BFU approved by the EC as a European University of Port Cities

By decision of the European Education and Culture Executive Agency of June 28, 2024, Burgas Free University (BFU), in alliance with 12 other higher education institutions, has been approved as the European University of Islands, Ports and Coastal Territories (EUNICoast).

The BFU Alliance is led by the Université Le Havre Normandy (France) and will be funded under the European Universities – Development of Deep Institutional Transnational Cooperation Programme, within the framework of the latest such procedure of the EU's Erasmus+.

In this alliance, BFU - Burgaski Svoboden Universitet represents the Black Sea basin, in the Baltic Sea are represented by the Ålands Landskapsregering/Allmanna Förvaltningen (Finland), the Hochschule Stralsund (Germany) and Zachodniopomorski Uniwersytet Technologiczny w Szczecinie (Poland), in the Adriatic Sea - the Sveuciliste u Dubrovniku (Croatia) and the Evro-Sredozemska Univerza v Pirane (Slovenia), in the Ionian Sea - the Panepistimio Patron (Greece), in the Mediterranean Sea are the Universita degli Studi di Sassari (Italy), in the Mediterranean Sea Universitat de les Illes Balears (Spain), in the Caribbean - the Université des Antilles (French Overseas Territory), in the North Sea - the leading Université Le Havre Normandie from France, and in the Atlantic Ocean - Universidade dos Acores (Portugal) and the associated University of the Faroe Islands (autonomous community in Denmark).

BFU's participation in this project is the result of the joint work of the partners for nearly two years, which received particular dynamics after the meeting of the rectors of the original seven initiating universities in September 2023 in Le Havre, France, at which the Rector of BFU Prof. Milen Baltov proposed the working title of the current European University. During this period, more than 15 meetings of the Governing Body, 2 hackathons for the blue economy, one mixed intensive program and an exchange of lecturers and employees were held. The focus of the activities in the new alliance, having already been approved as a European University, will be on the problems of maritime regions and stimulating the development of innovative solutions aimed at sustainable development and tackling environmental, economic and social challenges.

The joint work on the project is related to:

• Creation of new curricula and programs in specialties for the needs of maritime regions.
• Stimulating innovation on maritime themes.
• Scientific publications and projects focused on the problems of coastal regions.

The management of BFU thanked its associated partners Burgas Municipality, BMF Port Burgas AD, Port of Burgas EAD, Institute of Oceanology - Varna at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Zonguldag Chamber of Commerce (Turkey), the Black Sea Advisory Center and the Black Sea Development Association.