Higher School of Management, Varna

Higher School of Management

Висше училище по мениджмънт (ВУМ)
Established	1996
Rector	Assoc. Prof. Todor Radev, PhD
Location	Varna, Dobrich, Sofia, Bulgaria
Website	www.vum.bg

The Higher School of Management (Bulgarian: Висше училище по мениджмънт, abbr. ВУМ), incorrectly translated as Varna University of Management (abbr. VUM), is an international business school located in Varna, Bulgaria.^[1]

Its primary campus is in Varna. The university awards Bachelor's and master's degrees in the fields of Business and Marketing, IT, Tourism, Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts.

Academic programmes

VUM offers programmes fully taught in English language both for Bachelor's and Master's level:^[2]

• International Hospitality Management;
• International Business Management;
• Business Information Systems;
• Hospitality and Culinary Arts;
• Business and Management Studies;
• International Tourism Management;
• MBA with a Specialist Pathway;
• Master in International Hospitality and Tourism Management;

Undergraduate programmes are also taught in Bulgarian language.

Culinary Arts Institute (CAI) is a part of VUM. It offers a bachelor's degree in Culinary Arts. The programme is taught in English.

VUM offers summer language courses and preparatory semesters for students who need to improve their English.

International Orientation

VUM encourages students to spend 1-2 semesters abroad. The school has experience in international exchange with over 100 European universities, plus a few outside Europe. They participate in the Erasmus+ programme.^[3]

VUM has partnership agreements with more than ten universities in Europe, to transfer to or from, after their first or second years. Transfer result in dual degrees.^[4]

Study facilities

VUM has a library with more than 20 000 books and articles in Marketing, Management, Tourism, IT, etc. The VUM library provides access to electronic databases such as EBSCO, Scopus, ScienceDirect, etc.^[5]

The University operates a number of its own training companies (restaurants, a tour agency, a facility management company and an accounting agency) where students can get training, do their internships or launch their careers.

The Culinary Arts Institute boasts a fully equipped laboratory designed for cooking experiments, sensory analysis and research of colour, smell and texture of food products.

For information about the dormitory, please see Accommodation.

Student diversity

VUM is one of very few universities in Bulgaria with programmes fully taught in English and strong international orientation. The university's diversity of students is rich, with students from more than 40 countries, such as Russia, Ukraine, India, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Turkey, China, France, Spain, etc.^[6]

Rankings

VUM ranks among the top 40 business school according to the "General Performance" criterion in Central and Eastern Europe^[7]

VUM also ranks 7th among all business schools in Central and Eastern Europe, according to the "International Orientation" criterion.^[8]

The University ranks 13th among the best MBA programmes taught in Central Eastern Europe.^[9][10]

Employability

Careers Centre at VUM assists current students in searching for job offers and serves as a connection between the international students and local employers.The university also provides opportunities for students to get international placements in countries such as Spain, Germany, Greece, UK and USA.^[11]

Faculty and Research

Regular teaching staff come from more than six countries. VUM lecturers are often invited to give lectures in universities in Europe, USA and Asia and lecturers from foreign universities visit VUM as well. Some notable lecturers at VUM are prof. Michael Minkov, prof. Stanislav Ivanov and prof. Vesselin Blagoev. Among their scholarly achievements are the European Journal of Tourism Research, numeorus textbooks in marketing and management and also contributions to Geert Hofstede's research of cross-cultural dimensions.^[12] The rector Todor Radev himself has been reported to have been an agent to the communist state security agency. Vesselin Blagoev has served as deputy minister under Todor Zhivkov.

Campuses

VUM has campuses in Varna (main campus), Dobrich, as well as an affiliated body in Sofia.^[13]

Accommodation

VUM provides students with a dormitory in Dobrich. Every apartment has a separate bathroom, kitchen, gas heating and WiFi. There are twin-bed and single rooms. The Varna campus has rooms with beds, separate and shared bathrooms, gas heating and WiFi.

Scholarships and Financial Aid

All local and international students can apply for scholarships based on their academic achievements or financial circumstances. More than half of VUM's students get scholarships. They are available for both undergraduate and postgraduate students.^[14]

Student life

Activities

Most VUM students are actively involved into social activities. There are plenty of clubs, such as the Dance club, Journalism club, Hospitality Industry Travel & Tourism society and a university football club. Students participate in many events, conferences and meetings organized by the university. Students studying Hospitality and Tourism participate in the EMCup, one of the most prestigious competitions in the Hospitality industry. Many students studying IT take part in Web Summit Hackday. Students participate in the annual HR competition organized by the Bulgarian Association of People Management.

History and Accreditation

1996 - International University College was established as a higher educational institution in the frame of the Bulgarian higher educational system;^[1]

2 April 1998 - it was officially accredited as a Higher educational institution by the National Evaluation and Accreditation Agency of the Republic of Bulgaria;^[15]

5 May 1999 - International University College was officially recognized by Bulgarian Parliament (published in State Gazette 44/1999);

21 May 2015 - International University College was officially converted into Varna University of Management by decision of the Bulgarian Parliament (published in State Gazette on 26.05.2015).

External links

• Vum.bg
• vumk.eu (old website, information may be outdated)

References

Coordinates: 43°12′44″N 27°54′32″E / 43.2122°N 27.9089°E / 43.2122; 27.9089