The five-year partnerships are with Technical University - Sofia, Technical University - Plovdiv branch and University of Food Technology - Plovdiv
At a ceremony at Schneider Electric's Smart Factory in Plovdiv, the official signing of cooperation agreements between the company and three Bulgarian higher education institutions took place - Technical University - Sofia, Technical University - Plovdiv branch and University of Food Technology - Plovdiv.
The agreements were signed by Martin Yordanov, manager of the Schneider Electric factory in Plovdiv, Assoc. Dr. Eng. Docho Tsankov, Department of Automation of Electric Drives TU Sofia, Assoc. Tania Titova-Kosturkova, Dean of the Technical Faculty at the University of Food Technologies - Plovdiv, and associate professor Nikola Shakev, deputy director of TU - branch Plovdiv. The event was attended by representatives of local authorities, the academic community, journalists and students. "Investment in the education and development of young professionals in our country is one of the main responsibilities of Schneider Electric. The signing of the agreements with the universities comes as a natural extension of our "Sustainable Education with Schneider Electric" program, shared Ivelina Nikolova, Schneider Electric's general manager for Bulgaria, Albania, North Macedonia and Kosovo. "The main goal of the program is to build professional competencies in young people through access to quality education and practical experience, as well as to support their early career guidance," she added. The cooperation agreements with the three universities cover a wide range of educational activities, and one of the main points in the document is the donation of specialized equipment that Schneider Electric makes according to the needs of educational institutions for more modern training in technological specialties. The company will also invest in the construction of shared workspaces in order to stimulate teamwork between students and create conditions for them to generate ideas in an informal environment. "Schneider Electric's engagement with future professionals from the field of innovation and technology will continue to be at the forefront for us with a mission to create better and better engineering personnel who will be drivers of change and development in professional environments in Bulgaria." shared Martin Yordanov, manager of the company's factory in Plovdiv. “The partnership will provide internships and constant contact for our experts with students in the form of lectures, visits as part of the curriculum, informal meetings and participation in university events. The goal is to exchange useful know-how with both the students and their teachers," he added. The representatives of the universities thanked the company for the long-term cooperation, saying that the interaction between universities and industry is a vocation and I think that meets the needs of society related to technological development and innovation.
With the official signing of the agreements, the first concrete steps that will be taken in each educational institution were marked, as well as the possibilities for inter-university events and projects in 2023.