ADDRESS TO THE GRADUATES OF THE CLASS OF 2023 BY ASSOC. PROF. KRASIMIR NEDYALKOV, PHD
03 June 2024
Dear Academic Management,Dear faculty members and employees of VFU "Chernorizets Hrabar"
Dear guests,
Dear graduates,
I am glad to have the opportunity to welcome all those present to one of the most significant celebration of our academic family - the ceremony for the awarding of diplomas to the students of the Class of 2023. A few days after we glorified the work of the Holy Brothers Cyril and Methodius, let's share the joy of adding together to the rays of the "sun that shines in the souls" also our modest contribution - the completion of the educational cycle of the students of the Class of 2023 and the right of 277 bachelors and 256 masters to receive their diplomas.
Thank you for creating this holiday together and honouring it today with your attendance. Let's congratulate the students and lecturers who managed to overcome a number of difficulties of the time we live in and discover new opportunities on the way to the bright days of their realization. Thanks to your parents, to our partners and to everyone who supported you along the way and helped you celebrate a successfully completed stage of your development today. We wish you to find the same support and understanding on your professional path. May you be successful in life, and may well-being and satisfaction with what you have achieved accompany you everywhere.
You graduate from a university and in specialties occupying prestigious places in the educational space of Europe and the National Rating System. We owe these high positions not only to the quality of education and scientific research, but also to the good career opportunities that our university's graduates have. Therefore, my first wish to you today is to always be proud and responsible of being a graduate of a worthy and respected university.
Despite undisguised attempts to neglect the role of private higher education, thanks to our joint efforts today the university is dynamically developing, academically connected in national and international scientific networks and last but not least - an educational centre for students from all over the world. The university firmly and consistently follows the high-tech line of higher education development and has established itself with its profile as an innovator. Today, we are a modern educational and research centre with priorities in the development of the most important industries and sectors of today's and tomorrow's Bulgaria. This success is due to the fact that VFU "Chernorizets Hrabar” has high requirements, builds on what has been achieved and the transformation process is continuous.
The numerous successes bring us satisfaction and pride because they are oriented towards the young people of Bulgaria and we are flattered by the thought that we are contributing to multiplying the nation's human capital. You, the young people, are part of the society of the connected person of the 21st century, which sets new directions for the development of the world. You are an indispensable part and the most important human resource of Industry 5.0, which is based on innovation, new technological tools and platforms. You are the new, the positive energy, the optimism. We want to believe that you will be the worthy successors of the university's mission.
Dream boldly, but remember that dreams only work if we work for them.
When choosing your career path, don't be tempted by what's easiest, most affordable, or brings the highest income. Choose the profession that really attracts you and brings you joy, but be prepared to easily change it if necessary. I wish you to reach heights that will make us - your lecturers - proud and happy, and the economy and society - prosperous and affluent. Today, more than ever, Bulgaria needs hardworking and successful people who do not have time to draw new dividing lines or produce compromising documents, because they are busy building the desired future for everyone.
Now we all have access to educational institutions from all over the world. But the question is, do we enter them as a temple of knowledge? Do we think about how important knowledge and education are to us, to turn them into knowledge and opportunities? The latter are very often understood only from their material side, and most of us take it for granted, and not as something that we may not get, and if we have it, we can lose it! Don't let consumer culture deprive you of the beauty of the individual experience of the world and the art of being free. Have the self-confidence and courage to always make your choice and take responsibility for it. Do not put up with the stupidity and vulgarity of populism and hypocrisy.
And finally I will raise the eternal question of morality in the communication between humans and knowledge. Strive to act honestly and fairly because people can and should pursue their life goals in conjunction with the legitimate life goals of others. Respect peace because all conflicts can and should be resolved peacefully. Peace is more important than any ideology.
These are just some of the questions waiting for your answers.
Today, more than ever, the world relies on your relentless pursuit of answers. Knowledge will enable you to change something, but no university can give you everything. I hope we have given you the skills and strength to find the answers within yourself. We tried to give you the necessary knowledge for this, to bequeath you the academic spirit as our main value. Whether we have succeeded in giving you an example is up to you to judge. And if we didn't - it's your right to judge us.
Good luck, dear young colleagues