Engagement in academic, business or societal exchanges

Assoc. prof. Kiril Dimitrov, Ph.D from the Industrial Business department at the University of National and World Economy – Sofia, Bulgaria, was given 8 hours of lectures in “Cross-cultural Management” in master's degree of education at Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University - United Kingdom Great Britain & Northern Ireland in May 2017 by means of collaborations within the ERAMUS+ program.

Assoc. prof. Kiril Dimitrov, Ph.D from the Industrial Business department at the University of National and World Economy – Sofia, Bulgaria, was provided 12 hours of workshops in “Cross-cultural Management” in MSc International Business Program at Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University - United Kingdom Great Britain & Northern Ireland in April 2018 within the framework of the ERAMUS+ program.

In April 2023 Prof. Dr. Gönül KAYA ÖZBAĞ from Kocaeli University – Türkiye, was a guest lecturer, presenting the topic of “Turkish business culture – the prominent features of the Turkish business world” in front of the students from the specialty of Business Economics and Management taught in English language in the Industrial Business department at the University of National and World Economy – Sofia, Bulgaria, within the framework of the course of Organizational culture, lectured by assoc. prof. Kiril Dimitrov, Ph.D.

In September 2023 Prof. UĞUR KESKİN from Anadolu University – Türkiye, lectured in “History of Management Ideas and Theories” in front of the students from the specialty of Business Economics and Management taught in English language in the Industrial Business department at the University of National and World Economy – Sofia, Bulgaria, within the framework of the course of Business Management, lectured by assoc. prof. Kiril Dimitrov, Ph.D.

In March 2024 Prof. IGA LEHMAN from University of Social Sciences - Warsaw, Poland, lectured in “Saying the Right Thing, At the Right Time, In the Right Way: Cultural Differences in Communication Styles That Matter in Business. Characteristics of Polish Business Culture” in front of the students from the specialty of Business Economics and Management taught in English language in the Industrial Business department at the University of National and World Economy – Sofia, Bulgaria, within the framework of the course of Organizational culture, lectured by assoc. prof. Kiril Dimitrov, Ph.D.

On the 18TH of February 2025 the students from the specialty of Business Economics and Management (taught in English language) in Industrial business department got the opportunity to meet live with Mr. Stefan Dimitrov – a Managing Director in the Bulgarian division of TRUSTMOORE company within the framework of the course in Organizational Culture, lectured by assoc. prof. Kiril Dimitrov, Ph.D. A number of important issues (challenges) of intercultural interaction, that are inevitably confronted by managers and employees in international business organizations in the financial sector, were reviewed, supported by examples of interesting professional experiences, and discussed with the students. Key moments from the corporate history and career development opportunities within it were also presented.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kiril Dimitrov from Industrial Business dept. at the Business Faculty of UNWE took part in the fourth think tank, organized by the European University Network ENGAGE.EU. It took place in the period March 3-7, 2025 at the Vienna University of Economics and Business (Wirtschafts universität, Wien - WU) - Vienna, Austria and was on the topic: "Purpose: advancing research into purpose, organizations and society".

The series of events included in the think tank were dedicated to a wide range of issues such as adopting an interdisciplinary approach to clarifying important nuances in the meaning of the concept of purpose, outlining the relationship of purpose with corporate social responsibility, sustainable development (sustainability), implemented business models, organizational identity and other cultural forms (e.g. mission, vision, values, etc.), its interaction with the inevitable and continuous change in and beyond organizational boundaries, usually oriented towards the implementation of innovations, the impact of the purpose on organizational performance, employee engagement and well-being, the possibilities of measuring the results of its pursuit both for the organization itself, for target stakeholders and for society as a whole, and others.

The research topics, which were formulated by the team participants and mentors, concern the ways of transmitting (disclosing) the content of the purpose to the constituencies, including the possibilities of distorting the transmitted information; the alignment of the purpose performance at different cultural levels; the unsatisfactory quality of purpose management (the dark side) and the influence on it exerted by the rapid progress of targeted new technologies.

During their joint work, the international teams exchanged ideas, worked on common topics, and at the same time presented and discussed their research and main issues surrounding their projects related to the chosen topic.

In addition to the team research work, the participants in the think tank had the opportunity to hear and discuss important issues on the topic with selected guest speakers from academia, business, politics and NGOs. Among them were leading professors from the Vienna University of Economics and Business and other educational institutions, the CEO of ERSTE Bank, the Managing Director Urban Innovation, Wien Holding – City of Vienna, and a representative of the non-governmental sector. The team participants underwent useful training in creative thinking, organized by a representative of the Innovation Office of the Vienna University of Economics and Business, which they immediately applied in a working environment. Additionally, creative thinking among the participants of the fourth think tank in the area of ​​purpose was stimulated by an organized visit to the museum of Viktor Frankl – an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist, world-renowned as the founder of logotherapy.

Before their research stay in Vienna, the participants of the fourth ENGAGE.EU think tank participated in two virtual preparatory meetings that took place in autumn of 2024, and an additional virtual meeting of the provisionally formed research teams was held in February 2025. It is expected that the collaboration achieved, especially during the face-to-face sessions, will facilitate the creation of scientific publications, reflecting some shared conclusions of the think tank participants.

Students from the Business Economics and Management taught in English language, Business Economics and Industrial Business from the third and fourth grade had the opportunity to attend a presentation and discussion with representatives of the State Enterprise "Air Traffic Control" (State Enterprise BULATSA), where they were informed about important features of work in the aviation business and career opportunities in the enterprise. The meeting was held within the framework of the Organizational Culture course, led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kiril Dimitrov. This opportunity for contacts with the practice was organized under the guidance of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yanko Hristozov - Vice-Rector for International Affairs of the UNWE.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kiril Dimitrov held a professional meeting with doctoral student Ana-Maria Săcuiu from Universitatea Ovidius Constanta - Romania, regarding the implementation of initial orientation in the scientific field of talent management, and in particular talent retention in business organizations - with a view to facilitating the guest’s choice of a suitable topic for a potential dissertation (March 27, 2025).

Assoc. prof. Kiril Dimitrov, Ph.D participated in the “Academic Initiative Incubator. Seed funding for joint teaching initiatives – 2025” for ENGAGE.EU task 3.2. as a member of the Review panel committee. The workflow included: (a) intensive electronic communication; (b) receiving of appraisal instructions about tasks to perform, and important criteria and indicators to observe; (c) preparation of individual reviews for each project proposal (eight teaching initiatives); (d) presenting and discussing expert opinions with the other committee members; and (e) reaching a consensus among the participants in the evaluation process and generating a recommendation document to be submitted to the Incubator Selection Committee for final decision. 

The Review Panel consisted in experienced academic teaching staff from the ENGAGE.EU partner institutions with expertise in international teaching collaboration.

Assoc. prof. Kiril Dimitrov, Ph.D. took part in the event that was held on September 18, 2025 in Royal Hall, Sofia Balkan Palace Hotel, where the country's progress in the process of joining the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) was reported, good examples of business practice, the performance of the state administration and the official positions and opinions expressed by OECD representatives were presented, while some current challenges were also outlined. I express my heartfelt gratitude to my colleagues from the Diplomatic Institute under the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria for the high professionalism shown in connection with the preparation and holding of this important event for the constituencies, as well as to the useful guests invited and present at the forum.