Bulgaria and North Macedonia step up exchange of school and university students

Bulgaria and North Macedonia will work to step up the exchange of school and university students and teachers, Bulgaria’s Ministry of Education and Science said n February 17 . A memorandum of cooperation will be signed between their national agencies for the EU Erasmus+ Programme. This transpired at a meeting of the Joint Working Group on Culture, Tourism, Education, Science, Youth and Sports, held in Skopje.

The meeting was attended by Bulgaria's Education and Science Minister Nikolai Denkov and Deputy Minister prof. Genka Petrova-Tashkova.

The two countries will cooperate for a more active exchange of students and teachers from secondary schools and vocational schools, as well as for the development of dual education. In this regard, seminars will be organised to exchange experiences and good practices.

The agreement will also provide for improved cooperation in higher education. A joint meeting of rectors of higher education institutions from the two countries will take place to discuss the possibilities of building university networks. The development of joint research projects by research teams from both countries was also discussed during the talks.

The activities in the agreement will be funded under the Erasmus+ programme. So far, both countries have successfully implemented a number of youth projects involving students and teachers from both North Macedonia and Bulgaria.

A joint programme for cooperation in education and science is in a process of preparation. It aims to stimulate mobility between students, teachers and researchers from universities. Joint projects in fields of mutual interest, publication of articles, joint events, etc. are encouraged.