ELI to relocate in December

 

The English Language Institute (ELI) will move to the Main Building (MB) basement during the winter break. The renovations of the space previously occupied by the AUBG library will be completed on November 20, Director of the Facilities Office Lyudmila Dzakova said.

ELI will move to the MB basement between December 22 and 24. At that time, the relocation will not overlap with any classes offered by ELI. The former library space will be used solely by ELI.

"We started as a 30-student community. Now we are nearly 300. Obviously, we need more space," ELI Director Elena Bikova said. "Moreover, I will not have to worry [any more] about our young students crossing the dangerous street by the bridge, having access to Skaptopara campus, and causing inconvenience to AUBG students," she added.

The new ELI will have a separate entrance facing the Alen Mak Hotel. The students will be issued new ID cards to access the former library floor. "The access to the other parts of the building will be limited and monitored through the security system at the former library entrance," Dzakova said.

All of the ELI classes formerly held in the Skaptopara 2 basement and the New Academic Building will be held in the MB basement. The Facilities Office will assign the vacant space for various purposes at a later date. "Many of the offices have requested to use the spaces vacated by ELI. We will study those requests and will fulfill them in accordance with priority and needs," Dzakova said.

ELI is a supplementary part of AUBG. It was established in 1992 to educate prospective AUBG students, by getting them ready for TOEFL and SAT tests, and by giving applicants the ability to refine their English. ELI instructors prepare students for all three sections of the SAT.

ELI recently gained the status of a Certified Internet-Based TOEFL Test Center. "Since the ELI started, we grew exponentially," Bikova said. "The Institute is self-sustainable, and we paid for all the renovations of the MB basement. Additionally, the AUBG benefits from our work in terms of prestige and advertising in Bulgaria and Eastern Europe," she added.