One hundred and twenty associations of universities and research organizations took place in Europe from 2000 to 2019, according to the Ministry of Education and Science. 

The peak of this process is in 2014-2015, when 37 consolidations were registered, according to data from the European Association of Universities (EAU).

These are the countries that attract the most Bulgarian candidate students.

This conclusion was reached by experts from the Institute of Market Economics (IME) in the analysis of international experience in mergers, acquisitions, acquisitions and consolidation of universities.

Today the study was presented to the members of the working group at the Ministry of Education and Science, which by June 30, 2022 should prepare a concept for the unification of higher education institutions in Bulgaria.

The trend towards the consolidation of universities not only in Europe but also around the world has been intensifying over the last 20 years.

It covers more and more universities and countries.

Some of the processes that started after 2017 in Europe have not yet been completed and are not included in the EAU statistics.

Data on mergers of universities in North America (mainly in the United States) and Asia (mainly in Japan) also show activity in the last 10 years.

MES: The reform in higher education begins with the attestation of teachers

Higher education institutions are uniting in pursuit of goals they cannot achieve on their own, say IME experts.

They are most often improving the quality of education and research, reducing fragmentation, achieving economic benefits, better opportunities for diversification of research programs, specialties and areas. 

There are usually several reasons for consolidating higher education.

universities