INTERNATIONAL MASTER DEGREE PARTNERSHIP THROUGH DOUBLE DIPLOMA PROGRAMME OF INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT (ON THE EXAMPLE OF BULGARIA AND UKRAINE)

Abstract

The Bulgarian-Ukrainian master's degree program for double degree between D. A. Tsenov Academy of Economics, Svishtov, Bulgaria and Vasyl` Stus Donetsk National University, Vinnytsia, Ukraine was approved in 2017. In the academic year 2017/2018 the first alumni of Ukrainian students was accepted, and in the academic year 2019/2020, respectively the second class of Ukrainian students was admitted. The curriculum includes three semesters of full-time study, of which the first and third are provided by the Ukrainian partner, and the second semester - by the Bulgarian side. Each semester includes compulsory or elective courses, which lead to the accumulation of 30 ECTS credits. The training is in the field of social sciences, professional field "Economics", specialty "Finance" in the master's program "International Financial Management". Teaching and learning documentation is in English only. On the Bulgarian side, all training courses are provided with textbooks prepared by members of the Department of Finance and Banking, which are available in electronic and paper format. Each Ukrainian student is provided with a free set of textbooks by the Bulgarian partner. The first two semesters of the training are in academic disciplines, ending with an exam. In the third semester there is an undergraduate internship, scientific guidance and review of the thesis. The end of the training is a public defense of a thesis. The theses are defended via video conferencing through Microsoft Teams between Svishtov and Vinnytsia. For the purposes of their holding, two composition of state examination commissions is determined. Each graduate has two supervisors - respectively from the Bulgarian and Ukrainian side. All graduates prepare presentations on their master's theses and answer questions posed in their reviews. The review is by the Ukrainian department, as the representatives of the Bulgarian partner participate in the stage of public defense, ask questions and agree on the final assessments. The training of the first class of Ukrainian students in 2018 is conducted in person, and for the second semester Ukrainian students carry out mobility from Vinnytsia, Ukraine to Svishtov, Bulgaria. In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, the training of the second class of Ukrainian students in the spring of 2020 is conducted through a system of distance learning and distance taking exams at the D. A. Tsenov Academy of Economics, Svishtov, Bulgaria (dl.uni-svishtov.bg). Thus, students are trained to acquire 30 ECTS credits by participating in lectures, preparing semester assignments and taking an exam in a Moodle environment. Completion of the study process through successful graduation is the basis for the issuance by the two partner universities of academic transcripts certifying the periods of study and the achieved exam results. Following the exchange of these documents, committees of lecturers and administrators apply the regulations of the Erasmus + program in the part of student mobility for educational purposes. On this basis, the Ministries of Education and Science in Sofia and Kiev electronically submit information on each Ukrainian student trained for a double degree, reflecting the subjects taken and the respective grades. On the Bulgarian side, the Ministry of Education and Science issued a hologram sticker confirming the successful graduation of Ukrainian students. The Bulgarian diplomas are signed by the Rector of the D. A. Tsenov Academy of Economics, Svishtov, Bulgaria and the Dean of the Faculty of Finance, and the state seal is affixed to them. After their official signing, the diplomas are sent to a teacher with mobility under the Erasmus + program at Vasyl` Stus Donetsk National University, Vinnytsia, Ukraine. Graduates put their handwritten signatures on the title page under a duly updated photo, and the diploma formed with all the necessary details is scanned and digitized for electronic storage on a server of D.A. Tsenov Academy of Economics, Svishtov, Bulgaria and the Ministry of Education and Science at the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Bulgaria. The main conclusion of the scientific report, which presents the step-by-step the know-how, the organization and the conduction of a double degree study process between EU and non-EU countries, is that due to ECTS and Erasmus + program all significant obstacles to such project for international educational partnership projects can be overcome. Under the constraints of the Covid-19 pandemic, the learning process can once again be provided on the basis of university E-learning and distance learning platforms and video conference channels such as BBB, Microsoft Teams or Zoom.