Trud continues the professional discussion on higher education in Bulgaria. It was opened by Professor Borislav Borisov - a person with outstanding organizational experience and proven practices in the development of university education in our country. In a series of articles, Prof. Borisov analyzes the key problems he sees and the prospects for higher education in Bulgaria. Later, the Rector of the Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" Professor Atanas Gerdzhikov, the Rector of the Medical University - Varna Prof. Krasimir Stoyanov,the Rector of the University of Mining and Geology "St. Ivan Rilski" Prof. Luben Totev, who is also a chairperson of the Rectors' Council, Prof. Georgi Mihov, Rector of the Technical University of Sofia, Prof. Hristo Bondzholov, Rector of Veliko Tarnovo University "St. St. Cyril and Methodius" and Prof. Plamen Bochkov, Rector of New Bulgarian University took part in the discussion with their texts.

Today we continue with Prof. Anna Nedialkova - President of Varna Free University "Chernorizets Hrabar".

At the same time, a number of university rectors in the country have expressed a desire to participate in the discussion with their own articles. The Trud will publish them every Wednesday.

I follow with interest the professional discussion of Trud newspaper for higher education in Bulgaria. Even though it is a bit late, it provides valuable insights into the state and problems of the system. If something still does not feel fine in it, it is the look ahead to the future and a vision of own academic behavior in the realities and challenges of this complex period, marked by the effects of globalized and multiplying crises - financial, economic, demographic and crisis of international relations. This highlights a number of factors and risks that have a major impact both on the growth trends of the higher education system and on its geopolitical specificities.

The upcoming period coincides with the launch of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which in turn generates a dynamic process of revolutionary changes in the organization of public production and business models. A new educational, scientific and innovative ecosystem is in the process of being built, which is expected to meet the challenges of Industry 4.0 and Big Data / "skills revolution". The EU's new vision for science and education focuses on the transition from the transfer of knowledge to open science and open innovation, the creation of a single digital space and digital hub networks. This undoubtedly means new factors and indicators of the competitiveness of universities, which become priorities of their strategic development.

 Source: National Statistical Institute (birth rate); media (first graders)

 In the framework of the discussion I will save the widely discussed information about the state and trends of the different elements of the environment - geopolitics, economy, social aspects, etc. I will try to emphasize their consideration as a context of the state of the higher education system itself and its factor-determined trends. We are talking about years of crisis situations in key spheres of society with which higher education and science are in organic interaction.

 The consequences of the demographic crisis come, of course, first.

Similarly to the rest of Europe, the last two decades in Bulgaria are characterized by a decline in birth rates and an aging population. There is a significant drop in the number of young people applying to university, which for the period 2007-2017 exceeds 40%. This dynamics is reinforced by the emigration process that is observed throughout the Eastern European region. The number of potential candidate students is expected to stabilize in 2016-17 and to register a slight growth after 2018, but for the period 2018-2023 to stay within 60-65 thousand per year, which is significant under the capacity of the system.

In the coming years labour supply will continue to be predetermined by these negative demographic trends. In the medium term, the tendency to reduce the relative share of the working-age population, the leak of youth and highly skilled labour will remain sustainable. The problem is not only the troublesome reduction of young Bulgarians who find work in their home country, but also the widespread demotivation among the younger generation for employment in important spheres of the country's economy. The discrepancy between the personnel trained in the higher education system and the demand for labour is neither a one-sided nor so elementary problem. It is the result of a number of serious labour market disproportions.

In the period of the financial and economic crisis, the configuration and structure of the labour market in Bulgaria changed in an extremely unfavorable direction. On the one hand, there is a alarming decline in business activity in up-and-coming sectors of the real economy, and on the other hand, most small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which dominate the Bulgarian economy, do not have a high-tech profile and do not seek young specialists with academic education. A considerable share of the jobs in the Bulgarian labour market in crisis are predominantly of low quality and highly undervalued pay. As a consequence, persistent internal imbalances appeared in the national and regional labour markets. For that reason the public demand for specialists with higher education became equally inaccurate and short-sighted. Cyclical unemployment has become a sustainable structural phenomenon, the overcoming of which requires special efforts and technological time for change. The length of stay in the labour market has been prolonged, and the prospects for a successful start and professional career of graduating students and graduates from vocational schools have become uncertain. For the next few years, youth unemployment has become the most acute problem.

The bad thing is that there is another, no less dangerous, effect here. Gradually the career as a value gives way to quick earnings, if it is possible without paying taxes and social security contributions. The so-called gray economy has attracted a lot of young people, some of whom are still at university. Employment in this segment creates non-standard sub-cultures, environment and motivations for realization based on deviations from legal norms and social standards typical of Europe and the welfare states. The guilt for this is not so much in the education and upbringing of young people as in the counterproductive impact of another factor - the devaluation of labour and the lack of adequacy between payment and education necessary for the workplace.

