On October 3^rd, 2022, in the Aula Magna in the Rectory of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, the new academic year for the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration was officially open. Representatives of the entire academic community participated in the event. The event was specially dedicated to the new first-year students in the faculty’s undergraduate majors. The event was organized by the deputy dean for partnerships with business and the graduate student community and director of the Career Center – Assoc. Dr. Boryana Bogdanova.

The first speech was given by the dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Assoc. Dr. Atanas Georgiev. He welcomed the new students and addressed them with messages related to the role and importance of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, as well as advice for their stay at Sofia University and their future realization. Prof. Georgiev thanked the entire academic community – especially the lecturers and employees of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, for their efforts to maintain a normal educational process, despite the difficulties in the recent years. You can read the entire text of the speech in Bulgarian here .

Traditionally, the opening of the academic year was attended by representatives of partnering companies. A warm welcome was given by Mr. Mihail Petrov, CEO of Schwarz IT Bulgaria. He shared with the students some advice from his personal life experience and wished them to always be proactive. After him, Dr. Emanuil Kozhuharov, coordinator for cooperation with academic institutions of TotalEnergies EP Bulgaria, gave a welcome. He shared information about some of the joint initiatives with Sofia University and the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, and also wished the academic community a successful year.

Prof. Dr. Bozhidar Nedev congratulated the students and lecturers on behalf of the Career Center of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration. One of the most recent initiatives of the center is related to a career guidance week that will be held in mid-October.

Liliana Georgieva – chairperson of the Alumni Club at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration congratulated the students on their entry into the academic community of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration and invited them to an informal gathering later that day in the building of the faculty.

On behalf of the student organizations, greetings were extended by Anna-Maria Georgieva – president of AIESEC at SU “St. Kliment Ohridski”, and Adriana Branicheva – student at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration and vice-president of the Business Club. Adriana invited the new students to get actively involved in the events of the Welcome Week program organized especially for them.

A greeting was also given by Ch. Assist. Dr. Venelina Tsvetkova from the Department of Sports. She coaches some of the best athletes at Sofia University and invited the students not only to attend the mandatory sports classes, but also if there are athletes among them who want to continue their sports career, to actively participate in the University's teams.

In the late afternoon, the academic community of the Faculty of Business and Business Administration gathered for an informal event in the faculty building, where the Alumni Club had organized a cocktail party to mark the start of the academic year. Part of the event took place in the ESGlab – a new shared space on the second floor. The space was renovated according to a project by Prof. Dr. Marina Stefanova, financed by the joint ESG programs with UniCredit Bulbank, BAKSOS and other partners. The first-year students received their student ID cards from the academic managers of the undergraduate majors and had the opportunity to meet professors, upper-year students, alumni and partners of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.