site.btaEducation Ministry's New Project to Provide Internships, Dual Education for Over 40,000 Students

Caretaker Education Minister Galin Tsokov and Georgi Vaysilov, Executive Director of the Executive Agency Programme Education, Tuesday signed a funding agreement for the From Higher Education to Employment project, the Education Ministry said. Over the next five years, the project will provide internships in a real work environment for more than 40,000 students. 

The project is an extension of the Student Internships project,building on it by introducing dual education in higher education institutions. The aim is to strengthen the link between higher education and labour market needs, provide additional practical training for students, and improve career opportunities for graduates.

Vaysilov highlighted the introduction of dual education as an important innovation in the project.

Tsokov added that future policies for the development of dual education in universities will be based on the activities of this project. He also expressed hope that dual education will become a preferred choice for Bulgarian students in the future.

The project will be implemented in partnership with 44 universities across the country. Key activities include conducting additional student internships based on the assessment of career guidance for students, creating conditions for the introduction of dual education in universities, implementing a system for tracking graduates, and training, including for the acquisition of entrepreneurial skills

The project is expected to support 40,099 students. Of these, over 6,900 will be from the Pedagogical Sciences field, nearly 6,500 from Technical Sciences, and over 2,500 from Natural Sciences, Mathematics, and Informatics. About 2,600 students are expected to receive dual education.

The project is worth BGN 187,247,591, with BGN 149,667,913 funded by the European Social Fund.