Bozhidara Panayotova - President of ESTIEM LG Sofia

Bozhidara Panayotova is 21 years old and is studying "Information Technology in Industry" at the Faculty of Computer Systems and Technology at the Technical University - Sofia. For the July 2021 / July 2022 term, she was elected President of ESTIEM LG Sofia.

What is ESTIEM?

The European Students of Industrial Engineering and Management was established on a student initiative in 1990. The organization unites 79 local groups in 80 technical universities in over 32 countries. The number of member students exceeds 8000. The purpose of this European association is to provoke students' interest in upgrading knowledge through exchanges, meetings and acquaintance with the activities of companies and gaining experience working in an international team.

Where is Bulgaria on the map of the ESTIEM association?

ESTIEM Local Group Sofia is the only club in Bulgaria accepted as a member of the organization. The club was established in 2001 and has since been distributed to the Balkan region, which includes 8 other clubs from neighboring countries.

How do you select the members of ESTIEM - Sofia?

The rich program of initiatives that we offer to the students of our university arouse high interest among various graduates and specialties. After establishing contact with the Management Board, the candidates are interviewed. According to a general decision of the Board, the students move to the second stage - one-month internal training. Registering as an official member gives them the opportunity to apply for events across Europe.

What activities do you do?

The initiatives we organize are at local and international level. We offer the students of TU-Sofia participation in a European competition for solving business cases, set by leading companies on the market, and the problems they face. We organize together with the Student Council at TU-Sofia the annual scientific conference. As a solution to the COVID crisis, we have created a series of online lectures on various topics with guest speakers, specialists in various fields. They are representatives of companies with diverse profiles.

How do you interact with business?

In response to our events, the business gets the opportunity to connect directly with potential future staff. We inform about the internship positions and give the students the opportunity to visit their future workplace. With the consent of both parties, we provide the CVs of the potential employer. Thus, the local group Sofia became a mediator between the university and business.

The last business challenge you tackled?

In December, together with Mondelez - a leading company in the food industry, we organized a competition to solve an engineering case. 8 teams with 4 competitors each participated, they were evaluated by a jury - representatives of the company. So we chose the winners to go to Belgium in a regional round. In addition, they will have the opportunity to visit the production base of our sponsor. Last year we worked successfully on projects with R&M, Walltopia, SAP, Scalefocus and others.

The difficulties you face as president of the organization?

Taking on such a European organization after the COVID crisis is a major challenge. It exists around the idea of exchanging knowledge, getting to know new cultures and making professional contacts abroad through real meetings. We adapt our goals and tasks to the specifics of the situation, making the most of the opportunities of the digital environment.

What lies ahead in 2022?

We have already held several meetings with companies for our future projects and we are pleased to announce that the series of online lectures continues. The search for our future business partners does not stop. This year we will hold the third Scientific Conference at the University and our annual event Engineering Competition for solving business cases. A new project for us will be a week with an academic focus on the topic of IoT, with the participation of foreign students.

For fresh ideas from ESTIEM LG Sofia:

  •    board.estiemlgsofia@gmail.com
  •    Phone : +359 876123317
  •    LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/company/estiem-lg-sofia

Date: 07.01.2022

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