AUBG’s Sofia S preferences and needs. “At this point, we are trying to be as fl exible as possible because if we’re able to run this even just one fi rst semester in the Fall, I think it will, in turn, promote opportunities for others in the future,” J. D. Mininger, AUBG’s Provost, said during an info session about the Sofi a Semester opportunity held on March 20. What about the courses? A preliminary list of the on-ground and online courses is already available. Depending on students’ preferences and professors’ eff orts, more courses will be added to the list so that students with diff erent majors can enroll. Apr. 1, 2024 A UBG is on track to off er its third- and fourth-year students the opportunity to study in Sofi a instead of Blagoevgrad. Th e Sofi a Semester optional program will provide a full load of AUBG credit-bearing courses. Th ey will be taught for one semester either in the Elieff Center or online while students live in Sofi a. As of March 27, there is an ongoing process of research and gathering interest among students to evaluate their willingness to study a semester in Sofi a, their majors, and the courses that can be off ered. Th is is also a way for AUBG’s Administration to see whether a Sofi a Semester can happen depending on students’ 8 Spring 2024 | AUBG Daily “Th ere are one or two GenEd electives, and then most of the onground courses for this semester are Business courses. But that’s not because we only want Business students,” Mininger said. “Th at’s because the department was the one that found they were most easily able to off er certain courses. But there are some other majors that, I think, can fi gure this out between a little creativity, online courses, and some other things.” What is the biggest advantage? Th e Sofi a Semester aims to provide internship off ers in big and well-developed companies, such as IBM, Commerzbank, Coca-Cola, Postbank, MSG Global Solutions, Nu Boyana Film Studios, Nova TV, Luft hansa, etc. “Internships are one of the great, great values of this [Sofi a Semester],” Mininger said. “One of the things that for AUBG is pretty incredible, but for an on-campus student you don’t always see, is how many connections we actually have in Sofi a.” What about some diffi culties? Some challenges remain for AUBG’s Administration to decide on and clear out before actually launching the Sofi a Semester. “Th e fi rst thing that will be the most challenging is the fact that the number of courses we can off er in Sofi a to get this started is very minimal,” Mininger said. “We will have a few courses that are on the ground in the Elieff Center. But then there would be online course options depending on your particular situation, even an independent study,” Mininger said. What remains the same as in a Blagoevgrad semester? Studying in Sofi a extends to the academic opportunities off ered at AUBG. Th e terms and conditions of an academic semester remain approximately the same; only the location is diff erent. “Th ere are lots of diff erent creative things we can do with this location. But we also want this to be an academically legitimate environment for you [the students],” Mininger said. “We would never wish to harm or water down the quality of the academic opportunities that you would have. We hope, at some point, it’s even more.” Th e situation with club participation, student activities, and events does not drastically change either. “You’ll be away from this campus, but it doesn’t mean you have to be
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