There is an idea to launch a new academic journal entitled "Bulgarian Journal of Science and Education Policy" (BJSEP) and we would like to hear from people interested in contributing in the following ways:

i)as co-editors
ii) as members of the editorial/advisory board/peer reviewers
iii) as active authors
iv) as sponsors.

The aim of the journal is to provide a medium for communication among the persons conducting or using research on secondary and post- secondary education. The BJSEP adopted as its purpose the advancement of knowledge on education through the dissemination through publications, learning meetings and other expert services. The main goal of this activity is to popularize the necessity of rearrangements of the Bulgarian education and higher education system. The analysis shows that such changes are to be of high priority for Bulgaria at the moment. The reform is the only way to make the Bulgarian University system consistent to the contemporary educational systems abroad. Such development would enhance the regional co-operation in South East Europe and would facilitate the establishment and consolidation of the Bulgarian civil society that is a requisite for security and stability of that part of Europe. In order to realize this aim, a comprehensive understanding of the present state-of-art in the field of education should be achieved. The mission of BJSEP is to facilitate and promote, by means of comprehensive partnership and programs, the creation, dissemination and application of research of exemplary quality in primary, secondary and post-secondary education in all over the world. Certainly the main focus is on the Bulgarian educational system but the critical materials on the educational systems in other countries are also welcomed.

Education and research belong together. This short sentence expresses the very university idea. Without high-level research a higher educational institution seems to be a useless surrogate. In the condition of mass education this explicit assertion is not easy to be understood and even accepted. The new journal will emphasize on this fact. On the other hand research is just the heart of science. The science advances and flourishes when research is managed in a proper manner. That's why BJSEP will deal with the research policy, research management and planning. These topics have great influence on the policies in industry, government departments, universities, and in the whole society. We will seek manuscripts examining the interaction between the problems mentioned with the economic, social, political and industrial processes; the latter being still obscure in a country in transition like Bulgaria.

BJSEP is a multi-disciplinary journal that is international in scope and reaches an audience of academia, government policy makers and all others interested in these issues. The articles appearing in BJSEP should be indexed and abstracted in Sociological Abstracts and other appropriate secondary sources.

Professor B.V. Toshev, f. Deputy-Minister of Education and Science, University of Sofia,
toshev@chem.uni-sofia.bg