07.07.2023
In the Aula Magna of the Rectorate of Sofia University in the presence of the Rector Prof. Dr. Sci. Anastas Gerdjikov, ambassadors of partner countries, representatives of the academic community and business, the three AMBA-accredited master's programs in Business Administration (MBA) in English at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration (FEBA) were presented. They are in three areas of specialization – MBA in Strategic Management, MBA in Human Resources Management and MBA in Management Information Systems.
Moderator of the event was Assoc. Prof. Dr. Todor Yalamov, Vice-Dean of FEBA, who welcomed the attendees and stated that this success is a result of a long-term journey.
The Rector of Sofia University Prof. Anastas Gerdjikov expressed his joy at the event, the purpose of which is to present the great success of FEBA. "Three of our master's programmes, the MBA programmes, became part of those 300 higher education institutions with students from over 150 countries that are part of the Association of MBA (AMBA) accredited programmes. There are representatives of the Bulgarian business here who need people with a similar education, people who have completed programs, recognized around the world, and we realize what it is like to be the first Bulgarian higher education institution to enter this association as a member", said the Rector.
He congratulated the Dean of FEBA – Assoc. Prof. Dr. Atanas Georgiev and everyone who contributed to this achievement and wished them success.
A lecture on "Business education in Bulgaria as a factor for economic growth" was delivered by Iliya Lingorski – an economist with over 25 years of experience in the private and public sector, a part-time lecturer in the Department of Economics at FEBA. In it, he drew attention to the importance of education for economic development and the importance of international accreditation.
Iliya Lingorski noted that today is a celebration of a great success, another important international recognition of Sofia University by the Association of MBAs. He pointed out that with this accreditation, all current MBA students in FEBA, as well as recent graduates, are invited to join the global membership community of AMBA. It unites over 60,000 students and alumni from more than 150 countries. Iliya Lingorski reiterated that the Association supports the connections between students, builds leadership, career development, brings various advantages both for the graduates of these programs and universities, and for the development, for the social marks and for the contribution of this type of education to the economic and social development.
"This accreditation is the highest achievement in business education, and I believe that, in addition to recognition and success for the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration and Sofia University, the accreditation is also a great opportunity for the contribution of FEBA and our university in a national, in regional and international plan", Iliya Lingorski also said. In his lecture, he emphasized the opportunities that the students of FEBA are going to have for their development, as well as for the cooperation and development of the MBA programmes themselves.
The Dean of FEBA - Assoc. Prof. Dr. Atanas Georgiev greeted everyone in the hall and began his speech with a story about interviews, prepared by his students. “One of the questions was "How could you define FEBA in one word only?" and his answer was "a Leader". But now, listening to my colleagues after all the events from the recent years, I can add that the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration is a leader, because it unites a community of leaders both among professors and students, and this makes us stronger", said Assoc. Prof. Georgiev. He added that today he has the honour as a Dean of FEBA to announce from the highest platform in the most solemn hall of the Sofia University that for the first time a Bulgarian higher education institution receives international business accreditation in one of the three most significant international networks – AMBA.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Atanas Georgiev specified that the accreditation itself is received from the beginning of the last month and confirms the high quality of training in the master's programs in Business Administration at FEBA, the MBAs. He added that this is even more joyful because it happens in the year when the Sofia University celebrates its 135th anniversary.
Going back in time, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Georgiev emphasized that economics and management have been taught for many years at Sofia University and emphasized that despite the interruption in the second half of the 20th century, after its restoration in 1990, the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration made the request to be the best place for teaching and research in Economics, Finance, Accounting and Business Administration.
"In fact, the international accreditation that we are now receiving is a confirmation of this bold request and a confident step towards our even stronger internationalization," said Assoc. Prof. Georgiev and pointed out that currently their students in the bachelor's, master's and PhD programs are from over 40 countries, and FEBA is also a leader in incoming mobility under the Erasmus program.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Georgiev stated that the international accreditation is a recognition of the mission and values of FEBA. He noted that the faculty's mission is to engage and inspire the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs through shared values, knowledge, exchange of skills through experimentation and cross-cultural awareness. "These values are complemented by our pursuit of innovation, cooperation, ethics, analytics, sustainability”, he added.
