The Chinese tradition calls for celebration by hanging colourful lanterns and garlands in their homes and in the streets. The festival is marked by concerts and fireworks while the participants a treated to Chinese dumplings with sweet rice Yuanshyao – an attractive continuation of the Spring festival.

The students from Ruse had the chance to take part in the traditional Chinese game opf puzzles – The Lantern Puzzle. On each lantern there is a puzzle written and he, who solves it, gets a prize. The game originated at the time of  Song dynasty, when games, which brought entertainment through wisdom became popular.

27 February 2018, Tuesday

The University of Ruse will support methodologically the accreditation of the Tarakliya State University

The Rector of Tarakliya State University "Grigorii Tsamblak", assoc. prof. Maria Paslar, visited the University of Ruse and had a meeting with the Body of Rectors. They discussed an activity plan after the establishment of the Bulgarian-Moldovian university consortium. The Agreement for the International consortium in the sphere of science and education between the University of Ruse "Angel Kanchev", the University of Veliko Tarnovo "St. St. Cyril and Methodius" and Tarakliya State University "Grigorii Tsamblak" was signed last autumn. Development and exchange of educational and methodological literature, joint research monographs and research and methodological publications, academic exchange of specialists in the framework of educational and research programmes, lecture courses, joint research, student exchange, etc.

After presenting the current state of Tarakliya State University "Grigorii Tsamblak", the rector outlined the tasks and problems they face. Assoc. prof. Paslar admitted that a small part of the staff have academic ranks and this problem can be solved with lecturers from the University of Ruse and the University of Veliko Tarnovo, who can give lectures to the students from Moldova.

Some issues related specifically to the accreditation process and the methodological support which the University of Ruse can provide for the successful completion of the accreditation procedure.

At the meeting, the Body of Rectors of the University of Ruse declared once again their unreserved support for the Tarakliya State University, which is the largest spiritual and cultural centre of the Bulgarian diaspora and the ethnic Bulgarians in the region.

26 February 2018, Monday

The Ambassador of the State of Kuwait visited the University of Ruse

The Ambassador of the State of Kuwait – His Excellency Jaqoub Youssef al-Attiki visited the University of Ruse and had a meeting with the students. 

In his lecture for the students and the lecturers from the degree programmes European and Global Studies; European Studies and Multi-level Governance and Euro-Atlantic and Global Security he spoke about the relations between the State of Kuweit and the European Union. Some topics about the Kurdish issues were also discussed after the diplomat presented his research on the topic.

At a meeting with the Body of Rectors later, His Excellency Jaqoub Youssef al-Attiki shared his expectations for strengthening the cooperation between Bulgaria and Kuweit both in the sphere of economy and education.

The Rector, Cor. Mem. Prof. Hristo Beloev stated that the University of Ruse is ready for an exchange of students and lecturers and for cooperation in the field of research.

His Excellency Jaqoub Youssef al-Attiki  is well acquainted with the research and human resource potential of the University of Ruse because he has a Master degree in International Cooperation and European Projects in the professional field Political Sciences from this university.

22 February 2018, Thursday

Representatives of the University of Ruse shared experience during two international forums in Sofia

On 20 and 21 February a meeting of the Directors General for Higher Education was held in Sofia within the framework of Bulgaria's Presidency of the EU Council. During the second day of the meeting, two representatives of the University of Ruse took part in the forum – the vice-rector of development, coordination and continuous education of the University of Ruse – Prof. Plamen Daskalov and Pr. Assistant Svilen Kunev, PhD from the faculty of Business and Management. During the panel The Role of the Higher Education Institutions for the development of regional competitiveness they presented the experience of the University of Ruse in developing and implementing projects under the European structural funds, the social functions it fulfils in the region, as well as its role in the cross-border region Bulgaria-Romania and the Danube educational space.

Sophia Ericsson – director in Education and Culture Directorate of the European Commission reported the extremely successful results of the University of Ruse in the HEInnovate project. She announced that the higher school will host an international conference on the HEInnovate initiative in June, where project results will be reported.

The University of Ruse is among the first in Europe to accept the challenge of getting involved in the project back in 2014. The aim of this project is to provide counselling, ideas and inspiration to higher schools for efficient management of the institutional and cultural changes. Today, more than 800 universities on 5 continents participate in this initiative.

