The Department is directly responsible for the education of students in the broad-profile specialization "Industrial Management" – full-time study. It conducts the economic, managerial, and language training of students enrolled in all specializations of the branch.
A brief history:
- 1986 – the branch of VMEI – Sofia was established in the city of Plovdiv
- 1987 – the Scientific-Educational Center "Social Sciences" was formed with four directions – the prototype of the current department;
- 1990 – based on the personnel potential of the Center, the Higher School of Economic Management was created, later renamed the Higher School of Economics and Management (HSEM). Courses for practicing managers began to be conducted.
- 1991 – by decision of the Academic Council of TU – Sofia, the specialization "Business Administration" was established and the first 11 students were admitted;
- 1992 – the specialization "Business Administration" was renamed to "Industrial Management" and the first graduating class of 67 students was admitted;
- the first international projects with the University of Huddersfield in the city of Sheffield began;
- 1994 – after the restructuring of the branch, the Department of Industrial Management was established. The academic staff includes teachers distributed in the fields of economics and management and foreign language training;
- 1994 - 96 – the curriculum of the specialty 'Industrial Management' was updated with the help of specialists from the University of Huddersfield in Sheffield;
- 2002 – first program accreditation of the specialty 'Industrial Management' with an overall assessment of 'good' and validity of five years;
- 2002 – the department celebrated its 15th anniversary since its establishment and the 10th anniversary of the specialty with a grand celebration and, as the first department at TU - Sofia, Plovdiv branch, organized and conducted an independent scientific conference on economics and management;
- 2007 – a project was won in the first stage for the creation of entrepreneurship centers in higher education institutions. VSHIM was transformed into the Entrepreneurship Center;
- 2009 – a project was won in the second stage for the creation and development of entrepreneurship centers in higher education institutions;
- 2010 – second program accreditation of the specialty 'Industrial Management' within the professional field 'General Engineering' with the highest assessment of 'very good' and validity of six years;
The department, through its members, is an active participant in international projects at the national and regional level, through which over 1000 entrepreneurs have been trained and consulted and over 100 municipalities and organizations from across the country have been supported.
