site.btaBTA, Three Universities Sign Internship, Cooperation Agreements

February 16 (BTA) - The Director General of the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA), Kiril Valchev, and the rectors of three universities - the Kliment St Ohridski University of Sofia, the University of National and World Economy (UNWE) and the University of Library Studies and Information Technologies (ULSIT) - have signed agreements for student internship programmes and cooperation.

The agreements were signed on the 123th anniversary of BTA's establishment by the three rectors - Prof. Anastas Gerdzhikov of Sofia University, Prof. Dimiter Dimitrov of UNWE and Prof. Irena Peteva of ULSIT.

The agreements will allow internships of students from the three universities at BTA according to their subjects of study in various fields, Valchev said at BTA's National Press Club after signing the documents. He explained that the internships will include five students each from Sofia University and UNWE and two from ULSIT, the latter spending their internship at the BTA archives.

The academics from the three higher education establishments will periodically contribute reports designed for a broad readership and BTA will include these in its newsflow, Valchev said. He noted that there would be more reporting on the research and educational activity of the three universities.

Prof. Gerdzhikov, in turn, said he was happy they had signed this agreement on the special day of BTA, for the Bulgarian News Agency is an institution with a great tradition and Sofia University has always worked well with it.

The cooperation agreement will not only allow UNWE students to do internships at BTA, but also to report economic news and events, Dimitrov said.

Valchev said that programmes for internship funding, like the ones both the Government and the EU have, would be sought immediately, adding that BTA and the universities have agreed to allocate funding for a four-hour work day internship at the Agency starting with the new academic year. He added that ULSIT, a university with traditions in archival and library studies, will be relied on to help the news agency complete putting in order its exceptional archives, where all news since 1898 are kept./RY/BR

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