Building Students’ Competencies Through Volunteering: Lessons Learnt from Pro Bono Pilots at UNWE

Abstract

Abstract: The topics of transferable competencies and soft skills creation have become a very important part of the current understanding of quality in higher education. Building them through volunteering and pro bono, on the other hand, are rarely practiced and studied in Bulgaria. The article aims to outline ways to implement volunteering as part of the teaching and training processes. It also presents preliminary results of a study on the motivation and satisfaction of students from the University of National and World Economy who have participated in three pilot pro bono programmes in the period of March 2019 - June 2020.