ASSOCIATE PARTNERS

Plovdiv Regional administration is a Legal entity funded by the state budget and settled in the City of Plovdiv as the administrative centre of the region. The Regional Administration is managed and represented by the Governor. The Regional Governor is appointed by the Council of Ministers. The regional governor provides the governance in place and ensures consistency between national and local interests in regional policy. Some of the key objectives of the Regional Administration in Plovdiv cover the following areas:

- Conducting and coordinating of regional and national policies;

- Supporting and implementing the activities of the Regional Development Council of South Central Region and the Regional Development Council of Plovdiv region;

- Implementation of regional and sectoral policies on the territory of Plovdiv region;

- Environmental protection activities, preventive activities to increase the security of the population; Reducing the level of unemployment and boosting business education;

- Youth and Lifelong Learning Policy in Plovdiv Region; Support for the promotion of civil and business organizations and partnerships, etc.

As an associate partner in the INVEST project the Plovdiv Regional Administration will contribute to the promotion of policies at national and regional level in the field of sustainable regional development, improving the links with higher education and promoting the lifelong learning program, the implementation of the environmental protection policy with a view to the sustainable use of regional and natural resources and the reduction of youth unemployment through the implementation of youth training programs to help and motivate young people to improve their qualification and to become more competitive at the job market.

The Regional Development Agency with Business Support Centre for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (RDABSC SMEs) is a non-profit organizations with socially useful activities. It is more than 25 years a partner in the field of: - regional development - improvement of the economic environment - creating local mechanisms for development and support of the businesses (micro, small and medium-sized enterprises), government and administration (at national, regional, municipal and local level) and NGOs sectors. RDA BSC SMEs - Plovdiv is an active participant in the process of creating the regional economic development and innovation policies, social entrepreneurship, green infrastructure and energy efficiency, vocational education and development of labour market, historical and cultural heritage and tourism, in the development of regional and municipal development plans and strategies, regional innovation strategies, communication strategies and others. Participation in regional, district and municipal development councils, councils for cooperation and tripartite councils at regional, district and municipal levels, in national

As Associated Partner the Regional Development Agency with Business Support Centre for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises will contribute to strengthen the links between the university and business and will support the curriculum development based on the requirements and needs of the labour market.

Cluster ’’Trakia Economic Zone’’ is a non-profit legal entity with private use. Cluster includes key representatives of private business, NGOs and Higher Education Institutions active in the field of construction, design and regional development, which ensures the achievement of common cluster goals.

Strengthening strategic partnerships across the European industrial parks and business clusters, following the concept and vision of INVEST project. Development of the export profile of the region as well as attracting foreign investors and creating new jobs – by attracting modern industries and providing excellent logistics to create conditions for the development of export-oriented enterprises. Supporting the cooperation between business and education at regional level.

EURASHE is an international non-profit association according to Belgian law. The aims of EURASHE are:

- to contribute to the creation of a European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and European Research Area (ERA) by influencing policy

-making at European level on issues pertaining to professional higher education;

- to represent the members’ common interests at European level, as well as outside the EHEA;

- to promote professional higher education in the EHEA and ERA;

- to provide members with a platform for communication, information and exchange of views, with a focus on issues relevant to the future development of higher education;

- to ensure and safeguard the cooperation between the members of the Association;

- to achieve cooperation in the field of higher education by establishing close links with other organisations that have similar objectives.

- Learning from the partnership experience, transferring this to other institutions;

- Provide a platform for exchange with other similar networks with strong element of applied sciences and professionally oriented higher education;

- Identification of challenges and opportunities for joint European strategy of the partnership and concrete activities and their translation into policy messages towards EC, national governments and other stakeholders;

- Promotion of the INVEST alliance and its achievements;

- Contribution to the process of common international accreditation of the joint programs which the INVEST alliance will develop and in the process of external evaluation;

- Organising consulting events (on-site as well as on-line), pay attention to topics addressed within the pilot partnerships

- be it roundtables, workshops or contributions to EURASHE annual conferences. set up a special task force on European universities within the EURASHE working groups structure, etc.