ON THE ROAD TO SUCCESS

Quality education is one of the key factors that guarantee a good professional and personal future. No-one is contesting this fact. However, when the topic which education can be considered good is mentioned, the opinions start to differ.

Of course, by no means we can underestimate the role of the traditional system of education. From nursery and kindergarten to university it models the lives of children, teenagers and young adults, and defines their everyday life, their basic literacy and the fields in which they specialise in order to become good professionals.

But the dynamic environment in which we live has long demonstrated that the traditional system of education is unable to fully prepare students and graduates for the challenges of tomorrow. The need of constant learning through one's life so that they are adequate to the constantly changing environment is a reality that we all should keep in mind: both parents when deciding what and how their children should study and adults who seek new roads for professional development or updating of already existing professional skills.

Classic system of education is unable to answer this demand. Conservatism is inherent in it, and this is a good thing because traditions play a huge role in the educational process and the building of modern society. People who seek innovative methods for education and teaching, and training in fields that are yet to dominate different fields of economy and human activity find the solution in bold private educational initiatives.

The quality methods for alternative and supplementary education are highly specialised and targeted towards solving concrete goals like early age personal development, early music education, specialisation in a field with huge potential for expansion in the near future such as video games development. A sign for the quality of education offered by such organisations and initiatives is the fact that they manage to work effectively even in pandemic conditions.

We only need to choose the best for our children and us.

How to inspire young children to learn and to grow intellectually while at home? How to be sure that they will benefit from their games? In the past months thousands of parents face this heavy task, or they do until they order the products and ideas of Zoobuka (phone: +359 879 205 207, www.zoobuka.com, Instagram: @zoobuka, FB: /zoobuka). The innovative Bulgarian company has dedicated itself to creation of educational materials and games for children aged 3-5 years that develop the imagination, turn studying into a fun activity and offer endless options for adaptation to fit the child's age and individuality. Combined with the free educational resources available on www.zoobuka.com, the alphabet cards, the colouring booklet and the special posters help equally both children and parents. For the young ones they are the fun and beneficial first steps on their road towards the realisation of their potential, and for adults they are the confidence that they provide only the best to their children and the joy of quality shared time spent playing and learning together.

Children need to jump, run, somersault and generally stay physically active to grow healthy and develop as expected. The Little Gym (Sofia, 118 Bulgaria Blvd, www.sofia.thelittlegym.eu, FB: The Little Gym Sofia, Instagram: thelittlegymsofia) provides them with a lot more than a safe, secure space to spend their endless energy. While raving around, qualified instructors help the children learn important skills, build friendships, test their character and limits. Through sport, music, games and fun activities at the gym they develop physically, psychologically, intellectually and socially. The Little Gym is a part of an international child development club that understands learning as a 3-dimensional process that covers active movement, brain activity stimulation and social skills development. The programme is divided to classes for babies and children up to 3 years of age, gymnastics for preschoolers aged 3-6 and kids aged 6-12. The progressively structured activities in each age group allow the child to develop with their own speed while having fun, building their personality and toughening both their body and their character.

Music is a wonderful opportunity for a professional career or a hobby that brings personal satisfaction and reveals new horizons. Whatever the reasons your child or you are considering to seriously start attending singing, guitar or even drum lessons, the right place is Melody Music School (Sofia: 5 Nikolay Ostrovsky St, phone: 089 444 8518, www.muzschool.com). Melody's mission is simple yet fascinating – to help adults and children to discover their inner musician with the help of bright teachers, a special curriculum and opportunities for concerts in front of an audience. Melody is equally good in face-to-face and distant training, and in its skill to develop everyone's talent with love, attention and professionalism.

The global video game industry is a business worth hundreds of billions of US dollars and the demand for talented and experienced developers in this field is set to increase. ARC Academy (Sofia, 23 Mizia St, floor 1, phone: +359 886 925 303, www.arc.academy) has the mission to help young people in Bulgaria who want and have the potential to grow in this field to master the skills and knowledge they need in order to become professional video game developers. The 2-year Game Dev programme introduces students to each aspect of game creation and to the real-life positions and work processes at a game studio. The training's first year is an introduction to visual and digital art and work with different tools and softwares. During their second year students can go deeper into the area of video game development they feel suits their individuality – Game Design, Concept and Technical Art or 3D Modelling & Animation. The lecturers are leading professionals in their fields and the ARC Academy's corporate partners have already hired some graduates.

Finance Academy (www.financeacademy.bg) fills a crucial gap in Bulgarian education: the need of quality, practical training in finance, investment, business management. The project aims to train Bulgaria's next generation of entrepreneurs via a carefully developed curriculum led by Bulgarian and international experts. The Business & Entrepreneurship programme is for people who have a business idea or a business, but seek additional educational, operative and financial resources to unleash its potential. Investments and Personal Finance, for its part, explains in an accessible way how the world of investments functions and how one can structure well their personal finances. The training at Finance Academy is completely online and allows students to test their new knowledge and skills.