Petia Dimitrova, Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson of the Management Board of Postbank, and Ivan Nenkov, CEO of SoftUni: We are changing the market via a new strategic project, which connects business and education

26 October 2018

Postbank has launched a joint project with SoftUni in support of Bulgarian education. It involves various activities aimed to prepare young people for the jobs of the future and a successful career in Bulgaria. Entering a strategic partnership, two of the strongest brands in Bulgaria intend to encourage students to develop their potential as IT and digital leaders, ready to respond to the changing environment and the new banking trends.
 

What are the goals of the Postbank-SoftUni partnership?
 

Petia Dimitrova: The partnership is a logical continuation of everything Postbank has done over the years in order to support young people in their development. We constantly invest in own educational projects and join established initiatives. The idea of a strategic partnership between Postbank and SoftUni, two established and worthwhile brands uniting their experience and expertise to prepare students for the jobs of the future, is a natural continuation of our activities in this area. We deem it important for young people to have high digital competence and be prepared to enter the real business environment right after finishing the university. The project creates excellent conditions for the development of a new generation of skilled experts and, at the same time, is targeted also at our employees, who will be able to build upon their knowledge in a modern educational institution such as SoftUni.
 

Ivan Nenkov: Jointly with Postbank, we are implementing various initiatives in the area of education and IT, in which SoftUni students and the bank’s employees are active participants. The partnership is an example that business and education can work together and create added value for young people, the company and the community as a whole. Our joint activities are the only way to have a high-quality preparation for entering the market – one needs ideas and actions which yield real results. Postbank realized that, as evidence by our joint project.
 

Where is the meeting point of the good connection between business and education?
 

Petia Dimitrova: The meeting point is in joint work and good communication. We want to encourage young people to improve themselves, to stay, work and build a successful career in Bulgaria. This is possible when business is part of the educational process and works directly with students on interesting and innovative projects such as those in our project.
 

Ivan Nenkov: The meeting point is in balance. The goal of any partnership is to be beneficial for both sides so that it becomes long-term and sustainable over time. Our project with Postbank is a bridge between education and the real sector, which is the guarantee for success.
 

What would you advise the young people who are yet to build a career?
 

Petia Dimitrova: They need to be active and curious, to be willing to learn and keep looking for inspiration for success. It is important for them to start their career in a company that shares its know-how with them and encourages them. If they want to grow and become a part of a strong and capable team, we will give them this chance in our internship programme. We will be glad if they join it!
 

Ivan Nenkov: I would advise them to try acquiring new knowledge and always strive to put it into practice in order to turn it into real skills. They should enrol in SoftUni in order to proactively build their future as digital leaders.