Abstract:

University education is an inseparable part of the growth and awareness of young people as worthy citizens. It is due to this reason that the social mission of universities is so significant. Unfortunately, the pandemic caused by COVID-19 has brought to the introduction of new approaches to learning, which has in a way moved the centerpiece of the traditional university education.

The state of emergency in all the countries of United Europe has forced universities in the Old Continent to massively switch to non-present, online learning. This temporary measure was necessary to overcome the situation and in no case should it become permanent, because although e-learning systems and educational platforms based on them have a place in the modern educational process, they can not, and in no case should they replace the natural educational process in classical universities. If we extrapolate the total dominance of distance learning, we will soon have to delete the word ”university” from dictionaries and replace it with the expression “a supermarket selling diplomas”.

In this regard, the paper presents our research on important issues related to the commercialization and virtualization of classical universities. Using the methodology of the so-called architectural approach, the mission of the classical universities responsible for the preservation and transmission of knowledge to young people is brought to the fore, bringing them up in the moral commitment to specific social problems. Different points of view are proposed, considering TRADITIONAL AND SMART UNIVERSITIES and specifically the change in attitudes, approaches and methods of education in Bulgaria as a result of the pandemic. The problems that have arisen as a result of COVID-19 and their impact on Bulgarian science have been outlined, with particular emphasis on conducting extracurricular activities, field research and subsequent restrictions on scientists and researchers to conduct research in virtual rather than real work environment.

The results of our research are synthesized in an adaptive conceptual model for university education in a blended (real and virtual) social reality.

Keywords:

Higher education, science, COVID-19, knowledge, classical (traditional) universities, smart university.