The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Documents
Incoming Erasmus
Previous course catalogues| Title | Size | Date added | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application form incoming students | 50.00 KB | 17.09.2024 в 16:00 | |
| Learning agreement - Traineeship | 50.34 KB | 23.07.2024 в 16:58 | |
| Erasmus Course Catalogue 2024-2025 | 5.14 MB | 08.03.2024 в 13:02 | |
| Cost of living database | 11.41 KB | 26.03.2021 в 17:25 | |
| Bulgaria discovered | 4.01 MB | 26.03.2021 в 17:09 | |
| Grading System | 45.00 KB | 12.01.2018 в 13:25 |
The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
was founded in 1869, more than 150 years ago, and is the first institution of modern Bulgaria. At present, it is a scientific research centre with 42 units – institutes, laboratories and specialised units – in all fields of natural, mathematical, engineering, social sciences and humanities. The units of the Academy correspond to faculties/departments of universities. BAS employs approx. 3,000 scientists and approx. 2,000 administrative and technical staff or a total of over 5,000 people. It is also the biggest PhD school in the country.
BAS has been participating in the Erasmus programme since the academic year 2009-2010. The Academy teaches and accepts for studies only PhD students (third cycle) and hosts traineeships for Bachelor, Master and PhD students (first, second and third cycle). Application deadlines are flexible.
Incoming Erasmus students
HOW TO APPLY
BAS has more than 150 Erasmus agreements with universities abroad, and their number is growing. Erasmus agreements between host and sending institutions are the basis for mobility of PhD students for studies. For the mobility of Bachelor, Master or Doctoral students for traineeships, no prior agreement is necessary.
Students apply for exchange mobility at their home University. Deadlines and application requirements differ across HEIs. After selection, you should fill in our Application form and your home institution should sign and put a stamp on it.
BEFORE MOBILITY
- Application documents:
- Application form for Incoming ERASMUS Students.
- Short CV.
- Copy of Identity Card/Passport.
2.1. Learning Agreement for traineeship is only on paper
- Learning agreement for studies
In order to prepare the Learning Agreement for studies, students have to make their choice of subjects from the List of courses:
Course catalogue in English:
https://www.bas.bg/?page_id=48356#1391-1395-incoming-erasmus
Course catalogue in Bulgarian:
http://edu.bas.bg/courses.html
You are allowed to choose courses on the basis of your interest regardless of your receiving institute.
The content of the Learning agreement can be coordinated via e-mail with the contact person of the bilateral agreement between the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and your university and with the Erasmus Coordinator of BAS before being signed.
- Online version – OLA:
Universities which have registered on the Online Learning Agreement platform use the online learning agreement. Your Erasmus Office will let you know. The Academy does use the OLA platform. Students have to register on the platform either with university e-mail or gmail address: https://www.learning-agreement.eu/user/login
or they can download the mobile application and use it with same login details as the desktop version: https://erasmusapp.eu/
The document has to be signed by you and your Home University Coordinator (Responsible person) via the platform in order to be accepted and approved by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
The Receiving Administrative Contact person has to be filled in:
Tomina Galibova, Erasmus Coordinator
erasmus@cu.bas.bg, +35929795387
The Receiving Responsible person is:
Prof. Evdokia Pasheva, Institutional Coordinator
eva@bio21.bas.bg, +35929795387
- Paper version:
In case your Home University does not use the Online Learning Agreement platform you could use a paper-based/pdf Learning Agreement. The document should be duly filled in electronically (not handwritten), signed by you and also signed and stamped (or digitally signed) by the responsible coordinator at your Home University. Please note that your University might as well have developed its own form of Learning Agreement.
- Language Requirements
Courses are conducted in Bulgarian or English and only in occasional cases in other languages. Level B1 of CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) is required, a certificate from the Online Language Support (OLS) page of the EU is recommended – register and write English placement test in the Search field.
Attending a Bulgarian language course along with your studies is free of charge for Erasmus students and brings 20 ECTS.
- Visa
- A foreigner may enter the Republic of Bulgaria with a regular foreign travel document or another equivalent document as well as with a visa, if required.
- Citizens of the European Union member states, EEA (Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein) and Switzerland do not need a visa for studies, independently of the duration of their stay.
- Students from other countries may need to obtain a visa before leaving their country. For information about the visa procedure, please contact the Bulgarian Embassy or Consulate in your home country.
