The 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Faculty of Pharmacy at MU-Varna was marked with a solemn celebration on 19 October. With respect to the achievements of the Faculty, congratulations were addressed by the Minister of Health Prof. Dr. Hristo Hinkov, His Eminence Yoan, the Metropolitan of Varna and Veliki Preslav and the Academic Management of MU-Varna. Rectors of the University over the past years, Deans of pharmaceutical faculties at higher education institutions and universities in the country and abroad, heads of health institutions, representatives of professional and non-governmental organisations, partners, friends of the Faculty were guests at the event.
In his congratulatory speech, the Rector of MU-Varna Prof. Dr. Svetoslav Georgiev expressed his respect to the lecturers and scientific teams at the Faculty of Pharmacy for their achievements in the field of education and research. Prof. Georgiev emphasised that the Faculty upholds the good traditions of the University in the development and improvement of the educational programmes and training methodologies. The Rector thanked the academic staff of the Faculty for the dedicated teaching and scientific work.
The Dean Prof. Dr. Petko Marinov recalled important dates from the history of the Faculty of Pharmacy during his presentation. The promotion of the first Class of 33 graduates took place on 16 March 2015. To date, nine Classes and 471 Master Pharmacists have graduated from the Faculty. The first University Pharmacy was opened in October 2016 to mark the 55th anniversary of MU-Varna. The second one opened its doors three years later in UMHAT "St. Marina"–Varna. So far three dietary supplements have been produced, bearing the logo of MU-Varna and the Faculty. The number of scientific publications have exceeded 1300 for 15 years. More than 70 textbooks and teaching aids have been published, approximately 1250 participations in scientific forums have been implemented and more than 60 infrastructure and scientific projects have been won. Prof. Marinov pointed out that a major step in the development of the Faculty was the Varna Pharmaceutical Business Forum with Scientific and Practical Conference, established in 2014. Throughout its short existence, the Faculty has been actively integrated into the network of pharmaceutical higher education institutions and international organisations and has become a member of three European and international bodies.
Representatives of international partners also expressed their respect being guests at the celebration. The Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy at Grigore Popa University, Iasi, Romania Prof. Lenuta Profire and the head of the First Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Faculty of Pharmacy at Ovidius University in Constanta, Romania Assoc. Prof. Florentina Roncea congratulated their colleagues on the excellent performance in the fields of research and training, as well as on the effective institutional cooperation.
