Final Countdown to the Innovation Academy 2022 Hackathon for Student Startup Business Ideas

Only a few days left until the ninth edition of the Innovation Academy – the biggest competition for student entrepreneurs in Bulgaria, which this year will be held on June 3 and 4 in Sofia Tech Park. The competition is organized by our partner Innovation Starter, and Invest Sofia is an institutional partner together with the Representation of the European Commission in Bulgaria, the European Investment Bank, and the Bulgarian Development Bank.

We support the initiative for another year. At the invitation of the organisers, again we’ll be part of the Academy programme and the jury of the hackathon with the participation of our CEO Dr. Maria Hristova as a lecturer and a member of the jury.

Lecturers and members of the jury this year are experts from many Bulgarian universities, the Representation of the European Commission in Bulgaria, the European Investment Fund (EIF) in Bulgaria, the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works (MRRB), managers of large private companies, entrepreneurs and investors, media representatives, experts from non-governmental and branch organizations such as the Bulgarian Association for People Management, the Bulgarian Association of Information Technologies (BAIT) and others.

The academy will be held in 3 main modules: mentoring, training sessions and prototyping. The first and the second winning teams will receive financial funding for their business idea, provided by the European Investment Bank and the Bulgarian Development Bank, and a visit to the European institutions in Brussels provided by the Representation of the European Commission in Bulgaria for the teams on first, second and third place. Students who do not rank in the top positions can also count on incentives and prizes.

The Innovation Academy is the largest public-private partnership in the country between organizations from the private, academic, public, and NGO sectors. The project aims to develop students’ entrepreneurial skills and support their early business ideas. The event is held nationwide and in partnership with 14 Bulgarian universities and training centers. So far, more than 4,300 participants and more than 720 teams have been trained.

We are looking forward to very interesting hackathon days full of innovative, sustainable and impactful ideas created by talented Bulgarian students. Follow our website and social media profiles for flashnews from the Academy.