For more than two decades in Bulgaria as a prerequisite for financial stability under the terms of the Currency Board and as a factor for attracting foreign investments, the doctrine of maintaining a low level of salaries has been imposed. The potential underlying in this concept has already been exhausted, and not by accident, serious analysts advise us to quickly change our income policy because the price we pay for it is too high and is measured by the growing shortage of teachers, doctors, engineers, etc.

It is likely that universities are also responsible for the declining interest of young people in education and science, but we cannot overlook the effects of chronic under-financing of higher education and science, even if they are a "priority of the nation." Low payouts demotivate young professionals because they automatically turn them into working poor, with very narrow prospects for growth in the service and income hierarchy. Let us ask ourselves what young people expect after graduating from the university? I will highlight at least four things that polls show - professional challenges, clear paths and support for career development, adequate pay, a favorable and secure living environment and meeting their needs. If we downplay this fact, we will continue to count the suitcases at Terminal 2. Therefore, here I will also raise the question about the socio-cultural context of higher education development, which is built on four important elements:

1. quality of life;

2. unemployment;

3. social stratification;

4. people's attitudes and expectations

Analyzing them we can make some not very optimistic conclusions:

• Bulgaria continues to be among the poorest countries in Europe;
• Survival care increases the share of people with falling chances of gaining education and satisfying other groups of cultural needs;
• The financial and material breakdown of society will remain the dominant feature of the next period. This differentiation will also be reflected in the costs that households are willing to make for education and culture.

 Despite these negative trends, I will support the shared view in the discussion that it will be a gross mistake if we allow education - and especially the higher education - to shrink to the scale of the demographic collapse. The decapitalization of this sector will bring more harm to society, more than the poor privatization model. It is important to make sense of the possible alternatives and approaches to adapting universities to the challenges of the environment, to generate new ideas for risk management with a view to sustainable development of the system and preservation of its unique academic identity. In the conditions of globalization, it is natural to seek compensation for the national market deficits of the international one. A chance for the higher education is to preserve its potential by protecting its competitiveness on a global scale by attracting the attention of consumers from other countries and enriching the menu of educational services offered. Cross-border higher education is partially fueled by the increase in world-wide demand for higher education and is characterized by increased student mobility, courses and programs, and greater mobility of institutions across national borders.

But this process is not easy and requires at least two things from universities - guarantees for a qualitative and convertible educational and scientific product and a good orientation in the trends of the global educational market. And the state is expected to systematically implement policies to make Bulgaria an attractive educational destination.

Globally, international student mobility largely reflects the South-North phenomenon. The two main trends are: Asian students entering the major academic systems of North America, Western Europe and Australia, as well as cross-border mobility within the European Union. Do we have an answer to the question "Where can Bulgaria be in this process?"

According to the Education at a Glance annual report published in September 2017 by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), differences in the access to higher education remain high and the ability of foreign competitors to overcome poorly funded in-country higher education systems is increased. ICT-based higher education is likely to become the most significant driving force of cross-border provision of educational services. Somewhere on this plane, Bulgaria should look for its new educational markets.

One of the most noticeable trends over the last few decades on a global scale is the growth of private higher education. At present, about 30% of world-class students are trained in private institutions. In general, the private sector responds to different segments of demand. I point out this fact to share my concern about the still underestimated private higher education institutions in Bulgaria and even the open discrimination of their students in not one of their peer-oriented policies.

It is important for education to respond flexibly to the needs of different social groups and their level of solvent demand. A crucial condition for this, of course, remains the proven quality. Higher education should increase its responsibility for developing skills and qualifications that are adequate to demand. It is particularly important to shorten the period of training as well as to improve the methodologies for recognition of prior education. Higher education allowing for flexible realization in several professional fields as well as a portfolio of certificates for additional skills and professional competence will be highly appreciated.

Taking into account all this, VFU "Chernorizets Hrabar" chose the following priorities of its strategy for the next five-year period:

1. Changing the educational model for building modern competencies;

2. Strongly increasing the share and quality of research;

3. Consolidation of the academic potential and capacity development for realization of the new educational model and building up an innovative ecosystem;

4. Developing a high-tech environment based on the world scientific achievements in the respective subject area and applying the modern ICT and digital technologies;

5. Focus on creating and stimulating markets;

6. Management based on the balance between market - product - capacity - economic and social result;

7. Ensuring the system's sustainability by creating an adequate, internationally convertible academic capacity, aiming at ensuring the necessary resources and managing them on a project basis.

To sum up, if we try to define the new paradigm of the Bulgarian higher education, it would be "New environment → new actors → a new model of activity to achieve the goals."