In another international event – Round table on Digital transformation in tourism, organised by the Ministry of Tourism on 15 February, the University of Ruse presented the ARCHIVЕ project, realised by a team of the higher school in partnership with experts from the museums in Ruse and Constanta, Romania.

The presentation was within the frames of the panel Digitalisation and the new opportunities for preserving cultural heritage. Assoc. prof. Plamen Zahariev from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Automation made a presentation and shared an innovative way of presenting archaeological finds, using the new technologies. In a specially created digital corner, the possibility for 3D visualisation of objects was demonstrated to the participants in the event.

20 February 2018, Tuesday

COR MEM Prof. Hristo Beloev, DTSc, DHC mult. – elected the Rector of the University of Ruse

COR MEM Prof. Hristo Beloev, DTSc, DHC mult. was elected the Rector of the University of Ruse with 176 votes. He will be at the head of the institution until the end of the mandate in 2019. The elections were conducted after the Rector, Prof. Velizara Pencheva handed her resignation from the post on 24 January.

The only candidate for the rector's post, COR MEM Prof. Hristo Beloev, was nominated by 17 departments, 5 faculties, the three branches in Silistra, Razgrad and Vidin and the Student Council. At a session of the Assembly General he presented his platform for management of the University.  

„I am perfectly aware of the fact that the dynamic times, the economic crisis and the demographic collapse require new approaches to solving the problems, new modes, methods and tools for work. We will be searching for them and implementing them together, we will change and move forward. But there is one thing I will never change, because it is deeply embedded in my beliefs – my trust and respect towards people, the firm conviction that they are our most valuable capital and we need to invest in them continuously", said COR MEM Beloev in his speech.

In her address to the academic community, Prof. Velizara Pencheva thanked them for the mutual understanding and joint efforts in the past two years.

19 February 2018, Monday

Language courses in Chinese at the University of Ruse

The Centre for Continuing Education at the University of Ruse and Confucius study hall announce to the general public that they will be offering courses in Chinese language and culture for university and high school students, as well as adults. The courses are:

1. Introductory course in Chinese language and culture for university and high school students with 60 classes duration – 15 weeks, 4 classes a week.
2. Introductory course in Chinese language and culture for university employees and adults with 60 classes duration – 15 weeks, 4 classes a week
3. Preparatory course for the HSK test (for professional competency) in Chinese with 60 classes duration – 15 weeks, 4 classes a week.

For information and enrollment:

The Centre for Continuing Education at the University of Ruse

Main building, first floor, room 213.1

Tel. 082 888 567

15 February 2018, Thursday

New project under Interreg V-A Romania-Bulgaria Programme

The University of Ruse became a partner in the project Integrated Interventions for Employment in the Cross-border Region Giurgiu - Ruse (MOBGIRU) under the Interreg V-A Romania-Bulgaria, in which the leading partner is the Red Cross Branch in Giurgiu, Romania and another partner – the Institute on Metal Science with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

The common goal of the project is to develop the capacity for employment of unemployed and inactive individuals from the region Giurgiu-Ruse for the period of 18 months through:

• Research for identifying measures for better correlation between individual skills, education, employment potential and opportunities offered by the labour market;
• Establishing two regional employment resource centres – in Ruse, on the territory of the University of Ruse and in Giurgiu;
• Organising two employment fairs in Giurgiu and in Ruse;
• Organising of information motivational campaigns among the project target groups;
• Developing a web based platform for labour mobility with the purpose of increasing the professional mobility in the region Giurgiu – Ruse and meeting the specific needs of the common labour market. The platform which is being developed by Romanian and Bulgarian experts will be accessible for users from the region and beyond, both by users of the employment service and by employers. Each user will be able to create his account and look for or offer jobs in the cross-border region Giurgiu-Ruse.

On 14 February 2018, the first job fair was held in the Resource centre in Giurgiu, where Romanian and Bulgarian employers, as well as representatives of the target groups under the project from Romania and Bulgaria. The fair was visited by the Mayor of Guirgiu, Mr. Nikolae Barbu.

2 February 2018, Friday

Frame agreement signed between the Rectors of the University of Ruse and the University of Karaiova, Romania

The final meeting under the project "Risk Management for Large-scale Infrastructures in the Romanian-Bulgarian Cross-border Area", in which the University of Ruse is a partner, was held in the Grand lecture hall Mihai I of the University of Craiova. The rectors of the two largest universities in the cross-border region, Prof. Velizara Pencheva and Prof Cezar Spinu, signed a frame agreement for cooperation.