- Holders of valid Schengen visas have the right to enter and reside in the Republic of Bulgaria for a period of no more than three months in any six-month period from the date of the first entry without the need to have a Bulgarian short-stay visa.
- In any case, all Erasmus students are advised to contact the Bulgarian Embassy and/or Consular Sections in their home country to find out detailed information on the specific requirements and procedures for staying in Bulgaria.
- Most up-to-date information: https://www.mfa.bg/en/services-travel/consular-services/travel-bulgaria/visa-bulgaria
- Accommodation
BAS does not have dormitories but the Erasmus office assists with information on suitable hotels and AirBNB accommodation. Under a contract with another HEI in Sofia, Erasmus students of the Academy may use a dormitory at a minimal cost but the conditions are absolutely basic.
- Health Insurance
Citizens of the EU member states or of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland planning to stay temporarily in Bulgaria are advised to obtain the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) to be issued in their home country. It gives access to medically necessary, state-provided healthcare under the same conditions and at the same cost as Bulgarian people who are insured. It guarantees reimbursement of the medical costs on the spot or soon after return home. For more information, please visit:
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=559
However, the European Health Insurance Card:
- is not an alternative to travel insurance. It does not cover any private healthcare or costs such as a return flight to your home country or lost/stolen property,
- does not cover your costs if you are travelling for the express purpose of obtaining medical treatment,
- does not guarantee free services. As each country’s healthcare system is different services that cost nothing at home might not be free in another country.
That is why, all incoming students receive free health insurance by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences for the period of their mobility. It is for 20,000 Euro and includes Liability insurance. To this end, copy of passport/ID is required.
UPON ARRIVAL
- All incoming Erasmus students should first register at the International Relations Office of BAS. Please make an appointment beforehand at erasmus@cu.bas.bg
- EU citizens staying for a period longer than 3 months are obliged within 5 days after their entry in the country to declare in writing the address of their stay and every subsequent change of the address, if any, at the Regional Migration Unit within the Ministry of Interior. The address registration can be done by the hotel, company or physical person who provides the accommodation. Please keep the registration card until leaving the Republic of Bulgaria.
- Students who are not EU citizens and arrive to Bulgaria with a valid long-term visa type D must also register at the Regional Migration Unit and obtain a residence permit from the Migration Directorate.
The Learning Agreement may be changed during the first two weeks after the arrival.
At the end of each course, students are awarded a grade. The grading system is based on numerals where 6 is the highest and 2 is the lowest grade a student can get. The grades are divided into 100 points and any mark over .50 is considered part of the upper bracket. For example, 5.50 is excellent, 5.75 is also excellent but 5.25 is very good. Generally, anything under 3.00 is considered a fail. Grades like “Very Good” (5-) and “Average” (3+) are also possible – these are ignored in calculations of Grade Point Average (GPA).
| Numeric Value * | Numeric Value ** | English | Percentage | ECTS | Description | 10 point System | 20 point System |
| 6 | 5.50–6.00 | Excellent | 10% | A | Best possible grade | 8.5 – 10 | 19 – 20 |
| 5 | 4.50–5.49 | Very Good | 25% | B | Next highest | 7.5 – 8.5 | 16 – 18 |
| 4 | 3.50–4.49 | Good | 30% | C | Average performance | 6.5 – 7.5 | 13 -1 5 |
| 3 | 3.00–3.49 | Satisfactory | 25% | D, E | Lowest passing | 5.5 – 6.5 | 10 – 12 |
| 2 | 2.00–2.99 | Fail | 10% | F, FX | Failing grade | < 5.5 | < 10 |
| – | – | Pass | 90% | P | Successful |
* grading scale
** grading scale used for examinations and tests
AFTER MOBILITY
Prior to departure the receiving institute of BAS will issue:
· Transcript of Records (Academic History)
The Transcript of Records is a certificate with a list of all completed subjects, their corresponding ECTS credits, the credits according to a local or national scale, the grades according to a local or national grading scale and the assigned awarded ECTS grades. This document is mandatory.
