The opening of the academic year 2023/2024 at IBS
We marked the beginning of the new academic year 2023/2024 at the International Business School!
The Rector, Prof. Dr. Georgi Apostolov, welcomed everyone with “Welcome!” to our Alma Mater and conveyed wishes for success to the students and faculty. First-year students also received the first shared knowledge from him about the meaning of education: “Education is not expressed in the equal exchange of goods, in which participants have gained and lost something. At the core of culture and the meaning of education is development. It is communication, which is more than an exchange, in which we mutually enrich each other. Believe us! We not only impart our knowledge and experience to you, but at the same time, we learn from you. We are extremely excited at the beginning of each academic year because in you, there sparkles the energy, enthusiasm, dreams, goals, desire, and ambition to develop, accumulate knowledge, experience, opportunities, and to realize yourselves. We gain from this because you share with us your energy and enthusiasm. This makes us happy and inspired to develop and pass on what we know!”
On behalf of the Student Council at IBS and personally, Simona Mihaylova, Chairperson of the Student Council, extended greetings: “Lectures should be a dialogue. Be proactive, participate with questions, share ideas, challenge each other with questions because the most effective learning happens this way—when a person thinks and works in a team. We don’t have ready answers for everything, but we must seek them, and when it seems that the case has no solution, be creative and solve it. Our teachers are always ready to help us—we just need to be bolder and seek their help. They can make even the most complex subject interesting—you just have to trust them. The university doesn’t just teach you theory and practice. Here, you primarily create contacts, friendships, build a student community through which you learn from each other about the “things of life.” Now is the time to discover yourselves, to change along the way—this time is priceless. Good luck!”
After the official opening, the freshmen immediately felt what it was like to belong to the cohesive and supportive community of IBS. They had a close encounter with their teachers and colleagues from the second and third years, as well as with Chief Assist. Prof Dr. Atanaska Cholakova, who gave them valuable advice on how to make the transition from high school to higher education easier and smoother. At the same time, they had the opportunity for new acquaintances and experiences and received answers to the academic questions they had.
