National STEM Centre Opens New Building at Sofia Tech Park

Kristina Ivanova, Dimitrina Vetova

From left: Director of the National STEM Centre Prof. Nayden Chivarov, Prime Minister Rumen Radev, and Innovation and Digital Transformation Minister Ivan Vasilev at the opening of the new STEM Centre building, Sofia, September 29, 2026 (BTA Photo/Minko Chernev)

Sofia,

29.09.2026 16:13

(BTA)

The National STEM Centre’s new building opened at Sofia Tech Park on Tuesday, with Education and Science Minister Georgi Valchev and Prime Minister Rumen Radev attending.

Funded under Bulgaria’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), the centre will support student learning, training for academic Olympiad teams and teachers’ professional development. It will also host practical training, competitions and other educational activities.

"This will truly be a hub for connecting students, teachers, universities and experts, so that through joint efforts, we can move Bulgarian education and the Bulgarian economy forward," Radev said.

He added that the centre symbolized successive Bulgarian governments’ commitment to keeping education a priority. Radev recalled that the idea was developed during Stefan Yanev’s caretaker government, which he appointed while serving as president. Nikolay Denkov was education and science minister at the time. The project was subsequently included in the NRRP. Radev expressed hope that the centre would help Bulgaria become a prosperous, democratic and European country.

Students demonstrated the centre’s capabilities through projects in robotics, artificial intelligence, natural sciences, design and 3D prototyping, and digital technologies.

Construction began on May 20, 2025, with a groundbreaking ceremony at Sofia Tech Park. The wider project, which also includes three regional STEM centres, was budgeted at more than BGN 37 million and was initially due for completion by May 2026.

/MR/