· Certificate of Attendance
Erasmus code: BG SOFIA30
Erasmus+ Office
1, 15 noemvri Str, room 103, 1040 Sofia
Institutional Coordinator:
Prof. Evdokia Pasheva, DSc
Vice-President of BAS
E-mail: eva@bio21.bas.bg
Erasmus Coordinators:
Tomina Galibova, Chief Expert
Agreements, Student mobility, Incoming mobility
Phone: (+359 2) 979 5387
E-mail: erasmus@cu.bas.bg
Cvetomir Yonchev, Juniour Expert
Outgoing Staff mobility
Phone: (+359 2) 979 5235
E-mail: erasmus@cu.bas.bg
Visas and insurances:
Nadya Sabeva, Juniour Expert
Phone: (+359 2) 979 5236
E-mail: sabeva@cu.bas.bg
Psychological support for participants in mobility:
Prof. Katya Stoycheva, PhD
Department of Psychology
Institute for Population and Human Studies
Phone: (+359 2) 979 30 02
Email: kstoycheva@iphs.eu
Impressions
My Erasmus+ mobility began in September 2015 and ended February 2016. I was in Warsaw University, Warsaw, Poland. I had the opportunity to do a lot of work on my dissertation and to meet new people. As a whole, administration at the University helped and responded quickly. The library was relatively rich (English), and it was amazing for me that there were books in Bulgarian published last year. The courses were in English but there were are also in Polish for those who spoke the language well. In this line of thinking, teachers were also very helpful and quick to react.
Regarding the city – it is nice, there is what to see especially during the spring-summer season. There are many museums, parks and gardens. It’s actually a pretty green city. But I definitely recommend a trip to Krakow – an exceptional city. And in general – a travel to Poland. Even if you have already done so – visit the neighboring countries of Poland (and not only them). For this purpose, there is fast and cheap transport. And another recommendation – be careful with mentors! I wish a nice and fruitful trip!
My name is Karekin Esmeryan, and I’m currently a research associate at Virginia Commonwealth University, USA. Here I deal with the development of readily available and inexpensive methods for the synthesis of superhydrophobic and diamond-like carbon coatings for applications in anti-icing systems, shipbuilding, medicine and so on. My touch with Erasmus program was in the academic year 2012/2013 when I realized there was opportunity for specialization in different European research institutes and universities. After a brief search on the Internet, I myself found the host institution, Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK, and after a conversation with Professor Glenn McHale, we reached an agreement for me to leave for 6 months. I was provided with full co-operation by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and by Prof. Barlieva and Mrs. Tomina Galibova in particular who worked extremely professionally on all my desires and claims.
For me, the participation in the Erasmus program, purely personally, was an adventure. I saw what it was like to be a member of the international academic community, and I also touched on the different lifestyle in North England. Professionally, the Erasmus program was one of the main driving forces for my further development, as in Newcastle, under the guidance of Professor Glenn McHale, I became familiar with the methods of synthesis of superhydrophobic surfaces (also known as super water-repellent surfaces) and their practical applications. On the basis of what I had learned, I made a preliminary defense of my doctoral thesis within the 3-year legal term which earned me a prize of 1000 leva, and then I received my doctoral degree in just 3 months which brought me a prize of another 1000 BGN. Outside of the financial side, however, the Erasmus program helped me to achieve the necessary qualifications to continue my work as a researcher and to get the names of an American and a Bulgarian institution standing side by side. In this line of thinking, I recommend to everyone who hesitates to participate in the program to stop these doubts and take advantage of the opportunities. True, Erasmus also has some minor shortcomings, for example, a grant that is a bit below the standard of host countries but with good motivation, organization and purposefulness, one overcomes these obstacles.
I have the best feelings about these past days, and I wish success to all colleagues who will be participating in the program.
As a PhD student at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, I was seconded to Venice, Italy under the Erasmus+ program in the period June-August 2015. During my mobility, I worked on my dissertation at Ca’Foskari University. The coordinator at the host institution who was responsible for me, Prof. Iliana Krapova, was one of the most prominent generational syntaxists in the world.
Due to the specifics of life and infrastructure in Venice, university resources are scattered across multiple libraries in different parts of the city. Prof. Krapova, besides advising me on the topic of my doctoral’s work, also directed me to the most useful sources. Although summer is not among the most active academic periods, libraries and electronic resources were available almost all the time except for a short vacation in August. Staying in a foreign university offers great opportunities for academic contacts; for me, for example, it was very useful to communicate with Prof. Rodolfo Delmonte, a specialist in computer linguistics.
