site.btaBurgas Free University Rector: Battle for Minds Connected to Reason Why Europe Is Lagging Behind

The battle for minds and the battle for the future is connected to globalization and the fact that Europe is somewhat lagging behind, Burgas Free University Rector Prof. Milen Baltov said during the closing conference held here on Monday. The event was part of BTA’s Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project.

He noted that the European Commission declared Burgas Free University an European University of Islands, Ports and Coastal Territories. "In this direction, we see the achievement of the scale and internationalization that is so necessary," Baltov emphasized. He pointed out that the university's portfolio of projects is diversified as a source of funding and that it has focused thematically on several areas, including blue economy and circular economy.

Baltov presented a project through which, with funds from the Erasmus programme, the university is working on preparing students in Bulgarian schools abroad so that they can defend their matriculation exams. He also congratulated the project management bodies for having made the cohesion policy instruments so that Bulgarian universities and scientific organizations that compete on a European and global basis can be awarded. 

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.