Varna Free University "Free University" participates as a partner institution in the three-year project "CruiseT - Network of Collaborating Centres for the development of cruise tourism in the Black Sea Region", project №543681-TEMPUS-1-2013-1 -DE-TEMPUS-JPHES , programme "TEMPUS". The total Cost of the project is 1 338 013,60 €

The coordinator of the project is the University of Paderborn, Paderborn, Germany. The project includes and 26 partner organizations from Ukraine, Georgia, Germany, Romania, Slovakia.

The project CruiseT consistently realizes the objectives of the ENPI East, regional and national priorities of TEMPUS programme for Georgia and Ukraine, such  as maintaining and expanding cooperation in the two eastern neighbors and in the inter-regional cooperation in the Black Sea region in the field of tourism.

The project aims to promote cooperation in the field of higher education and training in the field of tourism between the EU and its eastern neighbors (Georgia, Ukraine), to support the development of tourism and in particular to improve the quality of cruise tourism in the Black Sea region by strengthening the cooperation between universities and industry and to improve the attractiveness of higher education in the partner countries of the Black Sea region.

The specific objectives of the project are:
• Intensification of cooperation between universities, companies, associations and public administration of the tourism sector in Georgia and Ukraine;
• Creation of a network of cooperation in the field of cruise tourism in the Black Sea region;
• Building a network of three regional centers of excellence for the development of cruise tourism in the Black Sea region;
• Linguistic, methodical-didactic and professional qualifications of the partners of the project on "Cruise tourism", as well as other relevant issues of tourism; 
• Development, testing and implementation of training proposals and academic master's programs in the "Management of cruise tourism" for the regional actors; 
• Development, testing and implementation of proposals aimed at practice on "Research and Consulting" for regional participants of cruise tourism; 
• Development and implementation of measures to monitor and ensure the quality of the results and the ongoing monitoring of the project;
• Development and implementation of measures to ensure the sustainability and dissemination of project results.

Project partners:
• Universität Paderborn, Germany
• Hochschule Bremerhaven, Germany
• Duale Hochschule Baden-Wurttemberg (DHBW), Germany
• Univerzita Mateja Bela-Slovakia
• "Ovidius" University of Constanta, Romania
• Europaische Akademie fur angewandte Forschung und Fortbildung
• Odessa National Maritime Academy, Ukraine
• Taurida National V.Vernadsky University, Ukraine
• Crimean university for the Humanities - Ukraine
• Kherson State University - Ukraine
• Batumi State Maritime Academy - Georgia
• Kutaisy University - Georgia
• Guram Tavartkiladze Teaching University - Georgia
• Caucasus International University - Georgia
• Ministry of Health Resorts and Tourism of the Autonomous Crimean region - Ukraine
• Georgian National tursiticheska Administration - Georgia
• Department of Tourism and Resorts of Adjara AR - Georgia
• Association of the ports of the Black and Azov Seas
• Crimean Republic Association of Regional Development Promotion - Ukraine
• Kaufmann Unternehmensberatung GmbH - Germany
• School of Foreign Languages ​​"LINGUIST"
• ADJARA TOUR - Georgia
• Batumi Sea Port LTD - Georgia
• State enterprise "Odessa Commercial Sea Port" - Ukraine
• State Inspectorate security of river and sea freight - Ukraine