Agribusiness Management and Rural Areas Development (in Bulgarian)
Short presentation of the programme:
The programme is a joint innovative product of New Bulgarian University (NBU) and the Institute of Agrarian Economics (IAE), which focuses on a balanced combination of theoretical and practically oriented courses based on the latest achievements of world and national science and practice in the management of agrarian business and rural areas. Globalised business, turbulent and rapidly changing on the one hand and the increasingly significant environmentalisation of interested stakeholders on the other, require managers who are modern, fast, creative, having non-standard and innovative ideas, strategies, models, concepts and management tools, leading to success the organisations they manage. The lecture courses offered are aimed at meeting the above challenges. The training courses include projects and a master's internship in teams of 3-4 students to develop practical management skills as well as teamwork skills. The courses are taught by professors, associate professors and assistants at NBU and IAE as well as leading experts from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, the National Agricultural Advisory Service, state agencies, prominent specialists and consultants. The programme offers a preparatory module to applicants from other professional areas and an introductory semester to the holders of the professional bachelor’s degree.
Major and professional qualification:
Major:
Sustainable Agribusiness Management and Green Economy
Qualification: MA in Sustainable Agribusiness Management and Green Economy
Practical training courses:
The programme provides placements and internships in prestigious economic and financial institutions, agricultural enterprises, agricultural cooperatives, municipal and regional agricultural offices, processing enterprises and enterprises for trading in agricultural products, commodity exchanges and markets, consulting firms and bureaus for the development of agribusiness, production structure and marketing, agrarian management, development of investment projects and implementation of investment decisions, use of credits and others, agencies, directorates and departments of the Ministry of Agriculture in positions requiring in-depth economic qualification. Placements and internships prepare students for setting up their own or family business in the agrarian sphere and green economy, organising and holding activities in agrarian tourism in rural areas.
International mobility:
The programme provides an opportunity for Erasmus+ international student mobility at universities in Italy, Germany, France, Switzerland, Poland, Finland, etc.
Graduate Student Competencies:
• Development and management of projects in agribusiness;
• Development of modern and non-standard strategies for the development of agribusiness;
• Product quality and competitiveness of agricultural companies;
• Management of the finances of agricultural companies;
• Markets and regulation in agribusiness and the green economy;
• Localisation of agrarian tourism;
• Risk assessment in agribusiness and rural areas and use of risk management tools;
• Common agricultural policy of the European Union and its benefits for farmers and rural areas;
• Activity of the various organisations directly or indirectly related to agribusiness and the green economy;
• Alternative sources of income in rural areas;
• Organisation, management and optimisation of production, commercial and financial activities in agriculture;
• Financing and crediting of investment processes in the green economy;
• Risk factors of agricultural production;
• Technological and economic connections in the agrarian sector and the green economy;
• Planning, forecasting, innovation in agriculture;
• Problems of localisation and vertical integration in the context of the European Union;
• Qualities and standards of agricultural goods;
• Problems of agrarian ecology and agrarian tourism;
• Problems of agrarian policy.
Graduation:
Completion of studies takes place by defending a master’s dissertation or passing a state exam upon earning the required number of credits.
The graduation process complies with the NBU Standard for Educational and Qualification Degree Completion.
Occupation and possible positions:
Graduates pursue careers at various levels in prestigious state and private economic and financial institutions, agricultural enterprises, agricultural cooperatives, municipal and regional agricultural offices, processing enterprises and enterprises for trading in agricultural products, commodity exchanges and markets, consulting firms and bureaus for the development of agribusiness.