site.btaThird Annual SUMMIT Project Conference to Be Held at Sofia University

The third annual conference under the SUMMIT (Sofia University Marking Momentum for Innovation and Technological Transfer) project will take place at the Rectorate of Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, the university's press office said.

The scientific forum will officially open on April 21 at 10:00 a.m. in the Aula of the Rectorate. Representatives of various state institutions, as well as international scholars and researchers, have been invited to attend.

During the conference, leading and affiliated researchers - heads of 22 scientific groups working in different fields - will present their activities under the project in dedicated sessions. A parallel poster session will showcase results achieved so far by some of the university projects funded through SUMMIT.

Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski has been implementing the SUMMIT project since early 2023. The project is funded by the EU’s NextGenerationEU instrument under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, within the 'Innovative Bulgaria" component. It has a duration of 42 months and is set to conclude on June 30, 2026, with total funding of BGN 44 million (EUR 22.5 million).

SUMMIT is a comprehensive strategic research and innovation programme for the development of the university. It includes 115 relatively independent projects and related activities, involving nearly 950 lecturers, researchers, PhD students and staff.

The core of the programme is the work of 22 selected research groups, each with a budget between BGN 1.1 million and BGN 1.8 million, accounting for 60% of the total funding. These groups operate in key areas such as artificial intelligence, green energy and environment, climate and natural risks, quantum informatics, medicine, new materials, European values and social challenges, digital education, digital humanities and SME digitalisation.

Seventeen of the groups are led by top researchers from Sofia University, while five are headed by leading scientists from foreign universities and industry.

In addition, 93 projects from all faculties have been funded on a competitive basis, 44 of which were successfully completed by the end of 2025.

Under the international cooperation component, 966 researcher mobility exchanges had been carried out by the end of 2025 - 673 outgoing and 293 incoming.

The programme also includes a component for intellectual property protection and technology transfer, aimed at building an integrated system to support researchers, including assistance with international patent applications. By the end of 2025, seven international and six national patent applications had been filed, the university said.