As the secondments of the ESPAP researchers – Mrs. Claudia Jorge and Dr. Ana Torrado at UNWE in Sofia are approaching the end, a summary of the meetings in the frame of WP2 activities of the Studies-DIG project over the last week of their visit includes:
Several sessions with students were held at UNWE. These sessions involved Master’s students in Public Administration, Bachelor’s students in International Relations, and Erasmus Bachelor’s students from various countries. The discussions focused on how cultural and socio-economic factors influence digitalization in Bulgaria and beyond. Students shared their perspectives on the digital transformation of public administration, education, and everyday life, providing valuable insights for the project’s comparative analysis.
In the scope of their program of activities, a visit to the Ministry of e-Government in Bulgaria was conducted to help them gain a deeper understanding of the country’s digitalization efforts. The visit also allowed the Portuguese researchers to compare national realities with Vice Minister Alexander Yolovski. During the meeting, the discussion was focused on Bulgaria’s digitalization strategy and priorities, shared services, digital infrastructure, and centralization, as well as interoperability, cloud computing, and digital sovereignty. This exchange provided valuable insights into Bulgaria’s ongoing efforts to modernize its public administration through digital technologies. Finally, the UNWE project team organized a workshop on the University of the Future. 20 students from different programs participated in the workshop, and across all students’ teams, there was a shared focus on digital transformation, personalized learning, sustainability, and human-centered innovation. The university of the future is seen as a smart, connected, flexible ecosystem, where technology enhances—not replaces—learning, community, and personal development.
