The First International Meeting of MU-Varna partners was held within the events dedicated to the 55th anniversary from the foundation of the Medical University of Varna on October 8th 2016.
The Vice Rector for International Relations, Accreditation and Quality Prof. Todorka Kostadinova and the Head of the International Relations Department Dr. Aneta Dokova were moderators of the meeting. Following the motto of the celebrations "Success has a beginning!" the meeting started with a presentation on the international activities and the outcomes of the international partnerships during the terms of Rectors Assoc. Prof. Georgi Marinov, Prof. Dimitar Kamburov, Prof. Temelko Temelkov and Prof. Aneliya Klisarova who were present in person at the forum. Their presence was an honour for the participants and was appreciated by all international guests. An overview introduced the currently active international partnerships of MU-Varna, after which the floor was given to the international partners to present their vision about the future joint projects and fields of cooperation.
Partners from 10 countries took part in the meeting, among whom 'Doctor Honoris Causa of the Medical University of Varna' Prof. Dr. Michael Beyer - Head of the Clinic of Cardiac and Thorаcic Surgery in Augsburg (Germany) and Dr. Peter Saladin (Switzerland). The delegations of the international partners were represented by Prof. Dr.Matthias Gugger – Director for Teaching and Research at Inselspital in Bern (Switzerland), Dr. Lubomir Arseniev - Head of the Centre for Cell Therapy at the Medical School in Hannover (Germany), Assoc. Prof. Katarzyna Czabanowska PhD - President of the Association of the Schools of Public Health in the European Region (ASPHER), Georgiana Bercaru (Romania) from the Black Sea Universities Network (BSUN), Prof. Dr. Krikor Dikranian – Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Prof. Mominka Filev from the University of Davenport (USA), Mr. Eric Perrotel – Attaché to the French Institute in Bulgaria, Prof. Andrey Svistunov – First Vice-Rector for innovations and international relations, Prof. Yuliya Fedorova - Director of the Centre of Master Degree Programmes and Olga Sadkovaya - Head of International Office at First Moscow State Medical University "I. M. Sechenov" (Russia), Prof. Grigoriy Flax, Dr. Dmitriy Korenev and Prof. Vladlen Bazilev from the Federal Centre for Cardiovascular Surgery in Penza (Russia), Assoc. Prof. Natalia Misnyk from "Bogomolets" Medical University in Kiev (Ukraine) and Mr Helmut Nawratil – Director of District Hospitals in Middle Franconia (Germany).
The main purpose of the First International Meeting of MU-Varna partners include the development larger scale collaborations and shifting from bilateral to multilateral partnerships, formation of teams for the preparation and implementation of long-term research projects in accordance with the scientific priorities of the University, organization of cultural and sports initiatives in a multi-cultural environment including for humanitarian causes.
All the participants united around the idea that the meeting of MU- Varna partners becomes an annual forum. The next meeting will be devoted to topics such as mobility, e-learning and e-health.
