The Burgas branch of Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" has two new assistants for the 2026/2027 academic year, Katya Kostova and Sofia Gramatikova, the university's press office says.

Rector Professor Eliza Stefanova welcomed the new assistants and senior assistants and handed each of them a Sofia University badge. Associate Professor Simeon Groysman, functional rector for academic staff, also took part in the meeting.

Stefanova congratulated the new staff on choosing to build their careers at Bulgaria's oldest university and wished them good health, academic growth and creative success. "Thank you for choosing us. I hope that together we can make the university an even better place to work and to study," she said.

The rector asked the young lecturers to hold on to their respect for the university and pass it on to everyone they work with. "Here we know we come first, and we prove it every day we work at the university," Stefanova said. She added that the university is in no way behind many higher education institutions in Europe and around the world, and that it ranks among the best.

The rector said the opening of the academic year is not just a ceremony but a living link to the university's values. For almost 140 years, the alma mater has set and upheld the foundations of higher education and of Bulgaria's intellectual elite, Stefanova said.

Four assistants are joining the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics: Martin Ivanov, Dimitar Chaltakov, Alexander Velin and Vasil Vasilev. The Faculty of Classical and Modern Philology welcomes senior assistant Violeta Vicheva, along with assistants Livia-Maria Nistor, Martin Petrov, Shoko Nakamura and Kremena Diaz.

Three new lecturers are joining the Faculty of Slavic Studies: senior assistant Desislava Uzunova and assistants Marina Nikolova and Ivan Georgiev. Two more are starting at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration — senior assistants Joanna Alexieva and Ivaylo Naydenov — and another two at the Faculty of Physics — senior assistants Dimitar Mihaylov and Ivo Mihov.

The Faculty of Philosophy welcomes assistants Stoyan Panchev and Boyana Yordanova, while the Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy takes on senior assistant Lora Petrova and assistant Nevena Zaharieva.

Senior assistant Eva Marinovska joins the Department of Geology, Paleontology and Fossil Fuels at the Faculty of Geology and Geography, and senior assistant Petar Stoilov joins the Department of Bulgarian History at the Faculty of History. Assistant Iskren Iskrenov is joining the Faculty of Educational Studies and the Arts, while the Faculty of Medicine welcomes assistant Radina Andonova-Stoynova.

The 2026/2027 academic year opened today in the auditorium of Sofia University. Addressing students, education minister Professor Georgi Valchev said the university strikes a balance across the full range of knowledge. Choosing natural sciences, humanities or social sciences does not shut the door to other fields, he said. Students, he added, can draw on every branch of knowledge to build themselves as professionals.