Burgas is building a new student campus with dormitories, a lecture hall, a teaching data centre and high-tech laboratories. The first dormitories are expected to be ready in the coming months.

The project began at the request of the heads of Burgas's four universities. The aim is to give students better places to study and live.

The dormitory rooms are for two people. Each has beds, desks, spaces for laptops, a balcony and its own bathroom and toilet.

A central foyer leads into a large two-level lecture hall, which is now under construction. The hall has acoustic design and will be used for lectures, music performances and chamber concerts. The building also has common areas where students can discuss their projects.

Next to the teaching building, the foundation of the teaching data centre has already been poured. The centre starts with a capacity of 200 kilowatts, and the building is designed so it can grow in stages, with modules, up to 1 megawatt.

The laboratories will be in a separate building. It has a deep basement for equipment that must be kept out of sunlight. About 10 large companies have confirmed that they want to equip the laboratories with their own technology. Students will work alongside business, put theory into practice and study under the dual education system.

"This is our task – for young people to learn, to grow, to be competitive and for Bulgaria to become a strong and successful country," Burgas mayor Dimitar Nikolov said of the large-scale project.