[Tzvetalina Genova]

Dear Colleagues,

Varna University of Management (VUM) is an established higher education institution in Bulgaria, headquartered in the Black Sea Basin.

Over the past years, we have actively developed, coordinated, and participated in INTERREG and Erasmus+ projects focusing on the sustainable development of coastal areas, particularly in the fields of the blue economy and blue growth. Some of our most important initiatives in this area include INTERSMARTS – Interdisciplinary Solutions for Smart Sustainable Tourism and Services for Blue Growth in the Black Sea Basin, recognised as the Best 2025 INTERREG NEXT BSB Project and recipient of other international awards for innovative project development; BIOSUSTAIN – Sustaining BSB Biodiversity through Traditional Knowledge and Innovation; and CodeBLUE – Cross-Disciplinary Innovative Education in Tourism and Services for a Sustainable Blue Economy, among others.

VUM also hosts a regional centre of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) and maintains active cooperation with several BAS institutes, whose researchers also contribute to our academic programmes.

Our project experience is broad and diverse, covering different programmes, thematic areas, and types of activities, including research, education and capacity building, innovation, stakeholder engagement, and sustainable territorial development.

In this context, we would be very interested in identifying fellow initiatives and organisations within the Euro-MED programme where VUM could join as a partner. We would also be pleased to contribute our expertise and experience to the development and elaboration of project proposals.

We would be happy to explore potential synergies and opportunities for cooperation.

Warm greetings,

Tzvetalina Genova
Head of Projects and Applied Research Department
Varna University of Management
International Management Institute
13a Oborishte Str.
9000 Varna, Bulgaria
E-mail: tzvetalina.genova@vumk.eu; projects_dept@vumk.eu

• This topic was modified 3 weeks ago by Tzvetalina Genova.

[Emina Mravović]

Dear,

Thank you for sharing the information about VUM and your experience within INTERREG and Erasmus+ projects. We see a strong potential for cooperation, particularly around sustainable territorial development, biodiversity, environmental protection, research and capacity building.

CEEO could contribute to future Euro-MED initiatives through its experience in biodiversity and environmental protection projects, research and data analysis, and GIS-based mapping and spatial assessment. Our team has worked on projects addressing biodiversity, climate change, sustainable development and the green transition, combining technical expertise with stakeholder engagement and practical work at local level.

We can also contribute with our strong cooperation with municipalities, public institutions and other local and national stakeholders, which allows us to support stakeholder mobilisation, consultations, capacity-building activities and the implementation and testing of project solutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Depending on the project concept, CEEO could particularly contribute to:

-biodiversity and environmental assessments and research;
-GIS mapping, spatial analysis and territorial planning;
-development and testing of methodologies and practical tools;
-stakeholder engagement and capacity building;
-cooperation with municipalities and public institutions;
-pilot activities and demonstration of project solutions at local level;
-communication, knowledge transfer and dissemination of project results.

We believe that combining VUM’s strong academic and research capacities and experience in sustainable development with CEEO’s technical expertise, field experience and network of public-sector stakeholders could create valuable synergies.

We would be very interested in being part of future project partnerships with VUM and would be happy to explore opportunities within the Euro-MED programme where CEEO could contribute as a partner. We would also be glad to discuss potential project ideas and contribute to proposal development where our expertise is relevant.

We look forward to exploring possible cooperation.

Warm greetings,
Emina Mravović, President of the Association
Center for Energy, Energy Efficiency and Environment
emina.mravovic@ceeo.ba

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