UNWE Hosts a Meeting of the IAEA NSSC Network Subregional Group for Nuclear Security Training and Support
The University of National and World Economy hosted a four-day Technical Meeting for cooperation among members of the IAEA NSSC Network Subregional Group for Nuclear Security Training and Support. The meeting was organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the initiative of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Svetoslav Spasov, Director of the Center for Nuclear Security Support and Head of the International Master’s Program in Nuclear Security.
The Rector of UNWE, Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov, welcomed the participants and emphasized the University’s key role in developing expert capacity in the field. “I am confident that today’s technical meeting will contribute to strengthening our cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Security Support Centres Network (NSSC Network),” the Rector stated. Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov is the founding head of the International Master’s Program in Nuclear Security and, in 2016, established the Center for Nuclear Security Support, where he also served as the first director. He recalled that the program began in 2015 based on a cooperation agreement between UNWE and the IAEA in the field of education and research. This year marks the 10th anniversary of its establishment, celebrated with a Scientific Forum to be held at UNWE on December 9, 2025. The Master’s Program in Nuclear Security is designed in accordance with IAEA requirements and is supported by the International Nuclear Security Education Network, of which UNWE has been a member since 2014, as well as by the Ministry of Education, the Bulgarian Nuclear Regulatory Agency, the Ministry of Energy, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria. Over the past ten years, the program has trained students not only from Bulgaria but also from countries such as Nigeria, Lebanon, Zambia, Jordan, Burkina Faso, Congo, Sudan, Mauritania, and Uganda, most of whom are IAEA scholarship holders—demonstrating the program’s quality and international recognition.
The official opening of the event was attended by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Noncho Dimitrov, Head of the Department of National and Regional Security; Chief Assistant Prof. Dr. Ekaterina Bogomilova from the same department; and Mr. Valentin Velev, representative of the Bulgarian Nuclear Regulatory Agency (BNRA).
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Noncho Dimitrov welcomed the guests and expressed confidence in the productivity of the meeting for advancing cooperation in nuclear security education. He also highlighted that the Center for Nuclear Security Support at UNWE, led by Prof. Dr. Svetoslav Spasov, is part of the International Nuclear Security Training and Support Network (NSSC Network) and collaborates actively with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Mr. Valentin Velev from the Bulgarian Nuclear Regulatory Agency (BNRA) emphasized the significance of the event for national and regional nuclear security.
Ms. Quillan Rose, representative of the IAEA’s Nuclear Security Division, thanked the hosts for the excellent organization of the event and presented the development of the NSSC Network subregional group, launched in 2018. She expressed satisfaction with its expansion and emphasized that the current meeting would help strengthen cooperation in nuclear security training.
Representatives from the NSSC Network from Romania, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, and other countries participated in the meeting, along with experts and representatives from the UNWE Center for Nuclear Security Support, including Ms. Magdalena Lateva, Chair of the Audit Committee of the Kozloduy NPP, and doctoral students Georgi Tasev, Anna-Maria Nikolaeva, among others.
The meeting will continue over four consecutive working days, during which international training programs, partnership opportunities, the exchange of best practices, and the development of joint strategic initiatives in nuclear security and capacity building will be discussed. This will now also include the opportunities offered by the newly established Institute for Enhancing Research Capacity in the Nuclear Industry and Nuclear Security at UNWE, created under Council of Ministers Decree № 200 of 26.09.2025.