The young talents will attend a one-month training course in Italy.

Three students in the 11th grade at the National Educational Complex of Culture, also known as the Italian Lyceum in Sofia for studying Italian language and culture were selected by academic staff to receive a scholarship “50 Years UniCredit Bulbank FOR education” for their excellent results and achievements. The scholarship was established on the occasion of the 50th anniversary since the establishment of the largest Bulgarian bank. After the end of the school year the three students will attend with the scholarship a one-month training course in Florence.

The successful students Maraya Tsvetkova, Liana Evtimova and Gabriel Georgiev received their certificates for the scholarship and the documents for the training in Italy by Andrea Casini, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board and COO of UniCredit Bulbank in the presence of the school’s principal Velichka Velyanova and teachers from the lyceum.

Andrea Casini wished the students never to lose their motivation, as projects that are driven by motivation and knowledge are always successful. The young students shared their diverse interests and on his turn Mr. Casini shared that he had worked in many countries in Central and Eastern Europe, but his eight years of experience in Bulgaria have absolutely shown that Bulgarians and Italians are very much alike. Besides their love for Italy and Bulgaria, the students also found many other similarities between themselves and the banker. Maraya Tsvetanova, for instance, had lived for a few years in Italy near Empoli, where Mr. Casini had started his banking career. Liana Evtimova is considering pursuing either History of Art or Economics and Mr. Casini reminded her that the famous Italian family, the Medicis, had been engaged successfully in both, pointing out that it would be quite possible for her to balance between those two interests. The third scholarship student, Gabriel Georgiev, plans to study Medicine in Bulgaria.

Andrea Casini shared that according to his information in many Italian universities there is a large number of Bulgarian students, but he encouraged the young people to work for the development of their home country.

FOR Education

The granting of scholarships for the best performing students is a part of the programme of UniCredit Bulbank “FOR Education”. The investments in this area are with a high priority for the bank.

The largest Bulgarian financial institution is working actively to support young people through collaboration with Teach for Bulgaria Foundation, as well as with its support and participation in the Manager For a Day initiative, etc. UniCredit Bulbank is working also on the programme “My Bank of the Future” together with the online platform www.kosher.bg. It is intended for college students from various universities and fields of study related to banking. In 2013, in response to the specific financial needs of the academic community in Bulgaria, the bank created a product line for college students and academic teachers called Academic League. One of the products – an overdraft for college students – has been realized after an idea of participants in the programme “My Bank of the Future”.

Besides the opportunity to work on projects, UniCredit Bulbank also provides a chance to more than 400 students each year to start an internship in the bank. Furthermore, the bank supports the project “Get Ready 2 Work!”. The project’s aim is the integration and active employment of disadvantaged young people in the labor market by implementing successful training models and programs from Austria and Germany for inclusion in the labor market. In addition, through UniCredit and Universities Foundation in Bulgaria, scholarships for Master’s programmes in top international universities are available.

More information for clients:

UniCredit Bulbank, Call Centre

Phone: 0700 1 84 84

More information for media:

UniCredit Bulbank, Identity & Communications Department

Viktoria Blajeva, Phone: + 359 2 9264 993, wjlj/ebwjepwbAvojdsfejuhspvq/ch

Ekaterina Ancheva, Phone: + 359 2 9264 963, flbufsjob/bodifwbAvojdsfejuhspvq/ch

Magdalena Ivanova, Phone: + 359 2 9232 528, nbhebmfob/jwbopwbAvojdsfejuhspvq/ch