AUBG, Albanian Embassy Help Students Get Home
13 Albanian students and one Montenegrin safely made it home after leaving the AUBG campus in Blagoevgrad March 19. The international students wanted to return to their countries, a task made difficult after Bulgaria and Albania closed their borders following the COVID-19 outbreak.
AUBG Interim President Dr. David Evans got in touch with H.E. Donika Hoxha, Ambassador of Albania to Bulgaria, and together they worked on possible ways to help the students on campus.
“We had to make some very quick decisions last night and this morning to get this done,” Evans said. “I've been in constant communication with the ambassador since last night.” Thanks to the prompt reaction and kind support from the ambassador and her team, the students were able to leave with a chartered bus from Sofia Airport.
Gerhard Mema, a first-year student from Durres, Albania, thanked AUBG for the “work to help the students pass the difficult situation that the coronavirus has spread around the world.”
AUBG was the first university in Bulgaria to implement online classes when the news of the spreading of the virus first arrived. All AUBG students will complete their semester online and seniors will graduate on time.
“I really appreciate online learning,” Mema said. “It is a comfortable and fast way to [understand] the material.”
About 100 students remain in the Skaptopara campus. They also attend their classes online and have access to catering, health and counseling services. AUBG has implemented strict hygiene measures in all buildings, which are accessible only to members of the university community.