Participants

PhD Forum initiator, organizer, and moderator:

Prof. PhD Kostadin Grozev (head of the “Alma Mater” University Complex for Social Sciences, leader of the PhD Forum workshop and professor of History and Political Sciences at Sofia University)

List of the participants (in alphabetical order)

Dessislava Popova (PhD student in Arabic and Islamic Studies, Sofia University, Bulgaria)

Eduard Marinov (PhD student in Law and International Economics, Varna Free University, Bulgaria)

PhD thesis topic: Regional economic integration in Africa
Education: Bachelor’s in Public Administration, MA in International relations and EU Law, currently a PhD student in International Economic Relations at Varna Free University, Department of International Management and Economics.
Work experience: Works as scientific-technical secretary at the Department of International Economics in the Economic Research Institute at BAS. Executive Director of the Public-Private Partnership Institute, Sofia. Bulgarian-English and English-Bulgarian translator for Economic Thought Journal of the Economic Research Institute and Research Works Journal of the European College for Economics and Management. Assistant at Varna Free University – courses in Management of International Investment Projects and EU Economic Integration.
Expertise: Has nearly 10 years’ experience in project development and implementation (PHARE, Socrates, 6-th and 7-th Framework Programmes, OPRD, OPAC) in the fields of tourism, local and regional development, data collection and analysis, Bulgarian and EU institutional and legal systems and practice. Participated in several research projects in the field of EU integration and international economics.
Scientific interests: international economics, regional integration, African economy, EU integration and legal practice, regional and local development, tourism development, project management.

List of publications:

1. Marinov, E. 2007. History and Legal Framework of the Economic Relationships between Bulgaria and Russia, Business contacts magazine, 3/2007, Sofia, pp 30-31, ISSN 1312-109X. (In Russian)
2. Marinov, E. 2007. Legal Framework of the Economic Relationships between Bulgaria and Russia – Current State and Main Problems, in “Economic Relationships between Bulgaria and Russia in the Context of the EU Enlargement”, Bilateral Bulgarian-Russian Seminar under a Project funded by the BAS and RAS, June 2007, Sofia, pp 189-196 (Published in Bulgarian and Russian)
3. Marinov, E. 2008. The Nobel Price for Economics 2007: The Design of Economic Institutions, Science magazine, 3/2008, Sofia, pp 19-26, ISSN 0861-3362. (In Bulgarian)
4. Marinov E. et all. 2008. Midterm Action Plan for Strengthening the Capacity of OPRD Beneficiaries, 2008, www.bgregio.euMarinov E. et all. 2009. Training Programme for the Staff of the Managing Authority of Operational Programme Regional Development 2007-2013, 2009, www.bgregio.eu
5. Marinov. E. 2009. Stages of Development and Legal Framework of Economic Relations between Bulgaria and Russia, in “Economic Relations between Bulgaria and Russia”, Faber PH, Sofia, pp 9-20, ISBN 987-954-400-307-4 (In Bulgarian)
6. Marinov, E. 2012. The EU Crisis – Impact on Africa, in: Strategy for Development of the Bulgarian Economy and the Postcrisis International Economic Relations, University press, VFU, Varna, p. 185-198. ISBN 978-954-715-558-9 (In Bulgarian)
7. Marinov. E. 2013. The EU Crisis – Financial Risks for Africa, in: Postcrisis Economic Development of EU and Bulgaria, Gorekspress, Sofia pp 406-414, ISBN 978-954-616-230-4. (In Bulgarian)
8. Marinov, E. 2013. Economic Partnership Agreements of the EU: Impact on Regional Integration in Africa. In: “The future of integration, the future of the European Union”, Proceedings of the Jubilee International Scientific Conference dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Department of International Economic Relations, D.A.Tsenov Academy of Economics, pp. 200-208, ISBN 978-954-23-0867-6
9. Marinov, E. 2013. International Trade Commodity Structure of African Regional Economic Communities. Economic Thought Journal, 4/2013, in Bulgarian pp. 117-134 and English pp.135-151, ISSN 0013-2993Marinov, E. 2013. Regional integration communities in Africa. In: The New Economic Geography: Theory and Practice, Sofia University, Sofia (forthcoming). (In Bulgarian)
10. Marinov, E. 2013. The Regional Competitiveness Index: Evaluation Results for Bulgarian Regions. In: Regional Development and Demographic Flows in Southeasern European Countries, 18th Scientific Conference, University of Nis (forthcoming)Marinov, E. 2013. Achievements and Challenges of Regional Economic Integration in Africa. In: Political and Economic Transformations in the 21-st century, University Press, VFU, (forthcoming) (In Bulgarian)Marinov, E. 2013.  2013. African Free Trade Area – a Step towards Continental Integration. In: “Investments in the Future – 2013” (forthcoming) (In Bulgarian)

