Since 2020 the American University in Bulgaria in Blagoevgrad has offered a scholarship named after Honorary Consul Yuliy Nushev. It is intended for Georgian students starting their first year at the university.
The idea came out of discussions with the Embassy of Georgia in Sofia in 2019. In April 2020 the Honorary Consul and the university signed a donation agreement. Tamara Liluashvili, then Ambassador of Georgia to Bulgaria, took an active part in preparing it. In the 2020/2021 academic year the first three Georgian students began their studies with the scholarship. The scholarship was awarded to Georgian first-year students until 2026.
Recipients are selected by the AUBG Scholarship Committee, not by the Honorary Consul. Candidates must be full-time first-year students in good academic standing. Preference goes to applicants involved in social causes and community projects in Georgia or Bulgaria, and to those with an interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, project management or work with non-governmental organisations.
Support for Georgian students was discussed again during Ambassador Otar Berdzenishvili's visit to Blagoevgrad in April 2024, including with AUBG President Dr. Margee Ensign.
Georgian applicants apply through AUBG's standard admission process. The university's Admissions Office provides information on current donor-funded scholarships and deadlines for Fall 2027.
AUBG scholarships: www.aubg.edu
Embassy of Georgia in Bulgaria: bulgaria.mfa.gov.ge