Assoc. Prof. Mihaleva, our newspaper as a media partner in many events held by VFU "Chernorizets Hrabar", has interviewed a lot of leading scientists and lecturers which makes clear that you develop a new academic product with new forms, flexible approach and specialties in accordance with the deficits of the business… 

Yes, you are right. The Department of Construction of Buildings and Facilities is trying to keep pace with thecurrent needs of the industry. We offer new Master’s degree programs and the training in the existing specialties is carried out according to updated curricula in accordance with the needs of constructors and designers. I could give as an example the new Master's degree program Construction Engineering which will be launched this year in Varna and Plovdiv. I can say that with conviction since this program aroused great interest and not only in the construction but also in the economic sector. Those willing to study the specialty will upgrade their professional qualifications in three main areas: "Organization and management of investment projects and construction processes"; "Entrepreneurship, Economics and Finance"; "Pricing, costing and bidding of sites."

Regarding the flexible training approach in the Department of Construction of Buildings and Facilities, we provide an opportunity for colleagues - engineers and architects to continuously improve themselves through participation in short courses whose topics are of present interest and prompted by the requirements of modern industry. Also we created special training programs for those working in the sector and in the field of fire safety, which enables them to turn their professional experience and competence in educational degree.

    What are the most topical issuesof the short-termcourses that you organize?

In connectionwith the introduction of the European standardsin the designof building structures(Eurocodes), one ofthe most discussedissues bythe colleaguesin the industryistheir application in thedesign and execution ofbuildings and facilities.Moreover,very soon, from 2015,those rules mustcompletelyreplaceour national ones. This isa significant challengeespecially forpracticingengineers and the Departmentof Construction of Buildings and Facilities responds with the organization of short-termcourses on the separate parts of the Eurocodes. The purpose of thesecourses is notonly to acquaint withthe standards, but mostlyto present theirpractical applicationand to highlightthe differences withour currentpractice. The formerstudentsofthe Faculty of Architectureenjoypreferencesfor participation inthese courses and the present students study on an updatedcurriculumin whichthe Eurocodesare introduced.  

The Department of Construction of Buildings and Facilities has been actively involved in the promotion of the European standards for design and this has been a top priority of the academic staff in recent years. In 2009, my colleague, Assoc.Prof. Ivan Pavlov, PhD. Eng and I were together in the working group at the Bulgarian Academy for Sciences (BAS) involved in the development of the National Annex to BS EN 1998-3: 2005 "Evaluation and restoration/enhancement of buildings." This is the third part of the European standard for the design of earthquake resistance structures. In 2012, together with the same colleague we had the pleasure to be in the company of such eminent professionals in the field of seismic engineering in Bulgaria – Prof. Nikola Ignatiev, PhD, Eng and Prof. Petar Sotirov, PhD, Eng to prepare two practical guides for designing earthquake resistance structures which are editions of the Chamber of Engineers in Investment Design - "Practical guide with worked examples for application of Eurocode 8-1 – Design of structures for earthquake resistance"and "Practical guide with worked examples for application of Eurocode 8-3 – Assessment and enhancement of buildings".

The other topic of current interest of the courses organized in our department in recent months has been the implementation of the Regulation on the management of construction waste and the use of recycled building materials, which entered into force on 13 July 2014.Our students are introduced to the legislative context and the main positions as valuable practical guidance is given how to prepare the new plan for management of construction waste as part of the investment design. This seminar has aroused great interest because this regulation pertains to all participants in the process - designers, constructors, construction supervision and municipal administration.     Major achievements and rich experience of the university in the practical training of students ... This is a good opportunity for developing science and research.

You cannot become a good engineer only by having good theoretical training. I know that from personal experience as a daughter of a constructor. Science and practice should go hand in hand which will give the students clear picture of the actual work on the sites, of the responsibility we bear, and last but not least - to provoke thinking. Most of the lecturers at the Department are practicing engineers, which is a prerequisite for frequent discussions with the students of case studies and the technological practices on real building sites. In the auditorium classes in the special disciplines – Reinforced Concrete Structures, Steel Structures, Reinforced Concrete Bridges, Antiseismic Construction and others, students study the construction of real buildings or facilities as well as their behaviour during earthquakes by film recordings which we usually discuss at length.

The practical training deepens both with the seminars and a separate placement on the respective disciplines that takes place on sites and in the bases of our long-time partners in the fields of construction and fire safety. A large number of students take part in the traditional autumn placement in Turkey, which is organized every year. The program of this placement includes visits to high-rise buildings under construction in highly seismic areas affected by earthquakes, fire services and more.

The students majoring in Fire Safety and Protection of Population had the pleasure to participate in the fire-applied sport competition along with the employees of the Central Fire Service of Antalya. In other words, we aim to enrich the practical experience of our students even during their training in order to be optimally prepared for the reality of their future work Therefore we want the students of our Department of Construction of Buildings and Facilities to gain experience working on sites. I would give an example with the placement carried out during the construction of a water treatment plant foreffluentsin the Municipality of Provadia. We were delighted to be instructed by the technical manager of the site who is a graduate of our Department. 

    The achievements of the architects and civil engineers who have graduated from VFU give us reason to believe that you have chosen the right path – both in theoretical training and in the practical activities.

Indeed, we have reason to be proud of our students as the percentage of those who have followed successful careers in Bulgaria is quite high. One thing that must be pointed out is the fact that most of them start their career even during their studies. The lecturers at the Department are committed not only to deliver lectures to the modern generation of engineers, but also to support of their professional development. In recent years, many employers have sought our cooperation and advice in the choice of professionals for the industry. We believe that we have chosen the right path in the training of our students and will continue to work towards the improvement of education. We create engineers and architects and care about their career.