A Blended Intensive Programme of the D. A. Tsenov Academy of Economics welcomed participants from seven countries

A blended intensive programme on “Blended Intensive Programmes: Taking Stock and Moving Forward” was held from 20-24 June 2025. The BIP was coordinated and implemented by the D. A. Tsenov Academy of Economics. It was attended by 20 participants from seven countries – academic and administrative staff from KreativeEU Alliance partner universities.
The event was officially opened on 20 June 2025 in Plovdiv. In the “city of the hills”, the participants had the opportunity to “dive into the secrets” of the blended intensive programmes.
During a 5-day intensive training course, using a variety of pedagogical approaches, the regulatory framework for blended intensive programmes was presented, along with possible strategies for their planning and organisation in order to achieve eligibility and the desired results for all stakeholders. The BIP covered topics related to managing the life cycle of blended intensive programmes, planning events through the lens of the experience economy, and measuring satisfaction.
Special attention was paid to the implementation of the virtual component of the blended intensive programmes and strategies for increasing participant engagement and commitment. The Academy's gamified e-course, developed for the purposes of the intensive programme, was also presented. It aims to provide an environment for online collaboration, active interaction with e-content, and the creation of educational experiences for learners within the virtual part of the BIP.

An interesting part of the event was ‘hearing the voice’ of the students, PhD students, and staff with international experience, who have already taken part in international mobility and blended intensive programmes. The opinions and recommendations they shared about the programme's focus, scope, balance between physical and virtual part, activities during the physical part, and organisation of the virtual component were used both in identifying and structuring the dimensions for measuring satisfaction and in designing future blended intensive programmes.
Divided into teams, following the recommendations and feedback from previous blended intensive programmes, the participants had the opportunity to design their own event, proposing a theme, priority, target group, partnership, and role of partners in the mobility, description and pedagogical methods and strategies used, expected results, period and venue for the physical part, period, and environment for the virtual part.

During the physical part, participants in the blended intensive programme also learned more about Bulgaria's cultural and historical heritage. The cultural programme of the event included sites included in the UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

The event officially closed on June 30, 2025, when, during a virtual session, the learners presented a communication strategy for the blended intensive programme they had developed. The blended intensive programme “Blended Intensive Programmes: Taking Stock and Moving Forward” ended with three new blended intensive programmes ready for use by the KreativEU Alliance.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.