Varna University of Management is one of the few universities in Bulgaria that managed to quickly organize and actually conduct a hybrid form of education.

Students from Bulgaria and abroad are given the opportunity to choose whether to attend lectures in person or online, according to their convenience and desire.

“We give freedom of choice to our students, but we want to actively involve them in the learning process, whether in front of the computer or in the classroom” lecturers say.

We remind you that due to the complicated epidemic situation in the country at the end of October, the Minister of Health issued an order for the introduction of temporary anti-epidemic measures, according to which face to face attendance at higher education institutions was suspended. However, the order made it possible for students to attend their classes in presence in case they have a certificate or a negative PCR/rapid antigen test.

And while most universities in Bulgaria have decided to go entirely online (with the exception of medical universities), Varna University of Management was the first in the country to switch to a hybrid form of education on the day after the Ministry of Health issued the order.  

“Our material and technical base allowed us to make the transition to an online form of education for students literally in hours. At the same time, a number of them, owning green certificates, wanted to be present on the spot, because of the human contact and interaction with the lecturers and the easier assimilation of the learning material.”- said Ms. Vanina Valcheva – Academic Director of VUM.

The initiative is actively supported by the lecturers, one of which is the Director of the Academic School of Tourism Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maya Ivanova, who held a hybrid lecture on Innovation and Creativity today with a practical exercise.

No matter present or online, students had the opportunity to discuss together the process of creating an original author’s recipe from scratch and its presentation on the market afterwards.

All students had the opportunity to tell more about the products and ingredients they will use and why they chose them, what is their approach and how they will present the final dish to the public, as well as what sources of information they used to create the recipe – both digital and on paper.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ivanova encouraged the ideas of the young talents and used the 3-hour practical exercise to introduce them to various methods of sorting reliable online sources and to acquaint them with the questions that their practical project will include at the end of the academic year.

The hybrid form of education was not an obstacle for the students to be actively involved in the discussion of the project and everyone had the opportunity to present their idea and exchange experiences with colleagues and lecturers.