See Edouard's presentation at FISI: click here.

Kalina Georgieva (PhD student in International Relations and EU Law, Sofia University, Bulgaria)

See Kalina's presentation at FISI: click here.

Kamelia Bojilova (PhD in History / Archival Science and Documentary Studies, Sofia University, Bulgaria)

Kamran Agasi (PhD student in International Relations, Baku Slavic University, Azerbaijan)

Kristian Libih (PhD student in Professional and Career Counselling, Sofia University, Bulgaria)

Kristian is an experienced career counselor with a GCDF /Global Career Development Facilitator/ certification and completed international trainings at Harvard University - Faculty of Arts & Sciences - Office of Career Services, Oxford University - Careers Service, Technical University of Madrid - Center for Employment Orientation and Information, and Eindhoven University of Technology - Career Center. He has extended experience in student/alumni career advising and counseling, and managing a career center. He holds a Masters degree in Psychology - Labor and Organizational Psychology from Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" and is a last year PhD student in Professional and Career Counselling at the same University. Kristian also does volunteer work as a career counselor at the supervised home for underprivileged youngsters of the Bulgarian Red Cross - "Sharenata kyshta".

See Kristian's presentation at FISI: click here.

Marina Polyakova (PhD student in Contemporary American Literature, Sofia University, Bulgaria)

Mihail Simov (PhD student in History, Sofia University, Bulgaria)

Name: Mihail Ivailov Simov

Nationality: Bulgarian
Date of birth: 21. 06. 1988
Education:
October 2007 – July 2011 – student in Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Faculty of History; Title of qualification awarded: Bachelor of History.

October 2011 – July 2012 – student in Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Faculty of History, Department of Byzantine and Balkan studies; Title of qualification awarded: Master of History; Title of Master’s thesis: “Russia and Montenegro during the Eastern crisis of 1875-1878”.

From February 2013 – PhD student in Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Faculty of History, Department of Byzantine and Balkan studies; PhD subject: “Russian intelligence and information networks of Russia on the Balkans in the period of 1856-1878”.
Interests: Diplomatic and military history; History of relations between Russia and Balkan nations; Foreign policy of imperial Russia.

Language skills:
Mother Language: Bulgarian
English: Reading skills – excellent; Writing skills – good; Verbal skills: good

Russian: Reading skills: excellent; Writing skills: basic; Verbal skills: basic

See Mihail's presentation at FISI: click here.

Minka Stoyanova (PhD candidate in Fine Arts, New Orleans, USA)

Minka Stoyanova is an artist, maker, theorist, technologist and hacker.  She holds dual bachelors degrees in Internet Applications Development and Photography from Tulane University and the University of New Orleans respectively.  She also holds a Masters of Fine Art (MFA) from the Glasgow School of Art.  She has been a guest lecturer at Tulane University and has spoken at pop culture conventions in the USA and Scotland.  She is also an active member of artist’s organizations in Glasgow and New Orleans. She is a founder and co-director of the Unfinished Picture Project, has exhibited internationally, and is an active member of various collectives and initiatives in Glasgow and New Orleans.

