site.btaNational Fund to Support Bulgarians Wishing to Study in World's Top Universities

On the eve of Sts Cyril and Methodius Day, a Stefan Stambolov Fund National Programme is officially set up to give Bulgarian students the opportunity to obtain a Master's degree in some of the most elite universities in the world, the Government Information Service said. Under the national programme, created at the initiative of Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, the State will provide selected students with up to 200,000 leva a year under the condition they return to work here after graduation. 

The public discussion on the draft national programme concluded on May 9 and it now awaits the Cabinet's approval. The selection of the first group of ten students to receive funding for their studies abroad in the 2022/2023 academic year is planned for June. 

The Fund will allocate 2 million leva each year in the course of three years. Three selection campaigns will be held to approve ten students each, whose transport costs to the foreign university, tuition fees, accommodation costs and medical insurance will be covered. The selected candidates have to sign a contract with the State obliging them to return to Bulgaria within six months of their graduation to work for at least three years, or to return the funding with the corresponding interest. 

The applicants must be Bulgarian nationals with a Bachelor's or Master's degree obtained in the last five years in a professional field corresponding to the Master's programme in the application and with an average grade of at least 5.00 (out of 6.00). This year's funding will be for studies in universities ranked in the top 15 by the four leading world rankings at the time of the national programme's elaboration. 

In a video address about the Stefan Stambolov Fund's establishment, Prime Minister Petkov says that Sts Cyril and Methodius opened the Bulgarian people's path to knowledge through the Bulgarian alphabet. In modern history, progressive politician Stefan Stambolov by investing in the European education of motivated youth provided the country with people who laid the foundations of contemporary Bulgaria. 

The Fund is aimed at helping Bularians with proven potential to obtain skills related to the professions of the present and the future, and to apply their experience in Bulgaria. The knowledge and competencies gained during their studies abroad as well as their broadened worldview will contribute to the development of Bulgaria's economy and society, Petkov says in the video address.