Along with specialized professional contacts, I have to mention the presence of the so-called Buddy program. Under this program, students from Ca’Foscari are helping newcomers which is extremely useful in getting to know the life in an unknown university and a city as a whole. Venice is one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations, and the cost of living is high even in comparison to other well-known Western European cities. During my mobility, I was staying at the College of Jejuites, one of the many religious institutions offering dormitories to students while such a form of accommodation allows for longer stays at more reasonable prices. Also, the presence of a student canteen and the possibility of using student cards for water transport contribute significantly to reducing daily expenses.
The exceptionally rich cultural program in Venice is far from concentrated around the Venetian carnival that takes place in the winter months. In the summer, within the traditional “Biennale”, there are numerous festivals with separate weeks dedicated to literature, dance and fine arts and many others. In the field of humanities, the “Shylock” festival dedicated to Shakespeare’s work and his play “The Venice Trader” were particularly interesting. As part of this festival, talks with actors and directors from the Royal Shakespeare Theater were held. All of this was complemented by a student marathon in Venice and the Redentore Festival which is traditionally accompanied by spectacular fireworks at the Bay of San Marco and a temporary pontoon bridge linking Venice and the island of Giudecca. Of course, not only Venice but also the entire lagoon is a source of exciting experiences – Murano (the island of Venetian glass), Burano (famous for its exclusive lace and multicolored houses), Lido (with its beaches on the Adriatic) and Torcello (the island from which has stemmed the historic beginning of Venice). And as the culmination of the summer, the International Film Festival in Venice can be accepted with premieres of world film productions in the presence of prominent actors and directors.
The three months in Venice under the Erasmus+ program became a true scientific expedition that was very fruitful to my research and enriched me with many positive emotions and experiences.
This was my second participation in the Erasmus program, and this time I had to combine regular studies at a foreign university with research work at a foreign scientific institute as well. This gave me the opportunity to enrich my scientific knowledge twice and to go back to the university bench but under completely new conditions.
I had the opportunity to study in one of the newest and best equipped university campuses across Central Europe. I also participated in a number of university initiatives that allowed me to travel, get to know new people with similar interests and learn more about other cultures. The Erasmus + program is an inexhaustible source of knowledge, full of many possibilities, dynamics and prospectives for the development of a young scientist!
Sending institution: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Organic Chemistry, Center for Phytochemistry
Host institution: Masaryk University and Institute of Biophysics at the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic.
Academic stay: Winter (autumn) semester of the academic year 2015/16 (4 months)
I am Ralitsa, and I am a PhD student at the Institute of Plant Physiology and Genetics at AS. During the academic year 2012-2013, I studied for three months at the Department of Genetics at the Faculty of Biology of Silesian University, Katowice, Poland.
I learned about the opportunities provided by the Erasmus Program from a colleague of mine, a PhD student, who explained to me the application procedures and the required documents in detail, and also enthusiastically inspired me to visit another European country and to see what was the academic, social and cultural life around the world.
My first impression of Poland in the face of Katowice and its inhabitants was amazement by the immense differences in architectural, cultural and traditional aspects such as numerous red buildings, the large, well-maintained green areas, well-organized public transport, clean streets and numerous churches and others.
For the three months of my training in Katowice, I was accommodated in a dormitory at Silesian University. The conditions were good. The only thing that surprised me was that even though the block I was housed was primarily designed for foreign students, janitors rarely spoke a language other than Polish which sometimes caused problems.
The local organization of the Erasmus Student Network (ESN Katowice) organized meetings of the Erasmus students from different universities in Katowice every two weeks. There I had the opportunity to meet with students who had come from different parts of Europe under the Program and exchange with them ideas and impressions on various topics. ESN Katowice also organized a fun and pleasant outing to Polish Beskid Mountains as well as a trip to one of the coal mines near Katowice. They were also the main coordinator of the traditional week of the Silesian Days where various opportunities for further development of Erasmus students were presented by local firms and institutions. Of course, the useful was combined with the pleasant in the form of different games, competitions and entertainments.
PhD students and scientists from the Department of Genetics at Silesian University were very kind and willing to help at any moment with whatever they can. Weekly seminars were held to discuss results obtained by different PhD students. Seminars were held in English not only so that I could understand them but also to train the very PhD students to deliver presentations in English by themselves. Besides, I had the opportunity to attend lectures given by visiting scientists. In general, the working atmosphere at the Biological Faculty of Silesian University was very creative.
Overall, these three months in Poland were an incredible experience. I made new friends, learned new methods to apply in my scientific work, I immersed myself in a different culture.
I would recommend for the Program to be more widely promoted and for everyone to take advantage of its potential.