AUBG’s reputation for excellence extends far beyond the 45 countries we have students from, mainly because our graduates pursue international careers and our students participate in conferences and internships all over the world.

Dzhafar Dzhafarov, a second-year student from Tajikistan, is one such ambassador for the university. He spent a winter break in Turkey, completing a development internship with the student organization AIESEC. In Spring 2012, AUBG helped him successfully compete for a spot in the European Union’s Erasmus student mobility program. He will be spending a semester at Facultes Universitaires Saint-Louis in Belgium. 

“By working in an international team together with other interns I developed my team working skills and gained knowledge about other cultures and traditions,” Dzhafar says of his internship experience.

Two years ago, AUBG admitted Dzhafar, recognizing his qualities and awarding him a scholarship totaling 80 percent of tuition.

“The selection process [at AUBG] is serious and competitive. Therefore, talented and smart students are getting to AUBG,” Dzhafar says, citing the quality of the students as one of the reasons he chose the university.

Another reason is the quality of education AUBG offers. “Apart from learning, students develop extra skills like public speaking, communicational skills, team-work, leadership skills which are important in future jobs,” he says of the university’s educational outcomes.

AUBG also offers its students a wide array of clubs and organizations where they apply the knowledge and skills they acquire in class. As a Student Ambassador, Dzhafar had a chance to develop his diplomatic and presentation skills. Membership in the Debate Club helped Dzhafar practice the construction of arguments he had learned in his English persuasion class. The preparation he received in international relations and politics classes enabled him to distinguish himself in an international Model United Nations simulation held at AUBG. “Extracurriculars are a very good supplement to the academic part of life here at AUBG. These activities allow students to use theory in practice and to understand the subject better,” he says.

Dzhafar’s dynamic extracurricular involvement is only matched by his demanding academic pursuits. Dzhafar is working toward completing a degree in economics in Bulgaria’s highest-ranked program. The outstanding quality of AUBG’s economics program and the excellent faculty make economics a fulfilling, if challenging, discipline to specialize in. Moreover, Dzhafar’s economics professors make hard concepts accessible and interesting. “Small class sizes allow professors to know each student individually. This personal attention gives an opportunity for students to ask questions and get more information about the course,” he adds.

Dzhafar’s favorite aspect of the AUBG experience is the multicultural community. He has met people from all over the world, from China to Brazil, and has made friends with many of them. “Here the usual question at the beginning of a conversation is not ‘What is your name?’ but ‘Where are you from?’ This makes our life on campus very interesting. We are learning about the new country without traveling to that country,” Dzhafar says. This immersion in different cultures and customs is an important educational experience in itself, and one that few other institutions can offer, he adds.