site.btaBTA, Burgas Free University Sign Cooperation Agreement

Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) Director General Kiril Valchev and Burgas Free University Rector Prof Milen Baltov Tuesday signed a cooperation agreement at BTA's National Press Club in Burgas. BTA has signed agreements with 34 of 52 universities in Bulgaria.

The two institutions will partner on various projects and university graduates will have the opportunity to complete their internships in BTA's correspondent bureaus in Southeastern Bulgaria, Valchev said. As a follow-up to the previous, one-year cooperation agreement between the two institutions signed in 2021 for the university's 30th anniversary, BTA will continue to publish news about the activities of the university, including in English.

"Having signed this partnership agreement, BTA is now partner with two thirds of the universities in Bulgaria," said Valchev, adding that the news agency is also about to sign a cooperation agreement with the Prof Dr Asen Zlatarov University of Burgas. "The point of these cooperation agreements is, through constant information about the universities in Bulgaria, on the one hand, to retain Bulgarian young people in Bulgarian higher education institutions, and on the other hand to attract foreign students," said Valchev.

He noted that the agreement for internships of university students at BTA was implemented under a programme of the Ministry of Education and Science. "As far as we know, work is underway on the resumption of this programme," he said. He emphasized that the creation of BTA's LIK section dedicated to knowledge and culture has contributed by covering Bulgarian universities at least once a week in the Bulgarian-language news service, and very often in the English-language service as well. This year alone, BTA has had 22 news items about Burgas Free University. Some of them, quite rightly, are also present in the English language feeds, the Director General said. 

"We will stay partners on the main projects of the university. The BTA logo is often present at events organized by Burgas Free University," Valchev said.

"I believe that we made a meaningful contribution to the previous agreement, which laid the groundwork for the future cooperation between Burgas Free University and the Bulgarian News Agency," said Baltov, adding that the deadline for submissions for the new internship programme of the Education and Science Ministry expires at the end of September. The university is one of 48 higher education institutions that are partners of the Ministry's megaproject titled "From Higher Education to Employment", which will also involve opportunities for dual education. "We will be happy if some of our students can do internships at BTA," Baltov noted. 

He commended Valchev for the initiative to restore the LIK magazine and said he personally would be glad to see BTA's Around the World restored as he collected issues of that magazine between 1981 and 1990. Prof Baltov is certain that there will be enough stories to publish in such a magazine. "For instance, BTA published texts about the presence of Burgas Free University in South Africa on a project we implemented under the Erasmus Programme. Through it, we welcomed students from South Africa in Burgas," he said.

After the signing of the agreement, Valchev presented Baltov with a medal minted by the Bulgarian National Bank for the 125th anniversary of the Bulgarian News Agency and a stamp dedicated to the 125th anniversary of BTA's first news stories.