Minka’s interests lie in Sociology and Complex Systems Theory, Actor Network theory, and Cyborg anthropology.  Her research results in artistic and academic works that investigate how the increasingly seamless integration of technology in our daily experience drives shifts in global ideological norms.

Her masters dissertation, The Post Capitalist Logic of Cyborg Culture, attempts to define a contemporary context for cultural production based in the physical aspects of cyborg reality (collapsing space-time, distributed cognition, and augmented reality) and the ideological phenomena of internet society (the information economy, the hacker ethic, and the reification of the algorithm).

Minka’s current research extends this discourse by examining how the ideological promises of global communication are currently being applied by primary stakeholders to create flexible and scalable economic environments, and to identify how dichotomies between open access ideologies and traditional capitalist models are being negotiated under various economic pressures.

See Minka's presentation at FISI: click here.

Nikolay Nikolov (PhD student in Work and Organizational Psychology, Sofia University, Bulgaria)

Reni Radkova (PhD student in Education Studies, Sofia University, Bulgaria)

Slav Petkov (PhD student in Translation Studies, Plovdiv University, Bulgaria)

Slav Petkov graduated from Sofia University "Saint Clement of Ohrid" (Bachelor degree in French Philology, 2009; Master of Arts "Fracophone Studies", 2011). He began work on his dissertation - "Linguistic and socio-cultural aspects of translation" in March 2013 when he was enrolled as a PhD student in the Department of German and Romance Studies at Plovdiv University "Paissii Hilendarski". In June 2013 he participated in the International Conference of Young Scientists Plovdiv 2013 with a paper "Translation theory: an optimist's territory in the Age of vacances". His Director of Studies is Assoc. Prof. Boris Naimushin (New Bulgarian University, Sofia, Bulgaria).
In 2012 his first book was published in France ("Ce soir, la dentelle...").

See Slav's presentation at FISI: click here.

Stanislava Grueva (PhD student in History, Sofia University, Bulgaria)

Vladyslav Lavrinenko (PhD student in Law, Donetsk State University of Management, Ukraine)

Yavor Petkov (PhD student in French Language Literatures, Sofia University, Bulgaria)

Yavor Petkov has a bachelor's degree in French studies from the Sofia University (2006) and he graduated in Lexicography and Automated Processing of Corpora from Lille III "Charles de Gaulle" University in France. He also completed very successfully his MA internship at the legendary Académie française (French Academy), where he created about 50 dictionary articles, which, once reviewed by the Dictionary Department and the "Immortals" (i.e. the members of the Academy), were included in the 9th Edition of the Dictionnaire de l'Académie française (words from Premier to Président, available online: http://atilf.atilf.fr/academie9.htm). He was the first non-French intern in the entire history of the Academy. As a PhD candidate, he specializes in Québécois French language literature, and specifically the so-called Migrant Writings (immigrant literature from the last two decades of the 20^th century). His academic adviser is Prof. Rennie Yotova (Sofia University). He started his PhD thesis in February 2013 and, by the time of the FISI 2013, had participated in one conference (10th Scientific Conference of PhD Candidates and Associate Professors of the Faculty of Classical and Modern Language and Literature Studies of Sofia University), which shall result in the publication of his first article called A Parallel between Ying Chen’s novel L’Ingratitude and the French existentialism in the special volume dedicated to the conference (to be published by the end of 2013). He is a member of the Central and Eastern Europe Association of Canadian Studies and is going to take part in the Fifth International Conference of Young Canadianists to be held on September 19-20 in Baia Mare, Romania. His professional activity has included professional translation between French and English (more than seven years' experience), teaching general and professionally oriented French language, among others, as an assistant professor at Sofia University (between 2009 and 2012), and authorship of a Bulgarian-French dictionary project for the needs of literary translation (developed within the framework of his MA program).

Fields of interest: literature, sociology, political science, history, language, linguistics, lexicography, translation, music, fine arts

See Yavor's presentation at FISI: click here.

Yiannis Koukas (PhD student in Philosophy, Sofia University, Bulgaria)