The Technical University of Varna was founded in 1962 as Higher Institute of Machine and Electrical Engineering. It was renamed to Technical University of Varna in 1995 by a decision of the National Assembly.
Presently it is the second largest technical university in Bulgaria with more than 6500 students and has a status of a state university. TUV has a national accreditation by the State Agency for Evaluation and Accreditation of Bulgaria and is the only Bulgarian University that has successfully passed institutional Audit by the European University Association (EUA).
In 2001 the TUV Quality and Management System (for education and research) was certified with ISO9001 by the Bureau Veritas Quality International (BVQI) which was re-certified in 2004 in accordance with ISO 9001:2000.
At present there are 458 lecturers of which 24 are professors, 155 are associate professors and 279 are assistant professors who provide training. Among them 226 lecturers have PhD degrees and 20 of these have a Doctor of Science degree. The university enrols almost 250 PhD students at present.
In its history of over 40 years, TUV has developed fully comprehensive and highly sophisticated laboratory bases for servicing the training process. The campus is located on a 20 hectares plot of ground and the premises comprise of over 6 hectares of covered space including a special laboratory and production building, three major lecture buildings, special R&D facilities, extensive library, 24 hour Internet club, covered and open air sports facilities, canteen, 3 restaurants, two cafes and a students' discotheque.
In close proximity to the main premises are the three blocks of students' hostels which accommodate over 1600 students. The hostels have their own catering facilities. The parking places can accommodate over 400 cars.
The university is located some 3 km away from the central part of the city and approximately 2 km from the centre. There are regular public transport links reaching both the University’s location and its hostels. The university's grounds have an excellent view to the seashore, which is 1.5 km away.
The laboratory and training facilities incorporate a unique high voltage laboratory, special cast and metal analyses departments, certified LINUX and Microsoft laboratories, an internal combustion engines laboratory, a communications R&D laboratory, a welding and underwater welding laboratory, a university computing centre, two state-of-the-art navigation training simulators, a licensed radio and TV station. A special LINUX academy operates at the university. TUV has a Hi-Tech Park with a Hi-Tech Business Incubator, which is registered as an independent legal body, with a prevailing ownership of TUV.
The High Technology Park has been established in the year 2000 to meet the challenges which the University faces both through its international cooperation and the opportunities arising from the recovery of the National economy. Some 60% of the research work done is conducted through this facility.
The institution works in close cooperation with many universities and R&D institutions in the country and abroad. For example, the British Inter-University Centre (BIUC) and the Bulgarian-Turkish Inter-University Centre have been established within the TUV. TUV also plays a leading role within the Black Sea Universities Network (BSUN) which comprises of 68 Universities.
The University is located within the boundaries of the City of Varna (370 000 population), which has a history of over 3000 years and still retains traces of one of the oldest civilized human settlements in Europe. The town has excellent access by land, sea and air and has the largest commercial and passenger portss in Bulgaria. In close proximity to it (8 to 30 km) there are several distinguished Black Sea resorts - St. Constantine and Hellene, Golden sands and Albena. These offer plenty of recreation and entertainment opportunities all year around.
The University maintains a stable tradition for organizing local, national and international conferences and congresses. Every year a scientific academic session takes place, which provides an opportunity for all academic and student staff to present their achievements in the fields of their study or research.
TUV organizes a bi-annual International Congress on Electrical and Machine Engineering (MEET/MARIND).
For further information please visit the TU-Varna web-site: www.tu-varna.acad.bg