Образователни потребности в областта на местното развитие в макрорегиона Долен Дунав
Educational Needs within the Field of Local Development in the Lower Danube Macroregion

Summary/Abstract: This article is a result of an inves-tigation into the need for edu-cation and training in local development in the Romanian and Bulgarian Danube border region, aimed at creating joint projects between the universities in which the authors work. Local development is an important part of the managerial process, which involves complex interac-tions at different territorial levels: local, regional, national, bilateral and international. In this case, a historic opportunity exists before the regions examined in asso-ciation with the European Union Strategy for the Danube Re-gion. To fully investigate this possibility, local development iss-ues must be considered in both countries, especially regarding better educational and training programmes. Therefore, local development is considered a prio-rity topic for cooperation between both universities. The need for education and training of specialists has a strong relationship to the capacity of the developmental process needed and the priorities for the development, planning, implementation and evaluation of development policies having a positive local impact in a regional context. Studies made in this context are based on documentary research and secondary analysis of informa-tion in order to evaluate the discrepancies in terms of local development and to determine the educational and training needs for the economy. The rationale for responding to the need for coope-ration between the universities in Bulgaria and Romania is discussed and the establishment of joint initiatives in this respect is pro-posed. Factors are highlighted to explain why cooperation between both universities in determining local development issues on both sides of the Lower Danube are neces-sary and desirable. Such factors are: proximity, common oppor-tunities and responsibilities to the Danube as a common asset, similarities in the patterns of development, the overall challenge in relation to European integra-tion, the use of assistance from the European Union, better exploi-tation of the internal market, the need to accelerate the process of modernization, and to achieve savings in terms of scope and scale. Among other ideas, the authors recommend establishing a univer-sity center to coordinate the network between institutions rela-ted to higher education in Bulgaria, Romania and other countries in the Danube macro-re-gion in local and regional deve-lopment. Research, preparation and the establishment of a general Master's program in the field of local development is suggested.

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