“Young Hopes in Bulgarian Agricultural Education and Science” is the name of the new foundation, which was officially launched at the beginning of 2017. Today we present the interview with its initiator, founder and manager Prof. Dr. Tonio Tonev, one of the leading lecturers at the Agricultural University in Plovdiv
Prof. Tonev, what is the philosophy and structure of this project? What is the time horizon you are planning, what objectives are you setting?
As the name of the foundation eloquently suggests, it was established with the aim of providing material and moral support to the most successful students and doctoral candidates studying at the Agricultural University in Plovdiv. The implementation of such an ambitious goal is possible only through the joint efforts, on the one hand, of selected fellow lecturers and like-minded colleagues from the Agricultural University, and on the other – through active partnership with companies and associations from the agribusiness sector. We hope to succeed in building a reliable, dynamic and efficient structure that will work for the prosperity of Bulgarian agriculture.
Naturally, the registration of this foundation has its own background and motives. They consist in repeated requests from many colleagues from the business sector for support and for creating more opportunities for expression and realization for capable students. At the same time, the labour market is witnessing a permanent and persistent demand for excellently trained specialists for future work in companies. In my capacity as a lecturer at the Agricultural University in Plovdiv, I perceived a real need for the establishment of a new, connecting link between agricultural education and business.
My expectations are for empathy and commitment to the cause of the foundation. The success (or failure) of this undertaking will be a kind of test as to whether we have the attitude and sense of belonging to the modern agricultural community.
I have assurances of support and cooperation from the management of the Agricultural University and from many of my fellow lecturers. Without this, effective action by this new structure would not be possible. We all work for a common cause – to educate highly qualified specialists. Although it was registered very recently, the Foundation is already receiving broad support and readiness for partnership from many companies in the agribusiness sector. I am convinced and I believe that this support will grow more and more!
What will guide me, also through the foundation, is to fill with content the slogan of the Agricultural University – Plovdiv “Education – Science – Business”! One of the most active activities of the Foundation will be the organization of mobile seminars on the territory of the entire country. The aim of these tours, following the example of the “Herbitour” project, will be to provide the Foundation’s scholarship students with opportunities to see “live” the newest and most successful technological solutions in the field of agriculture in Bulgaria and other countries with developed agriculture.
Prof. Tonev, I would like to ask you to inform in more detail the readership of the journal “Plant Protection” about the conceptual policy of the Foundation regarding future partnership with interested companies, associations, unions and individual businesspersons.
The partnership of the foundation with companies, associations, unions, natural persons and others will take two forms: first – gratuitous donations (sponsorship) without a lower or upper limit on the donated amount, and second – donations combined with an expressed wish for advertising on large television screens installed at strategic locations in the University.
To achieve maximum transparency and financial discipline, all payments between sponsors (advertisers) and the foundation, and between the foundation and the students, will be carried out exclusively by bank transfer.
As an additional bonus, all scholarship holders of the foundation will also be provided with a gratuitous opportunity for intensive foreign language training by highly qualified lecturers!
The selection of students for scholarships and awards from the Foundation will be based on a set of indicators: overall grade point average from their studies (minimum 5.00), demonstrated results from anonymous tests of 100 questions each, plus an additional interview with each of the scholarship candidates. The amount of the scholarship for each of the candidates will be determined in a descending ranking in three categories. My ambition is for the foundation to start this year with a minimum of 25 scholarship holders. At this first stage, the scholarships will be intended only for full-time students in the 3rd and 4th year of the bachelor’s level of education from the three agronomy faculties of the University – Plant Protection and Ecology, Agronomy – Field Crops and Agronomy – Viticulture and Horticulture.
Students will be informed from the 1st year about the opportunity to become scholarship holders of the foundation. We hope this will be another strong motivation for them to achieve excellent results during the course of their studies.
If sponsors and advertisers so wish and are able, the Foundation’s scholarship holders will be directed with priority to their companies for internships and, after completion of their studies, for possible appointment to permanent positions.
Our idea is for this undertaking to start gradually. From the beginning of 2017 the system will be open to all donors (sponsors) and advertisers. The Foundation “Young Hopes in Bulgarian Agricultural Education and Science” will make tireless efforts to be a reliable bridge between agricultural education, agricultural science and agricultural business.
You can read the full interview in issue 1/2017 of the journal “Plant Protection”.
