For the 8th consecutive year, Innovation Starter is organizing the national competition Innovation Academy – Bulgaria Innovation Hackathon. Invest Sofia is an institutional partner of the event, and Senior Executive Officer Dr. Maria Hristova accepted the invitation of the organizers to be a lecturer and a member of the hackathon jury.
Innovation Academy is the largest public-private educational partnership in the country between organizations from the private, academic, public and NGO sectors. The project develops students’ entrepreneurial skills and supports their first business ideas with funding and mentorship. The Academy started in 2014 with two partner universities in Sofia, and to date 14 universities and training centers from all over the country are part of the initiative. Over 4,000 participants and more than 370 teams have been trained in the project so far.
Again, Innovation Academy 2021 will take place as a 24-hour hackathon, on June 4 and 5 in Sofia, at the Peroto Literary Club of the National Palace of Culture. The Finals will be broadcasted online on Facebook and YouTube. The winning team with the most creative idea will receive funding, provided by the European Investment Bank, and a visit to Brussels with the institutional support of the European Commission in Bulgaria.
Together with Invest Sofia, partners of the Innovation Academy 2021 are the European Commission in Bulgaria, the European Investment Bank, the America for Bulgaria Foundation, Sofia Water, part of Veolia, Aurubis Bulgaria, Coca Cola Bulgaria.
Team registrations are open by mid of May. For more information and application link, please visit the initiative’s website here.