University of Food Technologies partners with Cluster Trakia Economic Zone strengthen the relationship education – business
Article by: plovdiv-press.bg
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The University of Food Technologies – Plovdiv / UFT / became an associate member of the “Cluster Trakia Economic Zone” / KTEZ /, the team of which carries out the operational management of the largest and most sustainable industrial zone in Eastern Europe – Trakia Economic Zone / TEZ /.
Eng. Plamen Panchev, Chairman of the Board of the Association, presented today to the Rector of the University Prof. Plamen Mollov the certificate for the admission of UFT as a member of KTEZ. Membership was preceded by a strategic cooperation agreement.
“UFT teaches in bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs in professional fields such as mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, electronics and automation, communication and computer technology, energy, general engineering, food technology, biotechnology, tourism and economics”, said Prof. Mollov.
“It is the cooperation with KTEZ that will help the realization of the graduates in the production enterprises of the area. It also helps to update and synchronize the student programs with the real needs of the industry. We will work together for the promotion of Bulgarian higher education, both among high school students and their parents in the country, and among young people abroad”, said Prof. Mollov. He announced that the Haycad Digital Academy, a member of the Cluster, is already promoting Bulgarian universities with free online seminars for prospective students. The remote presentation of UFT will be on June 11th at 11 am. Every prospective student can register for the free webinar through the Haycad Infotech website.
“This partnership will further strengthen the relationship between education and business”, said Eng. Panchev, whose team has been working successfully since 2015 for more practical and effective relationships between companies, schools and universities.
He pointed out the fact that graduates of UFT work in companies in TEZ, with a high salary. The university has a direct bearing on the work of the Cluster. The two institutions have been cooperating since the opening last year of the Vocational Training Center TRAKIA in the Rakovski Industrial Zone, part of TEZ.
Specialists from the Technical Faculty of the University have developed programs tailored to the requirements of the business, which are applied in the training center. Lecturers and doctoral students from UFT are the lecturers at the Center, who prepare workers from various factories in TEZ, as well as students. The capacity is over 1200 trained per year. “For the first time in Bulgaria, the symbiosis discussed in recent years between education and business was actually realized”, said Eng. Panchev.
He is convinced that the authority of the University of Food Technology, the only higher education institution in Bulgaria and the Balkans for training engineers and technologists for the food industry, its staff and its undoubted scientific potential, will be extremely useful in the activities of the Cluster.
