Training Seminar: "Preparation of Documentation for Doctoral Program Accreditation Procedures"

On the 28th of January 2025, the National Evaluation and Accreditation Agency (NEAA) held a seminar, hosted by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), on the topic of "Preparation of Documentation for Doctoral Programme Accreditation Procedures." This was the first training seminar conducted in the jubilee 30th year since NEAA's establishment.
The event generated significant interest, with over 800 representatives from higher education institutions and research organizations registering for participation.
The seminar was held in a hybrid format. The in-person session took place in the renovated Grand Hall of BAS, equipped with modern audio-visual technologies and facilities for recording and broadcasting events, and was attended by over 190 guests. Due to the technological limitations of the online platform used, an additional 500 participants were able to join remotely.
During the seminar, the discussions centered around specific aspects of the doctoral programme accreditation procedure, the self-evaluation report, and the completion of electronic forms for reporting the quantitative indicators from the Criteria for Doctoral Programme Accreditation. Information was also provided on access to NEAA's cloud storage, as well as on the deadlines and procedures for submitting accreditation requests.

The event was opened with introductory remarks by Prof. Eliza Stefanova, President of NEAA, and Prof. Evdokiya Pasheva, Vice-President of BAS.

The seminar continued with four presentations. The first presentation, titled "Doctoral Programmes Through the Lens of Regulatory Documents," was delivered by Ms. Asya Stoyanova, Director of the Directorate for Evaluation, Accreditation, and Post-Accreditation Monitoring and Control.

This was followed by a presentation titled "Methodological Guidelines for Preparing a Self-Evaluation Report for Doctoral Programme Accreditation," presented by Assoc. Prof. Maria Kehayova-Stoycheva, a member of NEAA's Accreditation Council. The presentation was prepared in collaboration with Prof. Velizara Pencheva, Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Technical Sciences.

Prof. D.Sc. Nadya Zlateva, a member of the Standing Committee on Natural Sciences, Mathematics, and Computing, presented to the guests the methodological guidelines for completing the primary data forms for doctoral programme accreditation and provided instructions for their accurate completion. The final presentation, delivered by Junior Expert Anastasiya Georgieva, was titled "Doctoral Programmes in NEAA's Cloud Storage."

The seminar concluded with a Q&A session with the audience. All panelists, along with Prof. Stefanova and Legal Advisor Atanas Blidov, took part in responding to the questions.

You can find a full recording of the seminar and the presented materials at the links below:

Video recording of the seminar
Presentation 1: "Doctoral Programmes Through the Lens of Regulatory Documents" – Asya Stoyanova
Presentation 2: "Methodological Guidelines for Preparing a Self-Evaluation Report for Doctoral Programme Accreditation" – Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maria Kehayova
Presentation 4: "Doctoral Programmes in NEAA's Cloud Space" – Anastasiya Georgieva

Images: NEAA