Agricultural University Plovdiv
Plovdiv, Bulgaria
www.au-plovdiv.bg
✔ The Agricultural University Plovdiv was established in 1945. Even today it is the only specialized state-funded university in Bulgaria in the field of agricultural and life sciences, a university with high national, European and international prestige.
✔ The Agricultural University provides training in the three educational degrees – Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD. The major structural units are – Faculty of Agronomy, Faculty of Horticulture with Viticulture, Faculty of Plant Protection and Agroecology, Faculty of Economics.The Agricultural University – Plovdiv is a partner in the university alliance UNIgreen. The alliance is the first “green” European university in agronomic, biotechnological and natural sciences which includes 8 partner universities.
✔ The main goals of the Agricultural University- Plovdiv are in line with the national and European priorities in the field of agriculture, food, bioeconomy, ecology, sustainable development and tourism.
✔ Agricultural University- Plovdiv started working on bioeconomy in 2018 year. The first initiative was the project CAPBIO4BG under the Ministry of Education and Science . The project strengthens the research & innovation capacity of AUP in the area of bioeconomy to develop and implement research & innovation projects in bioeconomy value chains at regional, national, cross-border and international level. The CAPBIO4BG project increases the university's capacity for multidisciplinary cooperation in the field of scientific research and innovation as a key prerequisite for the implementation of regional bioeconomy strategies and education in Bulgaria and the region. Agricultural University - Plovdiv strengthens its position as an academic participant in the development of bioeconomy initiatives, including the development of a center for knowledge and innovation in the field of bioeconomy in the Plovdiv region. The project promotes systematic and integrated approaches to acquiring scientific knowledge and innovations in the field of bioeconomy and will build the capacity of the Agricultural University - Plovdiv as a regional center of bioeconomy knowledge. The Agricultural University - Plovdiv is twinning with three European universities with excellent track record on the bioeconomy: University of Bologna, Wageningen University and Research and University College of Dublin. Developing living labs and regional hubs on bioeconomy will allow Agricultural University - Plovdiv to boost the research potential of its staff by engaging them in real showcases on bioeconomy to link science-policy-stakeholders interactions.
✔ The research policy of the Agricultural university- Plovdiv involves support in the implementation of research projects for achieving scientific solutions in favour of agricultural business. Priority areas of research include: food and nutrition security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, study of ground waters and bioeconomy; responses to climate change, environment and resource efficiency. The Agricultural University of Plovdiv is a coordinator of the National Scientific programme of the Ministry of Education and Science"Healthy Foods for a Strong Bioeconomy and Quality of Life". The programme will stimulate targeted research and policies in the fields of agriculture, food and bioeconomy, which will help addressing the three major challenges facing these sectors today: ensuring viable food production in response to growing global demand;ensuring sustainable management of natural resources and climate action and the balanced development of the bio-economy of rural areas and their communities.
Success story / project / good practice
✔ AUP is a partner in Horizon Europe projects, some of which work on bioeconomy- e.g COOPID, MainstreamBIO, BIOLOC.
✔ AUP is the Bulgarian Hub of EIT Food
✔ A Bioeconomy bachelor and master course was established as a result of the AUP work for the last few years
✔ On 9 Oct 2023 offically the Plovdiv Bioeconomy Hub was established
https://capbio4.bg/en/?go=news&p=detail&newsId=515
https://capbio4.bg/en/?go=news&p=detail&newsId=523
https://capbio4.bg/en/?go=news&p=detail&newsId=531
https://www.au-plovdiv.bg/en/news/regional-innovation-valleys-event