MU-Varna is one of the four Bulgarian higher education institutions that got united around the idea of the establishment of a unique product for our educational system, aimed at training engineers with expertise for working with medical teams and equipment.
The initiative comes from the High College of Telecommunications and Posts, which together with Medical University - Pleven, Medical University - Plovdiv and Medical University - Varna, signed a Memorandum to establish joint hybrid Master's programmes. The subject of the cooperation is training in electronic environment, software administration of medical equipment, as well as telemedicine, which will meet the need for interdisciplinary trained specialists in the engineering and medical sector.
The Rector of HCTP Prof. Dr. Miglena Temelkova said that the idea had been generated by the growing demand for engineers trained to serve the medical sector, employees who were adequate to the medical innovations and technologies, who worked together with the Bulgarian and world doctors. "This is how this kind of collaboration has originated, and I am extremely delighted that this idea has grown into a mini engineering-medical cluster or a network of universities that have the will, desire, strength and willingness to create three unique different programmes. In each of the medical universities with which we sign Memoranda of Cooperation, the training programmes are different, starting from Software Programming in the field of Medicine with MU - Plovdiv, going through Computer Administration of Medical Equipment with MU - Varna and reaching Telemedicine in MU - Pleven", specified Prof. Dr. Temelkova.
A special guest at the event was the Minister of Education Mr. Krasimir Valchev, who is committed to the implementation of the idea of joint partnership. He himself shared that the new strategy for higher education included the promotion of interdisciplinary and interuniversity networks. He expressed the positive attitude of the Ministry to what the four universities were doing and addressed them with the words "Congratulations to all of you! To the four universities, mostly because you demonstrate collaboration, you demonstrate how things should be done in cooperation and interaction. This is the future! If we look back at the history of mankind, we see that communities have evolved and survived when they have interacted amongst each other. Networks are the ones that have made people better, smarter and more prosperous. Networks are the ones that we will rely on in the higher education system, both in the country and worldwide. Each of you (higher schools) separately will not be big enough so as to have lecturers in all profiles and to support interdisciplinary programmes. Minister Valchev expressed hope that over the next ten years almost all higher education institutions will be a part of European university networks, which, in fact, is the future of European education.
"On behalf of the Rector of MU - Varna, Prof. Valentin Ignatov and on behalf of the entire academic management of the University I express my gratitude for this invitation. We are fully prepared to propel the idea to distant horizons. We invite you to be friends along this common path and to go side by side, pursuing the common goal we have set ahead," said the authorized by the Rector of MU-Varna Prof. Todorka Kostadinova, Director of Directorate of International Cooperation, Accreditation and Quality.
The three new programmes will be studied in combination at the High College of Telecommunications and Posts - Sofia and at the three medical universities. The student admission is planned for the academic year 2021-2022, after the implementation of all procedures, including the accreditation of the new programmes.
