A meeting between the Council of Rectors of Higher Education Institutions in Bulgaria and representatives of reputable Turkish universities was held on September 26th at the University of Telecommunications and Post.
The meeting was organised with the assistance of Mr Ilin Dimitrov, Secretary of President Rumen Radev for Culture, Education and Tourism. The guests of the Bulgarian Rectors were Prof. Dr. Harun Ciftci – Rector of Chankar Karatekin University, Prof. Dr. Fatih Karışık – Rector of Karabiuk University, as well as representatives of several other universities from the Republic of Turkiye.
On the Bulgarian side, the event was attended by Prof. Ivaylo Koprev, Rector of the St Ivan Rilski University of Mining and Geology, the Rector of Todor Kableshkov University of Transport, Prof. Daniela Todorova, the Rector of Varna University of Management, Prof. Dr. Krasimira Staneva, and the Chairman of the Council of Rectors, Prof. Dr. Miglena Temelkova, Rector of the University of Telecommunications and Post. Representatives of the University of Forestry, the G. S. Rakovski Military Academy, UniBIT and the Higher School of Insurance and Finance also took part.
“It was very important for us to implement this meeting, because as we are on both sides of the same border, we could also meet the two educational paradigms,” Prof. Temelkova said in her welcoming speech to the Turkish delegation. She added that it is extremely important to discuss the path of joint cooperation, whether there are tangent points on joint projects and scientific activities.
“In conversation with the two rectors, we discussed the idea of making a common organization between the Councils of Rectors of Bulgaria and Turkiye. I am convinced that this will open many doors,” Mr. Ilin Dimitrov said during the meeting. “We are encouraged by the openness of Bulgarian universities and their readiness for international activity and cooperation. We hope that today’s meeting will be the beginning – laying the foundations for this cooperation with the Rectors’ Council and similar organisation in Turkiye,” Prof. Chiftci added.
“I propose to make not only a common organization between Bulgaria and Turkiye, but also educational alliances that give birth to common educational products. Just as Europe has educational alliances, why not create Balkan Education Alliances. We all live in the Balkans and our common future is important to us. I would very much like us to find a common approach and create together science, education, cultural and linguistic exchange”, commented Prof. Temelkova. She gave the floor to the rectors of the Bulgarian universities, who presented their universities, the specifics of each educational institution and their ideas regarding the Turkish educational space. The meeting ended with the identification of concrete steps to be taken after the meeting and to lead to more fruitful joint cooperation between the two countries.
