Plovdiv University is one of the leading higher-education institutions in the Republic of Bulgaria. It is the largest University in Southern Bulgaria and the second biggest in Bulgaria. Plovdiv University was initially founded in 1961 as a Higher Institute of Pedagogy for Natural Sciences and Mathematics. It was declared a University in 1972.
The University confer each form of educational degree i.e. specialist, bachelor, master and doctor. More than 10 000 full-time students and approximately 4 000 part-time students are trained in more than 140 bachelor and 150 master courses including natural, humanitarian, social, engineering and economic sciences, combined within nine faculties and two branches.
The University actively maintains international contacts with almost all European countries, the United States as well as countries in Asia and Africa. It takes part individually or jointly with other European universities in those programs of the European Union, United States and Switzerland, which fund scientific research. The academic community continues to develop strong research synergies with higher education institutions in Europe, Russia and the Middle East.
Annually Plovdiv University manages over 220 contracts financed by the following sources:
- International programmes
- Contracts concluded with the National Research Fund
- The Scientific Research Fund at Plovdiv University
- Commercial contracts.
For the purposes of the project the University will provide: free access to the whole scientific and technical complex as well as the informational resources, of the members participating in the implementation and development of the project; participation of staff researchers in the project activities; a complete administrative, legal and financial accounting services; establishment of a favourable environment for the sustainable development of the project.
The leading core of the project team consists of researchers from the ‘Science, Technology, Innovation’ research centre at Faculty of Phylosophy and History at Plovdiv University.
The Research Centre ‘Science, Technology, Innovation’ (STI) was founded in 2004 at the Department of ‘Applied and Institutional Sociology’ at the Faculty of Philosophy and History of Plovdiv University ‘Paisii Hilendarski’. It has the following objectives:
- To raise the level of training in the module ‘Social Studies of Science, Technology and Economy’ in the bachelor’s programme in sociology and the master’s programme ‘Management of Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship’.
- To integrate students in the research work of lecturers;
- To support the training of PhD students specializing in priority areas for the centre;
- To work on basic and applied research in the fields of the social studies of science and technology, the sociology of innovation and the economics of technological change;
- To assist the researchers of natural-sciences and engineering at the University and other universities in the region on issues of science policy, the relationship between science-industry and science-society; the protection of intellectual property among others.
The centre has the necessary infrastructure and know-how to carry out research projects – from developing a methodology for research in data analysis to the presentation of final results. Employees of the centre are able to conduct different types of qualitative and quantitative research of any kind (media analysis, focus groups, analysis of cases, in-depth interviews, representative sample surveys, regional studies), as well as to advise researchers and business representatives.
Last modified: August 23, 2023