The signing of this document is a continuation of the work under bilateral agreements, signed years ago between the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Automation and Razgrad Branch of the University of Ruse and the Romanian university and the joint projects realised under those agreements.

The Frame agreement provides opportunities for student mobility and cooperation in research. At the University of Craiova there is a Research centre with four units – Electrical engineering, Mechanical engineering, Biotechnologies and Вioengineering, and Computer Sciences. There are laboratories in each of these units, whose teams will collaborate with PhD students and lecturers from the University of Ruse.

The project "Risk Management for Large-scale Infrastructures in the Romanian-Bulgarian Cross-border Area" , which started 24 months ago aimed at reducing the risk probability in various large-scale infrastructures in the cross-border region Bulgaria-Romania, including dams and electrical power stations, chemical, military and wastewater treatment plants.

22 January 2018, Monday

New joint projects discussed the governing bodies of the University of Ruse and the Naval Academy – Constanta

A delegation from "Mircea cel Batran" Naval Academy, led by the Vice-rector in education, prof. Aleku Toma, visited the University of Ruse. Projects of mutual interest were discussed, with an emphasis on cooperation in the field of engineering sciences. Exchange of lecturers from the two higher schools would contribute to the strengthening of the partnership, was the view of the participants in the discussion. Joint research, publications in specialised journals and publishing books were also discussed at the meeting.

The participants in the meeting agreed that the short distance between Ruse and Constanta would facilitate the realisation of a joint study programme for students. The key to an improved cooperation is the close contact between researchers from Ruse and Constanta, noted prof. Toma.

Discussions with the management of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Еlectronics and Аutomation, visits to their laboratories and introducing the new projects of the University of Ruse were also part of the visit.

The cooperation between the University of Ruse and "Mircea cel Batran" Naval Academy dates back to 2011, when a three-year project in the field of human resources and RES started. In 2015 the project was awarded the RINNO award for most active inter-university cooperation in the cross-border area between Bulgaria and Romania. Gradually the joint activities have been diversified. An annual exchange between students and lecturers is carried out while researchers from the two institutions participate in international conferences with joint papers. Cor. Mem. Prof. Hristo Beloev became Doctor Honoris Causa of the Naval Academy in 2015 and a year later the Rector of the Academy – Rear Admiral Prof. Vergil Kitsak was awarded the highest academic title – DHC of the University of Ruse.

15 January 2018, Monday

An international alumni visits Ruse University after 30 years and shares successful professional experiences

Nidal Saleh Hamda was the first Palestinian who graduated from the University of Ruse. In 1986 he obtained his degree in Engineering in the degree programme "Automobiles, Tractors and Fork-lifts". At a meeting with the Rector, prof. Velizara Pencheva and the General Assembly Chairperson, Cor.Mem. Prof. Hristo Beloev, he shared moments from his professional development, which has been successful due to the knowledge, acquired at the University.

„When I was studying here in the 1980s, there were 27 Palestinian students in the preparatory language course, who are still in my list of contacts today", recalled Mr. Hamda. His first work place was in one of the large construction companies in the region, and his first building project was a university in Jordan. „I was not worried that I would not know anything because the preparation I had at the University was not merely theoretical, but such that provided confidence that I will manage", shared our guest. For 10 years he had been Head of the Transport Department of the Jordan Ministry of Healthcare and, as an engineer, he was responsible for over 800 vehicles, including specialised ambulances. His professional development continued in Canada, but today he is back in Jordan, where he is running his own business.

Every week alumni from Bulgarian universities, living in Aman, get together. There is a special place in their hearts for the Student Day celebration on 8 December and the Day of Bulgarian education, culture and letters – 24 May. They always organise a special celebration on this day, just like they had experienced it in Bulgaria.

During the discussion with the University Management, Nidal Hamda declared his readiness to cooperate for establishing contact between the University of Ruse and higher schools in Jordan and developing common research projects. Mr. Hamda saw the exhibition, presenting the 70-year history of the higher school in Ruse and was impressed by the section, dedicated to the international students and the faculty of Transport, he had graduated from.

In the next few days, Mr. Hamda will meet the team of the Transport department, where he had his specialisation and developed his diploma thesis, dedicated to road safety. Some of his lecturers are still working there.