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Seven higher education institutions are granted the status of research universities for the next four years. The list was approved by the Council of Ministers today and from 2022 onwards, it will be updated by November 1 every year. The criteria for research universities are met by Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" (SU), the medical universities in Sofia, Varna, and Plovdiv, the Technical University of Sofia, the University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy (UCTM), and Plovdiv University "St. Cyril and St. Methodius". The seven universities have significant quantity and quality of scientific output and the highest number of citations in scientific literature. The multi-profile universities stand out with a significant number of defended doctoral students, while those with an engineering profile have scientific output visible in international publications. All of them have a substantial share of funds attracted from international and national projects and programs, as well as from contracts with Bulgarian and foreign enterprises. SU and the Medical University of Sofia gather over 5000 points against a required minimum of 1000. The points for the medical universities in Varna and Plovdiv and for the Technical University of Sofia are between 2000 and 3000. UCTM and Plovdiv University have between 1000 and 2000 points. The assessment of the scientific activities of higher education institutions is calculated using a methodology recently adopted by the Council of Ministers, which includes only objective criteria. Scientific results visible in the international databases Scopus and/or Web of Science, and other verifiable data reflecting the development of the academic staff, the public and economic impact of scientific activities are taken into account. The values for specific indicators are calculated in points and form a final assessment according to a defined formula. When determining the first research universities, information presented by higher education institutions in the period 2017-2020 in connection with the annual assessment of their scientific activities in accordance with the Law on Encouragement of Scientific Research was used. The universities were invited to prepare their applications for the upcoming procedure as early as June 24 this year, after the Ministry of Education and Science published a methodology for acquiring research status for public discussion. Applications were received from 26 higher education institutions in the Ministry of Education and Science. They were assessed using the methodology adopted by the caretaker government by an interdepartmental group created by order of the Minister of Education and Science. The status of a research higher education institution was introduced into the Higher Education Act in 2020. It is granted for a significant contribution to the development of important public areas through top scientific research and high results from scientific research activities, assessed according to objective indicators. The research universities will receive additional targeted funding for the development of scientific activities from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Therefore, their designation is a mandatory condition for its implementation to start on time.
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