Marketing students have renovated the green space outside the new Faculty of Business and Entrepreneurship at Burgas Prof. Dr. Assen Zlatarov University. It now has rest areas with new park furniture for students and teachers.

The campaign runs under the motto "Become part of the change". It is a public relations project and part of the students' course. The subject is compulsory in the department's curriculum. The students planned, organised and ran the campaign themselves. They also found business partners to sponsor it, and media partners, including Bulgarian National Radio (BNR).

"The aim was to take teaching out of the classroom and into the field," Chief Assistant Prof. Dr. Alexander Angelov, a lecturer in the Marketing department, told BNR. He said the idea is to give the faculty a large area for rest, meetings and talks between students. He added that the project is also meant to build the university's image and show social responsibility.

The students have seen how a whole campaign is put together, Angelov said. As future economists working in marketing, they will have to organise similar events for the firms where they work.

A fourth-year student said the department invited students to help with the organisation and, above all, with the presentation. She likes it because these are real-life tasks that happen every day without people paying them attention. Taking part shows in practice how an event is prepared and how it is presented to the public and to clients, and that helps her a lot, she said.

Head of department Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hristina Mihaleva said new generations need a new approach that links theory with practice. The department also offers practical training, and the project links the two.

"What is in the thick books can actually be done and shown, and it works," Mihaleva told BNR. She said that one day the students will do exactly this in the companies where they work, and so they see their future place as fulfilled, positive people of the future.

The Marketing degree covers Fundamentals of Marketing, Introduction to Marketing, pricing, digital marketing and public relations. It also has core subjects such as management and statistics, but most courses are specialised.

Interest in the degree is growing at other universities too, and the department is proud that Burgas University has helped with this, Mihaleva said. This year, for the first time, applications ran to a waiting list.