Bulgaria to become Europe’s Silicon Valley, is one of the ambitious goals set by Bulgarian software engineer Svetlin Nakov. The road to a successful software career goes through the first of this type university entitled Softuni. It will be officially opened on February 16 this year. This will be the first university which will focus directly on the software industry and will train students in a subject which is mostly demanded at the labor market at present. “This could happen only through practical lessons”, explains Svetlin Nakov who is among the most renowned software engineers in Bulgaria with ten years experience in computer sciences. The need of such experts is huge. In the whole EU the lack of personnel in the IT sphere could reach the impressive figure of 900,000 people by end 2015. According to data provided by the IT sector the lack of It experts in Bulgaria amounts to nearly 27,000 people. Students will join the Softuni three times per year due to the big demand of IT personnel. The reception to this university will be carried out through an exam in software engineering. For the purpose, the applicants will have the opportunity to go under a training course which will last for two months and will be free of charge. The first batch of graduates will start their education on May 7 and the preparatory course is to start in February. Many people showed interest towards this subject. Nearly 500 applications were filed for the first two days only.

“My goal is to change Bulgaria and its economy and give it a serious boost”, says Svetlin Nakov. “We will start training several thousand students in Sofia and gradually will organize courses in other Bulgarian cities and town such as Varna, Burgas, Plovdiv, Targovishte, Montana, Haskovo, etc. However, this will take time. It can not be done with the blink of an eye. We intend to recruit volunteers to become teachers to the help of local organizations. My goal is to make a real revolution in software education and provide an opportunity for everyone who wants to study software engineering to do so. Thus, people can have a better future, job and a higher life standard.”

Svetlin Nakov intends to see some 5,000 people go under the preparatory course each year. Later, however, only 15%-20% of all applicants will be admitted to the final stage. “Our profession is not an easy one and everyone who wants to succeed must practice for at lest 10 to 12 hours a day in the first year of the study”, explains Svetlin. The education at Softuni is divided into 6 levels, each one lasting for 4 months. The training courses and the work under certain projects are a substantial part of the whole educational process.

“We have a point system where the exam forms only 60% of the final mark”, Svetlin Nakov goes on to say. “The other 40% are formed by activities linked with collaboration between colleagues in the learning process, level of contribution to the discussions held at the college, participation as a university assistant, etc. All of the latter is assessed by points. Thus, a certain student can place forward and start a job in a software company before other colleagues.”

Companies form the IT sector showed a huge interest towards a possible partnership before the official start of the college. Twenty companies have declared willingness to grant scholarships to students, provided they are committed to work in their companies after graduation.

“We are committed to organize training in the Silicon Valley in the USA in companies such as Facebook and Google. We have already reached an agreement with these companies, but first of all I prefer to satisfy the needs of the Bulgarian industry and later think about the USA and the export of IT experts”, contends Svetlin Nakov.

His previous experience as a teacher shows that 95% of the graduates have a successful career. Those who pass successfully through all levels at the Softuni will receive a certificate which proves their practical skills and competences. However, if they wish to receive a university degree, they have to continue their education for another one to two years in another university which works in partnership with the Softuni.

“Currently we are in partnership with the MT&M college of marketing and management where our joint subject is IT entrepreneurship”, explains Mr Nakov. “This college trains people who are planning to manage their own business in the IT sphere. The first two years students learn software engineering and technologies at our college. Later, they continue with management, marketing, innovations, entrepreneurship, project management and economic disciplines. We hope that these people will lay the foundations of a new generation which will not only work in outsourcing projects of foreign organizations and companies, but will rather create product here in Bulgaria and later sell it across the globe. This is my highest goal. I want to see Bulgaria become Europe’s Silicon Valley”, concludes Svetlin Nakov.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov