site.btaSofia University Rector: Knowledge Is Most Convertible Part of Life of Modern Societies

Knowledge is the most convertible part of the life of modern societies, Sofia University Rector Prof. Georgi Valchev said during a local conference held here on Monday. The event marked the closing of BTA’s Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project.

He emphasized that knowledge has a universal character and the changing situation of the 21st century shows that the battle will be in three main areas, namely for natural resources, for a new type of energy and for new technologies and qualified human potential. "This is why investments in education and science are truly key and things are developing at an extremely rapid pace there", he pointed out.

Valchev said that Bulgarian universities, including Sofia University, fit well into the framework of policies pursued in Europe and the world. "We are recognizable, we are desirable partners in many scientific projects and fields", he stated, adding that technologically, many new centres have been created thanks to investments from Europe.

"At the same time, equipment is being supplied that actually allows this type of research to be carried out. And most importantly, young people should be included very quickly in this research activity, because for them this is a truly exciting adventure, from the audience and theoretical knowledge to be able to enter the places where it is applied in practice," Valchev said.

He pointed out that in recent years, thanks to European funds and national funding, Bulgarian higher education institutions have increasingly and more harmoniously fit into the European educational space. “The creation of the so-called European University Alliances is underway, where we partner with many universities in Europe, so that young people no longer identify solely with the national educational space. By entering a Bulgarian higher education institution, they can continue their studies at partner universities for a certain period of time,” he said.

In his words, Bulgaria must end this inferiority complex of a closed space, inherited from the past. “The world is open, we are open as a society to the world and I think that little by little these stigmas that we talked about yesterday (at the 20th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media) – about the Balkans, about the unrest, about the problems that are being created in the Balkans, will be overcome,” Valchev stressed.

Thirdly, he highlighted the opportunity to make Bulgaria much more recognizable and to paint a more positive image of it precisely through knowledge and science. He gave an example of Bulgaria's last Antarctic expedition, which, in his words, was very well covered by BTA's special correspondent there.

He emphasized that policies in the field of education must become sustainable. “I have always advocated that the project approach is a good thing, but we as a state must make the funding itself sustainable, and let the projects expand our opportunities. Because at the moment, project funding somehow prevails over the sustainable funding of the higher education institutions themselves,” Valchev noted.

BTA's Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project aims to raise public awareness and foster open dialogue about cohesion policy, local achievements, and the implementation of the EU's policy priorities. The project kicked off with a conference in Veliki Preslav in November 2024. The project builds on the Europe in the Balkans: A Common Future and Europe in Bulgaria: A Common Future projects, implemented by BTA in 2023 and 2024, respectively.