Abstract:

Nowadays, the interaction between universities and business has become a mandatory trend all over the world. Thanks to the rapid development of technology and global competitiveness, innovation has become a major research topic, attracting considerable attention from universities, companies and governments, prompting them to interact with each other. In addition to the traditional missions, education and research, universities add a third mission focusing on entrepreneurship, commercialization and knowledge transfer. For example, through continuing education programs, patents, technology transfer offices, science parks and incubators. During the interaction, universities and businesses gain mutual access to each other's resources, which gives them competitive advantages and benefits for society. In fact, interaction with business has become a prerequisite for funding universities in many countries. Many countries have policies to strengthen the interaction between universities and businesses.

The interaction “university – business” can be manifested in different forms and at different levels. Low and medium level: admission of students for internships, field trips, financial support and equipment for teaching and learning. Higher levels: exchange of experts, exchange of knowledge; investment in research, joint intellectual property and technology transfer; joint investments in business development to commercialize research results and provide products and services. The interaction between the university and business is complex and integrated between the parties, so it is based less on short-term financial benefits and more often on long-term ones, especially closely related to the thinking, attitudes and desires of the parties.

In Bulgaria, more and more career centers are finding a place in higher education institutions. Entrepreneurs get involved in teaching, and business funds and even participates in curriculum design. Companies are increasingly committed to supporting scientific work and creating development centers, and there are entire programs created on their behalf. The drive to expand young people’s professional career opportunities is reflected in numerous initiatives for synergy between business and education. Recently, various forms of interaction between business and universities have been increasingly successfully developed. For example, company representatives may participate in the examination committees. This is a tradition that is gradually being restored, especially in technical universities and faculties. There is also a change in the curricula, which allows business to get involved directly in the educational process and provide that valuable know-how that will add real value to the education of future graduates.

As a result of the theoretical and practical arguments, an attempt has been made to identify the relationships between business and education based on the models used in Bulgaria, including four main forms of interaction: education, research, commercialization, management, as well as to prove that the relationship between business and education is not only possible but also successful. Adapting to changes and the dynamics of events requires effort, and the good news is that more and more companies and educational institutions are willing to invest time and resources to participate in this mission.

Keywords:

Education, business, cooperation models, Bulgaria.