Official Opening of 2025/2026 Academic Year at the Agricultural University – Plovdiv

On September 9, 2025, a ceremony was held in the Agricultural University - Plovdiv to mark the opening of the new 2025/2026 academic year.

Official guests at the event included: Assoc. Prof. Yanislav Yanchev - Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food; Mr. Kostadin Dimitrov - the Mayor of Plovdiv Municipality; Mr. Alejandro Zotner Mayer - the Ambassador of Argentina; Mr. Emil Zhakota - the Ambassador of Moldova; Mrs. Nurdzhan Karadzhova - Deputy Regional Governor; Mr. Giuseppe De Francesco - the Honorary Consul of Italy in Plovdiv; Dr. Mariana Cholakova - the Honorary Consul of Germany; Dr. Momchil Stanishev - Director of the Centre for the Promotion of Agricultural Cooperation between China and the Countries of Central and Eastern Europe; as well as representatives of the local government, the AU Board of Trustees, other Plovdiv universities, and the agri-business sector.

In her welcoming speech for the new academic year, Rector Assoc. Prof. Dr. Boryana Ivanova highlighted the Agricultural University's 80th anniversary—eight decades during which generations of lecturers, students, and alumni have built the university's prestige with hard work, vision, and dedication, establishing its role as a guardian of tradition and a driver of modernisation.

Assoc. Prof. Ivanova motivated the first-year students with the following words: "By crossing the threshold of the Agricultural University, you are opening a new page filled with expectations, challenges, and new horizons. Here, you will not only acquire knowledge and skills but also grow as individuals, ready to face the future with courage and confidence. You are the future that gives meaning to our work. You are the heirs of a rich academic tradition, but also pioneers in a new era of sustainable development, digitalisation, and innovation. By entrusting yourselves to the Agricultural University, you are choosing the path of knowledge, but also the path of responsibility towards the land, nature, and society."

With gratitude for their long-standing efforts and high professionalism, the Rector of the Agricultural University described the lecturers as the living heart of the university, who turn classrooms into laboratories of the future.

In conclusion, Assoc. Prof. Ivanova shared with the audience: "Today, more than ever, we face new challenges: climate change, food security, and digital transformation. Our response is the same as it has been for all these 80 years—knowledge, science, and work for the benefit of society and sustainable development."

The Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food, Assoc. Prof. Yanislav Yanchev advised the first-year students to use all the opportunities offered to them, to study, to travel, and to constantly expand their horizons.

With best wishes for a successful career, Assoc. Prof. Yanchev handed the student record book to first-year student Emma Zafirova, who was admitted with the maximum score of 24.00 in the undergraduate programme "Agronomy (Field Crops)."

The Mayor of Plovdiv Municipality, Mr. Kostadin Dimitrov, thanked the university for their stable partnership, stating: "The Agricultural University is not just an educational institution but a driver of innovation, science, and economic development for the entire region. It maintains active ties with businesses, develops world-class scientific projects, and educates young people who go on to succeed not only in Bulgaria but also abroad."

Ms. Tatyana Mihaylova, Executive Director of "Ekofol" JSC and a member of the AU Board of Trustees, urged the first-year students to study with zeal, dream boldly, and take their rightful place in the future of agriculture.

It is a tradition at the Agricultural University for graduating students to pass on the symbols of fertility to the first-year students on the first day of the academic year. The graduate Nikolay Nedkov from the Faculty of Viticulture and Horticulture passed these symbols on to the first-year student Dzhani Tyufekchiev from the same faculty.

The solemn atmosphere in the Assembly Hall was complemented by the emotional performances of the opera singer Denislava Staneva and the harmonious voices of the "Evmolpeya" Girls' Choir.

The academic leadership of the Agricultural University – Plovdiv wholeheartedly wishes all students, lecturers, and staff an inspiring and successful 2025/2026 academic year.