Representatives of the Master’s Programme “Economics and Management of Public Resources”, Assoc. Prof. Savina Mihaylova-Goleminova and Mr. Kalin Slavov, Executive Director of Transparency International – Bulgaria, took part in the First Southeast Europe Integrity Summit (https://seeis.org/), where the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration was a partner of the forum. They underlined that universities and academic institutions in Bulgaria and in the Southeast European region can strengthen the culture of integrity among students and future public leaders in several interrelated ways: through the content of their curricula, through the institutional environment, and through active partnerships with practice.

At the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration of Sofia University, courses dedicated to sustainability incorporate topics such as corporate culture, protection of whistleblowers, anti–money laundering measures, corruption and bribery as part of the “G” in ESG. Good practices from the Master’s programmes “Economics and Management of Public Resources” and “Responsible and Sustainable Governance” were also presented, including the introduction of a “Business Integrity” course taught by Mr. Kalin Slavov.

The aim is to foster among students a culture of integrity and trust, a sense of public responsibility, and the capacity for real societal impact – and to serve as an example for other faculties and universities in the region. Furthermore, the topic of integrity is integrated into the activities of the ESG Lab at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration. Through projects, research, and participation in public discussions, students are given the opportunity to see the direct link between integrity, sustainability, competitiveness, and trust in institutions. Partnerships between academia and business are another important channel through which the topic of integrity is extended beyond the classroom.

In addition, the two representatives of the Master’s Programme “Economics and Management of Public Resources” are working in partnership with the Bulgarian Institute of Public Administration to deliver a new training course on “Management of Public Enterprises”, jointly developed by Assoc. Prof. Savina Mihaylova-Goleminova and Mr. Kalin Slavov. In October and November 2025, 120 representatives of ministries, agencies, and municipalities completed this training, and the cooperation with the Institute of Public Administration will continue next year as well.

Integrity is embedded throughout the content of the course. It covers the management and control of public enterprises, including: sustainability reporting under mandatory European standards; the role of internal rules and procedures in ensuring compliance and managing specific risks; the updated OECD requirements for meeting the challenges of good governance and business integrity in public enterprises; and structured internal communication as a legal requirement under the Bulgarian Whistleblower Protection Act. These topics have attracted very strong interest from participants.

In parallel, amendments to the Public Enterprises Act were recently adopted at second reading in the National Assembly. The Draft Act Amending the Public Enterprises Act provides for the introduction of a comprehensive system for managing corruption risk in public enterprises, including: a mandatory code of ethical conduct; a new chapter with measures to counter corruption and promote integrity (risk analysis and assessment, reflection of the results in annual reports, transparency); ethics and anti-corruption training for managers and staff; and short deadlines for adopting secondary legislation and aligning internal rules accordingly.

Here is the link to the full recording of the conference: https://seeis.org/full-recording-of-the-live-broadcast