"Each accreditation does not evaluate the institution only in a certain period of time but considers both its historical development and its potential to grow in the future", noted the Dean of FEBA and added that in this sense, accreditation is a recognition of all efforts, which Sofia University professors and students have taken over the past decades. It is also a request that the best is yet to come, added Assoc. Prof. Dr. Georgiev.
He talked about the accreditation process, about the international validation of the faculty. "For us, this first business accreditation from one of the three international organizations is a motivating factor to move forward”, said Assoc. Prof. Dr. Georgiev and recalled that the faculty has been a member of the American Association of Business Schools (AACSB) for two years and has the ambition that the second international accreditation will come from there and become a fact in the next 4-5 years. "This means that we must continue to improve our programs and attract the best candidates to them, better structure our processes and, more importantly, come up with a clearer vision of our role in today's society", noted the Dean of FEBA in his speech.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Atanas Georgiev emphasized the work of his colleagues from the faculty, which contributed to the international accreditation, as well as the students and partners from business institutions. "All of you who are here today have reason to be proud of our collective success, and I, on behalf of the faculty leadership, would like to express our sincere gratitude for all you have done", the Dean added. He named the directors and the administrators of the three MBA programs – Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ivan Angelov, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Iya Petkova, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kamen Spassov, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Todor Yalamov, and the Associate Dean for Accreditation and Ratings Chief Assist. Prof. Dr. Iliya Atanasov, strongly involved in the accreditation process. The Dean also noted the work of the members of the "Business Administration" department, headed by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Olimpiya Veder and expressed his gratitude to them. The Dean also thanked the faculty’s Vice-Deans, the colleagues from the other departments and especially to the Rector of the Sofia University Prof. Anastas Gerdzhikov for the support and provided resources during the current difficult budget year, so that the accreditation could become a fact before the start of the active Master's admissions campaign.
Within the framework of the festive event, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ivan Angelov presented the most important moments of the process they went through, as well as the faculty's strategy towards different regions and in particular the Arab part of the world. According to him, AMBA is that recognition which, by setting the high requirements, high priorities and standards, will make it possible in the first place to attract the best quality representatives from business and industry, to attract potential leaders, as well as those who have already shown their leadership qualities and skills, but they need to develop them. He also emphasizes the relationship between education and business.
Mrs. Katerina Shopova, Human Resources Director of Lidl and Dr. Kiril Velitchkov from UBB spoke about their partnership with the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Boryana Bogdanova, Vice-Dean "Partnerships with Business and Alumni Community" paid attention on the successes of the PhD students of FEBA in relation to business, the industry-funded PhD program.
"We are the first university in Bulgaria that managed to implement this project, to bring it to a successful conclusion, and perhaps the most important thing is that the PhD student, who implemented her scientific research in business, today teaches at FEBA", emphasized Assoc. Prof. Bogdanova and added that this shows the place of science and the scientifically supported approach to work in business growth.
Mr. Riazhi, representative of the Bulgarian-African Cooperation Association, emphasized that we should be proud of what we have achieved and that it is a great asset. He emphasized some of the problems of modern education and called for finding ways to solve them.
As of the beginning of June 2023, the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration of Sofia University is now one of the top 300 business schools in the world with accreditation by the Association of MBAs (AMBA), a leading international organization in postgraduate business education, with an ongoing commitment to excellence in management studies. After receiving accreditation from AMBA, all current MBA students and future MBA alumni of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration of Sofia University become part of the global AMBA community of more than 60,000 students and alumni representing more than 150 countries.
The Faculty of Economics and Business Administration of Sofia University is a leading educational institution in Bulgaria and South-Eastern Europe for scientific research and training in Economics, Finance and Management. After a year of preparation to synchronize the curricula, with protected excellent training and motivation of the teaching team, as well as a demonstrated sustainable partnership with leading companies in the corporate sector, AMBA accredits the MBA programs in English in FEBA, which are in three areas of specialization – MBA in Strategic Management, MBA in Human Resource Management and MBA in Management Information Systems.
More information about the master's programs can be found here.