Education will continue to increase its importance in the information age, according to Prof. Dr. Natalia Futekova – a long-time lecturer, the founder of the first ERP Master in Bulgaria, a mentor in preaccessors and a member of the board of directors of the Bulgarian Association of Information Technologies (BAIT). In many countries around the world, it is now necessary to understand that the educational system should be free of the traditional pattern of learning material that has not changed for years. It needs to be more flexible and open to novelties, to create new thinking patterns and to encourage students to be open to change.

“If it was normal for a person to complete a vocational education in a certain area and then to work in it for a lifetime, then the speed at which the professions appear and disappear as a whole has made this function of the education system unnecessary. Although the most current professions are currently those of the programmer or the system administrator, the truth is that when today’s children grow up, they will be working entirely new jobs that we can`t even imagine today,” says Dr. Natalia Futekova.

Prof. Dr. Natalia Futekova combines successfully the entrepreneurial career in the field of technology with the academic and scientific activities as well as with the active participation in educational and other social causes. Her research interests are in the development of ERP systems and other business software solutions, business management and information systems deployment. She is actively involved in various initiatives in support of education, culture and entrepreneurship, is a member of the “Innovators in Education” jury, as well as a mentor in the Start It Smart Pre-Accelerator, where he helps young entrepreneurs develop and implement their ideas through personal mentoring meetings, tips, strategic partnerships, providing key resources, and more.

“Young people can be successful professionals only by educating an open attitude to change, critical thinking and the ability to learn throughout life. This is the new role of education – instead of educating good workers in a particular sphere, creating critical thinking and open to change individuals who will be able to cope with different types of tasks, depending on the changing environment, “says Prof. Dr. Natalia Futekova.

In 2015 Natalia Futekova founded the ERP Academy – an innovative project of companies from the ERP branch in Bulgaria, which unite efforts to make higher education closer to the real needs of the business and the future employees as fully prepared for the labor market in the sphere of business management and IT. Together with Higher School of Insurance and Finance, they create the Business Analysis and ERP Solutions program, which is the first of its kind in Bulgaria, giving a broad view and a very practical focus on the most popular ERP systems. Students have the opportunity to meet with business people, start building a successful career and become successful in the most successful companies. The Master’s Program “Business Analysis and ERP Solutions” is now open and expects its fourth consecutive class of future business consultants and ERP managers.