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05.03.2021

 

In the last year, students from the Master's program “Outsourcing Projects and Companies” at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration (FEBA) at Sofia University conducted their own research on the impact of COVID-19 on outsourcing and offshoring in the global market, based on which they outline new business trends and make recommendations to companies.

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On February 27th, Alexandrina Zheleva and Ivelina Lilkina successfully defended their master's theses in front of a committee, presenting the results of their empirical research on the subject. Zheleva's thesis, with research supervisor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nikolay Netov, examines the dynamics of outsourcing processes in the supply of services after the pandemic. The data shows that almost half of the investment is redirected to digital transformation and IT, as Covid-19 becomes a catalyst for the implementation of automation and new technologies.

Lilkina's master's thesis, under the supervision of Dr. Hristina Stoyanova, examines factors for successful management of outsourcing partnerships in times of crisis. The conclusion of contracts with clear requirements and conditions, coordination of the expectations of the client companies and suppliers, the identification of risks and their successful management, as well as the joint work between the partners to deal with the challenges are indicated as key to the sustainability of partnerships in emergency situations.

Within the course "Management of outsourcing projects and companies", led by Dr. Hristina Stoyanova, students from the new class of the master's program explore the impact of the pandemic in various aspects such as, for example, change in factors for choosing a location for offshoring, change in the strategies of the client companies, the impact of the crisis on the labor market in the outsourcing and offshoring business and trends in the requirements for soft skills in personnel selection. On February 16th, the students presented the first results of their research, which they plan to continue and upgrade into master's theses. The conclusions and recommendations will be shared with business representatives.

The Master's program "Outsourcing Projects and Companies", which started for the first time in the 2019/2020 academic year, is a joint initiative of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration and the Association for Innovation, Business Services and Technologies (AIBEST).