Class of 2018 of the Agricultural University – ready to follow their dreams

At the end of the past year 2018, a total of 661 graduates of the Agricultural University in Plovdiv received their diplomas. The successfully graduated bachelors are 401, and the masters are 260. Their education is in 18 specialties and six professional fields.

In her academic address, the Rector of the higher education institution, Dr. Hristina Yancheva, emphasized the role of the Agricultural University in Plovdiv as an undisputed national leader in agricultural education. In recent years, the university has ranked among the top institutions in terms of educational standards in the field of agricultural sciences. At the end of December, for the third consecutive year, the Agricultural University has been the absolute leader in the professional fields „Crop Science“, „Plant Protection“ and „Animal Science“ according to the Bulgarian University Ranking System. 

The official ceremony, attended by the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic and Demographic Policies Mariyana Nikolova and the Deputy Minister of Education and Science Karina Angelieva, featured congratulatory addresses from the Minister of Agriculture and Food Rumen Porozhanov and from the partner university in Kazakhstan. The managements of Trakia University in Stara Zagora, the University of Economics in Svishtov, the Medical University – Plovdiv, the University of Food Technologies – Plovdiv, and the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (CEIBG) also paid tribute. 

The valedictorian of the graduating class, Ralitsa Ruseva, thanked the lecturers from the Agricultural University for awakening the students’ interest and unlocking their love for the science of the land.

Student of the Year

On 17 December, Biserka Yankova, a fourth-year student majoring in „Plant Protection", won the „Student of the Year“ award at an official ceremony under the patronage of the Minister of Education Krassimir Valchev.

The young student is Chair of IAAS Bulgaria – the International Association of Students in Agricultural and Related Sciences, and during the summer she took part in the Bayer Bulgaria programme „Bayer Agro Academy" as a sales assistant for the region of Veliko Tarnovo.

At the beginning of November she was selected as a finalist in the competition for outstanding students from higher education institutions in the city of Plovdiv, organized by Round Table 3 Plovdiv. She was given the opportunity for an internship at the Bulgarian pesticide plant „Agria AD".

She is currently working on her thesis at the Department of „General Agriculture and Herbology", where she is testing the selectivity and efficacy of various herbicides in wheat.

For the students of the Agricultural University in Plovdiv to be successful, adequate support from the country’s agribusiness is also necessary.

In support of agricultural education

The company Summit Agro and the Agricultural University have built a long-standing and successful cooperation, including the training of specialists, testing of new plant protection products, fertilizers, biostimulants, wheat varieties and the implementation of demonstration trials.

On 5 December 2018, representatives of Summit Agro delivered a lecture to students from the Agricultural University - Plovdiv. The invitation for the visit was extended by Prof. Dr. Maya Dimitrova (Department of „Agriculture and Herbology). The topic of the presentation was „Summit Agro products for weed control in major field crops“.

The Marketing Manager of Summit Agro, Dr. Evgenia Velinova, presented innovative solutions for weed control in cereal crops, sunflower, oilseed rape and lavender. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Miroslav Tityanov opened the meeting and noted with pride that the company’s employees are predominantly graduates of the Agricultural University, because this is the university that holds a leading position in agricultural education, science and business.