Svetoslav Todorov Varadzhakov

Name: Svetoslav Todorov Varadzhakov
Age: 26
Born: Sofia, Bulgaria
Lived in Scotland: Since 2003

Svetoslav Todorov Varadshakov is one of thousands of young people who come to Scotland from across the world to study and to work. They join our universities and industries to swell and enrich the existing pool of talent and entrepreneurship in this country.

A Bulgarian who took an MSc at Napier University in Edinburgh, Svet as he is know to his friends, now works as a Monitoring Consultant, Regulatory and Operational Risk, for AEGON Asset Management, based in Edinburgh, his first job in Scotland since obtaining his MSc. 

Svet's job is to perform regular reviews to ensure the company exposure to regulatory and operational risks is within satisfactory limits. In other words, it's about reviewing the risk of loss resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes, people and systems or from external events.

AEGON Asset Management UK, manages around £35bn on behalf of institutional, insured and retail-fund clients so he has a very responsible job.
 
The young Bulgarian came to Scotland in 2003 to study for an MSc in Corporate Strategy and Finance at Napier, the only one of its kind available in the UK at the time.

From Sofia in Bulgaria, Svet, now 26, already had a BSc in Economics with Sociology from Sofia University.

He is currently studying for the professional chartered accountancy qualification, ACCA and CFA., the chartered financial analyst qualification.

Svetoslav's first-hand experience tells him that the educational and business opportunities available in Scotland are excellent, in any industry.

He also feels that he had received extremely helpful advice when locating to Scotland from the British Council in Sofia and the Programme Leader at Napier.

"Scotland has an excellent combination of business opportunities and quality of life andnd the people are very similar to those in Bulgaria, very welcoming."

His aim is to remain in Scotland and to develop his career within his company.