With an official ceremony and in captivating atmosphere, the new 2019/2020 academic year was opened at Varna University of Management. Among the main highlights of the event was the topic of internationalization and the multinational and multicultural environment that Varna University of Management provides to its students.

Students from 60 countries on 5 continents (Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America) will be educated in the undergraduate and postgraduate programmmes of Varna University of Management in the 2019/2020 academic year. Students from 12 new states – Armenia, Brazil, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Jordan, Mexico, Norway, Romania, Serbia, Tanzania and South Korea – join the VUM international family this year.

Students, faculty and guests were welcomed by the Mayor of Varna, Mr. Ivan Portnih, who presented the sea capital as an open and welcoming city, a city of young people, innovations and entrepreneurship. He congratulated VUM’s academic management on the great achievements of the university and wished success to all students during the new academic year. Among the official guests of the event were also Ms. Radostina Ganeva from the Directorate for Education and Youth Activities in Varna Municipality, Ms. Iva Dikova – French language cooperation attaché at the French Institute Representation in Varna and Ms. Milena Angelova – Director of Alliance Francaise – Varna.

The official ceremony was opened with a welcome speech by the VUM President Assoc. Prof. Todor Radev, who shared with the attendees his satisfaction with the achievements of the university during the past year.  Few months ago the independent U-Multirank International Ranking placed Varna University of Management first worldwide by the criterion of student mobility, followed by another high recognition in the summer of 2019. The prestigious Eduniversal Best Masters&MBA degrees ranking placed the Msc International Hospitality and Tourism Management programme of VUM 15th worldwide in the Tourism Management field, and the MBA Programme 5th in Central and Eastern Europe for full-time MBA programmes.

A special guest of the event was the social entrepreneur and founder of Foreigner.bg Mr. Daniel Montiglio. Choosing Varna as his second home, the Chilean has been developing successful projects in the sea capital for 15 years, seeking to help with free and useful information resources for every foreigner who settles in Bulgaria. He expressed his full support for the multicultural family of VUM-Varna, encouraging all students, regardless of their nationality and culture, to pursue their dreams and assuring them that this is possible in the city of Varna.

Video greetings with wishes for a successful academic year were sent by VUM graduates, who have found successful professional realization in different parts of the world. After Assoc. Prof. Radev declared the academic year 2019/2020 officially opened, all present gathered for a family photo in order to perpetuate the thrills and emotions that each new beginning brings.

The whole team of Varna University of Management congratulates all students on the beginning of the new academic year and wishes them a lot of new knowledge, strong will and perseverance, and of course – unforgettable emotions!