Burgas State University "Prof. Dr Asen Zlatarov" has opened a branch in Dobrich that will train nurses. The branch was officially opened at a ceremony.
"Today is a historic day for Burgas State University. For the first time in our 63-year history, we are opening a branch outside Burgas," said rector Prof. Sotir Sotirov.
The ceremony took place on 19 October, Bulgarian Doctor's Day and the feast day of St John of Rila. Sotirov, Dobrich mayor Yordan Yordanov and MP Denitsa Sacheva cut the ribbon, and the branch began work.
Dobrich's multi-profile hospital for active treatment offers students a scholarship while they study, a job at the hospital and an employment contract after they graduate. Its executive director, Dr Georgi Zhelyazkov, was among those who welcomed the guests.
Sotirov said the university's task is to bring to Dobrich its many years of experience in training nurses. He said the teaching will be high quality, with plenty of practice and a proper attitude to a profession that demands knowledge, along with responsibility and compassion. He told the first-year students that the branch's story begins with them, which is both a privilege and a responsibility. He also thanked everyone who helped set up the branch.
Mayor Yordanov said work on the idea went on for more than seven years. He said the road was hard and few people know what had to be overcome, but joint efforts made it a reality. He thanked the institutions that took part in the preparations and said he hopes the branch will open new chances for young people in the region.
Sacheva, a graduate of Burgas State University, said the opening shows that persistence, courage and joint effort can achieve goals once seen as impossible. She called the branch an investment in the future of the whole of Dobrudzha, not just an education project.
"It is not enough to simply want young people to stay in Dobrich. We must give them a reason to stay: education, a profession, a future, an opportunity," Sacheva said. She also hopes the partnership between Burgas and Dobrich will grow.
For Bulgarian Doctor's Day, the MP gave the branch an icon of St John of Rila. It will stay there as a symbol of protection and blessing for future medics.
State and local officials, university leaders, doctors, lecturers and the first students attended the ceremony. Guests included MPs Rumen Muntyanov, Steliyan Gandev and Stoyan Petrov, regional governor Ruslan Tomov, municipal council chair Krasimir Nikolov, deputy mayor Vladimir Trendafilov and heads of hospitals in Dobrich. Muntyanov and Nikolov also gave speeches. The Dobrudzha ensemble, led by Stoyan Gospodinov, performed a dance greeting.
A student from the first intake thanked the university, on behalf of her fellow students, for the chance to study for a degree in their home town. She spoke about the responsibility of the profession and said they are proud that the branch's story begins with them. The first-year students received gifts.