On 8 October 2021, the Sixth International Partnerships Forum of MU – Varna was held in the framework of the celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the University's foundation. The jubilee edition was entitled "60 Years of Building Synergies: Education, Innovation and Partnerships". Around 90 guests, members of the academic staff and students took part, of whom 38 partners from international institutions and bearers of the title "doctor honoris causa" of MU – Varna. Representatives from Italy, Switzerland, Russia, Ukraine, the USA, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Belgium, Greece and others were among the foreign participants.
The President of European Health Management Association (EHMA) Dr. Axel Kaehne personally greeted the Forum. The Rector of MU – Varna Prof. Dr. Valentin Ignatov and the academic community received many greeting addresses, among which from the rectors of the First Moscow State Medical University "I. M. Sechenov", North Western State Medical University "I. I. Mechnikov" in St. Petersburg (Russia) and the Kharkiv National Medical University (Ukraine). From the business, letters of congratulations were sent from the Bulgarian Union of Balneology and SPA Tourism (BUBSPA) and the European SPAs Association (ESPA)
Prof. Dr. Luciano Saso opened the plenary session with the lecture Higher education in the post-Covid era. Prof. Saso is a long-standing partner of Varna Medical University within the framework of the European Universities Association (EUA), Vice-Rector of "Sapienza" University of Rome and President of UNICA - an institutional Network of Universities from the Capitals of Europe.
Prof. Boyko Gueorguiev-Rüegg and Dr. Manuela Ernst from AO Research Institute in Davos (Switzerland) demonstrated the digital trends in the fields of traumatology and orthopaedics and later the lecture was presented on ototoxicity of Prof. Eugene Myers from the University of Pittsburg (USA). Assoc. Prof. Mario Milkov introduced the international partnerships sustained by the Faculty of Dental Medicine and invited the audience to the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Alumni Club & Friends of MU - Varna.
In the second session Prof. Todorka Kostadinova and Assoc. Prof. Aneta Dokova made an overview and analysis of the previous fora. The Director of the Scientific Research Institute at MU - Varna Prof. Dr. Anton Tonchev presented the structure and the priorities of the institute. Dr. Manlio Vinciguerra - ERA Chair, Scientific Research Institute at MU - Varna explained the goals and tasks of the "TRANSTEM" project and received greetings from Mr. Antonio Tarquinio - Honorary Consul at the Honorary Consulate of Italy in Varna
The contributions of the International Partnerships Forum were pointed out in the fields of internationalization and mobility, new educational products, social responsibility and enhancement of the international repute and visibility of MU – Varna.
* The International Partnerships Forum is an initiative of the Medical University of Varna which started in 2016 and is evolving successfully as a partner platform for exchange of ideas and generation of educational, scientific and social projects. It is held in October every year and focusses on the processes of internationalization and MU – Varna's social responsibility for improving education, research, health and the quality of life.
