A total of 21 projects entered the decisive final phase of the competition for the joint scholarship of NOVA and the EMVA program of the American University in Bulgaria, whose goal is to encourage future and current entrepreneurs to work on solving a social problem. The initiative gives an opportunity for young socially engaged people in the country to appear through a special competition in honor of the 20th anniversary of the EMVA program of the university. The exclusive partner of the initiative is Nova Broadcasting Group.
The scholarship, in the amount of 16,700 euros, covers 100% of the academic fee for the Executive MBA program at AUBG, and all interested parties had the opportunity to join the competition between May 24 and September 15 this year.
As a next step, the jury is tasked with reviewing all applications and selecting five finalists. Applicants who have reached the final stage will present their projects live to the jury members on September 30.
Among the topics that the candidates chose are the transformation of work processes in the modern world, care for the environment and nature conservation, the need to popularize the topic of preventive examinations, sex education, the development of career platforms and others.
On the basis of the presented business models, the candidates participating in the NOVA EMBA Scholarship will have to go through a special process, which the AUBG EMBA admissions department will coordinate, and the evaluation will be carried out by a jury of employees and teachers of AUBG, as well as representatives of Nova Broadcasting Group.
The evaluators include the first vice-rector for academic affairs and chairman of the jury Dr. JD Mininger, the CEO of Nova Broadcasting Group Stefana Zdravkova, the director of “News and Current Affairs” at Nova Broadcasting Group Ilia Dafov, the professor of social entrepreneurship in the AUBG EMBA program Neli Koleva, the academic director of the master’s programs at AUBG Dr. Momchil Karpuzanov, the holder of a doctorate in international law and international relations Victor Serafimov and Evelina Van Mensel, who is part of the business department of AUBG and a doctoral student on Ecosystems Supporting Social Entrepreneurs. Victor Serafimov and Evelina Van Mensel are also graduates of the Executive MBA program at AUBG.
The name of the winner will be announced by October 6, and the award ceremony will take place on October 20 during a special gala evening dedicated to the 20th anniversary of AUBG’s Executive MBA program.
The NOVA EMVA Scholarship is awarded only to the individual winner determined by the jury and cannot be transferred to third parties. If the recipient is unable to start the program, the admissions committee may decide to award the scholarship to the next ranked participant. The scholarship is received as a tuition fee credit and applied directly to the student’s student account.
About the American University in Bulgaria (AUB):
For 32 years now, the American University in Bulgaria, created by visionaries from Bulgaria and the USA, has been educating young talents who are changing the world for the better, and has stood by its motto “Onward and Upward.” AUBG provides a high-quality American Liberal Arts education. In this model of education, the student is at the center of learning, and the priorities are the stimulation of critical thinking, active learning and the entrepreneurial spirit. The university offers 14 bachelor’s programs in Blagoevgrad, as well as a master’s program in business administration for managers in Sofia.
AUBG is accredited both in the USA by the New England Commission of Higher Education and in Europe by the Bulgarian National Agency for Assessment and Accreditation. As a result, successfully graduated students receive a double diploma – for the USA and Europe.
AUBG occupies leading positions in the rating system of the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science. In total, the graduates of the American University in Bulgaria are more than 6,000 people, united in a global community and actively supporting the development of their alma mater. Many of them hold management positions in international companies, successfully develop their own businesses or continue their studies at prestigious universities around the world. Among their employers are the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Bulgarian National Bank, the United Nations, the World Bank, Microsoft, SAP, Citibank, CNN, The New York Times, etc.
About Nova Broadcasting Group
Nova Broadcasting Group is one of the largest multi-platform media and technology companies in Bulgaria, part of United Media, a member of the leading telecommunications and media operator in South-Eastern Europe United Group. It develops extremely dynamically and offers its customers and partners a wide variety of TV channels, radio stations, websites, digital platforms and print media. NOVA is an innovator in programming and a pioneer in introducing many international formats in our country. The support of Bulgarian films and series has become a trademark of the company, and author’s web productions and video projects complete the group’s rich portfolio. CHANGE is the largest socially responsible initiative of Nova Broadcasting Group in partnership with the Reach for Change Bulgaria foundation. It has been implemented since 2014 and has helped more than 260,000 children and youth from all over the country. Behind the message “Trust experience” are well-established journalists with the mission to inform objectively. Nova Broadcasting Group’s sports channels and platforms offer viewers and online users access to some of the most attractive championships. The first premium paid sports package on the market DIEMA EXTRA provides rich sports content in a total of 4 channels: DIEMA SPORT, DIEMA SPORT 2, DIEMA SPORT 3 and TRACE SPORT STARS, and the subscription streaming platform PLAY DIEMA XTRA guarantees unlimited access to live and HD channels quality.
Source: NOVA
