The British Minister for the Cabinet Office, responsible for the relations with the European Union, Mr. Nick Thomas-Symonds, visited the Medical University – Sofia yesterday, 17.06.2025.
The Minister had a meeting with students from the UK studying Medicine and Dental Medicine in order to hear their impressions of living in Bulgaria and of their studies at MU-Sofia. This is the second largest foreign student community at the university, which includes a total of over 600 students.
The diplomat was personally welcomed by the Rector, Prof. Boycho Landzhov, MD, PhD, the Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs, Prof. Dr. Angelika Velkova-Monova, MD, PhD, DSci and the Vice-Rector for International Affairs and Project Funding, Prof. Dr. Ventsislava Pencheva-Genova, MD, PhD. Minister Thomas-Symonds was accompanied by the Deputy Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Bulgaria, Mrs. Elizabeth Chapman.
The meeting with the British students was very informal, with personal conversations on topics of interest to the students. The Rector welcomed them and shared that MU-Sofia is proud to have such a large community that is so motivated in its studies and volunteer activities. He reminded them that after their graduation they will be “ambassadors” maintaining the reputation of MU-Sofia in the UK, and thanked them for choosing our university.
The students shared with Minister Thomas-Symonds that they were satisfied with the education at MU-Sofia and the experience of living in a foreign country, that they had pleasant moments regarding the cultural exchange here and asked questions concerning their career prospects in the UK after completing their education.
Minister Thomas-Symonds also visited the Center for Molecular Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine of MU-Sofia, established partly with European funding and working on numerous international scientific projects.
There he was welcomed by the Head of the center, Prof. Dr. Radka Kaneva, DB, and by Prof. Dr. Ivan Dimitrov from the Faculty of Pharmacy of MU-Sofia. They presented to the Minister and the Rector the largest projects with British partners in which MU-Sofia participates, mainly under the Horizon Europe program – MUTOGRAPHS, The Genome of Europe, ERDERA, JARDIN, AllPreT, GIANT LEAPS.
The discussion was focused on the importance of Horizon Europe program for the development of science in Bulgaria and the United Kingdom, as well as on the opportunities for the progress of scientific cooperation between the two countries.
