Your Erasmus+ journey begins with South-West University
+3598866247904
Your Erasmus+ journey begins with South-West University
+3598866247904

Our Coordinators

Email: m.kamenichka@swu.bg

Faculty of Education - Mariya Kamenichka, PhD

Assistant Professor

Biography

INSERT SHORTBIO HERE

Email: maya_tcholakova@swu.bg

Faculty of Public Health, Healthcare and Sports - Maya Tcholakova, PhD

Associate Professor

Biography

Dr. Maya Tcholakova is the Erasmus coordinator of the Faculty of Public Health, Healthcare and Sports. Her teaching and research are focused on social work with culturally diverse individuals, groups, and communities; social work with children and families; anti-oppressive social work practice.

She has presented lecture courses under Erasmus at the University of Stockholm, Sweden, and Thomas More University, Belgium.

She carried out a Fulbright-funded research project at the University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, USA, and a teaching course design project at the Central European University, Budapest, Hungary. She is a grant holder of the Soros Foundation Research Support Scheme – Prague. Tcholakova participated in international institutional cooperation projects with Brunel University, London, UK; University of the West of England, Bristol, UK;  Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, Ireland; University of Gothenburg, Sweden. 

Associate Professor Maya Tcholakova published in renowned scientific journals such as International Social Work and the European Journal of Social Work. She presented at international scholarly events in Prague and Brno, Czech Republic; Birmingham, UK; Helsinki, Finland; Sofia and Varna, Bulgaria; and more.

Tcholakova is currently Fulbright alumna and a member of the Academic Council for Refugee Issues to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Bulgaria and of the Governing Board of the Bulgarian Association of Social Work Education.

Email:emili2000@abv.bg

Faculty of Economics - Milena Filipova, PhD

Professor

Biography

Professor Milena Filipova is the Head of Management and Marketing Department and Erasmus coordinator of the Faculty of Economics of Southwest University “N. Rilski”. Her scientific interests are in the field of managerial decision making, crisis management, competition and competitiveness, leadership and leadership competencies.

She has presented lecture courses abroad in the following universities: University of Ostrava, Czech Republik; University of Economics and Humanities, Bielsko Biala, Poland; University of  Deusto, Bilbao, Spain; University of Aveiro, Portugal; University of Kragujevac, Serbia; University of Sumi, Ukraine.

She specialized in: Institute of Political and Administrative Sciences in Jesuit University lgnatianum in Krakow. Poland; Department of Business Administration in Technological Educational Institute of Central Macedonia, GreeceFaculty of Economics in Ecological University of Bucharest, Romania; Academia Istropolitana Nova in Bratislava, Slovakia;  Department of Business Administration in University of Economic and Social Science “Macedonia”, Thessaloniki, Greece.

Professor Milena Filipova is a member of editorial boards of foreign and Bulgarian scientific journals: „Entrepreneurship”, Bulgaria; „Economics and management”, Bulgaria; Journal Production engineering archives, Poland; Economic Processes Management: International Scientific E-Journal, Ukraine; Scientific Journal “Ekonomika” Society of Economists, Nis, Serbia; Scientific Journal MIND, Poland; FIRMS’s International Journal of Economics and Management Studies, India; (ASEJ) Scientific Journal of Bielsko-Biała School of Finance and Law, Poland; Revista Europa del este Unida, Chili.

She is a member of national and international scientific organizations: Board of Union of the economists in Bulgaria; Bulgarian Chamber of Science, Education and Culture; Tourism Council – Municipality of Blagoevgrad; Chamber of Higher Education Teachers; Association of Lecturers of Economics and Management; International Association of Sustainable Development    IASD; Macedonian Association for Marketing; Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research – Europe; Rhetoric Society of Europe (RSE).

Email: mayachochkova@swu.bg

Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences - Maya Chochkova, PhD

Chief Assistant Professor

Biography

Maya Chochkova obtained her master’s degree in Chemistry from the South-West University in 2000. She conducted her PhD studies at the same University under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Tsenka Milkova, DSci, and graduated in 2006 (Bioorganic Chemistry, Chemistry of Natural and Physiologically Active Substances).

She conducted specializations at the University of Technology, Institute for Analytical Chemistry, Micro- and Radiochemistry (Graz, Austria), “Еötvös Loránd University” (Budapest, Hungary) and Babeş-Bolyai University (Cluj-Napoca, Romania).

Her research interests are in the field of the discovery of novel biologically active compounds by chemical modification of natural compounds (cinnamic acids, peptides, amino acids, alkaloids) or drugs (anti-influenza, anti-Alzheimer) using conventional and green methodologies. Furthermore, her scientific interest is devoted to in vitro evaluation of anti-tyrosinase, anti-glucosidase and radical scavenging activities of the novel compounds.

Moreover, she has been a Supervisor of one PhD student and 32 Ms/ Bs diploma students.

She is also a member of the Bulgarian Peptide Society, of the European Peptide Society, and of the Union of Scientists in Bulgaria.