The next annual report contains information about what happened in 2025. The stated results and achievements are the basis of the analyses, summaries and visions for future actions of the foundation. The Foundation's Executive Board does this on the basis of its year-round deliberations and actions in its role as a collective governing body. Assessments given for our activities by representatives of the state authorities, partners and especially the young people, for whose sake we do all this, were also used.
For the "Evrika" Foundation, 2025 was a jubilee year, in which we celebrated the 35th anniversary of its creation. For all these years, it has become a true symbol of care for the future of Bulgarian science and a pillar in the support of Bulgaria's young talents. Without undue modesty, we can firmly state that our tireless activity in discovering and encouraging future scientists, inventors and entrepreneurs is key for Bulgaria to remain on the world map of knowledge. Our initiatives, scholarships and competitions are the real engine that turns youthful enthusiasm into professional achievements. The foundation is a symbol of support for Bulgaria's young talents and indisputable proof that investing in the knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit of young people is the surest way to the prosperity of our society.
During the year we have worked as a team and have looked for ways and means to comply with the priorities outlined by the Foundation Council and the expert advice of Council members, scientists and specialists. They have also been very helpful in managing our funds so that we can make the most efficient use of people's capacity and rationally utilize the funds available to us. We have been demanding and responsible in the selection of our projects, those to support among the many offered by our long-standing partner organizations and thus realize our programs and mission. Competitive initiation and competition of ideas continued to be at the core of our work. We also made full use of the experience gained over the years, which helped to achieve good results. We managed to use the budget rationally and implement our plans with maximum frugality and reasonable spending of funds. We implemented the scholarship program as a priority, implemented traditional new appearances of the foundation and those in partnership with other organizations, supported projects to achieve common causes and goals with other institutions and organizations. We kept the established traditions and at the same time looked for new ways to support talented children and youth. With this report, we show in figures and facts to our public that Bulgaria has talented and capable young people who, with their activities and successes, are an example for our young generation. The greatest wealth for Bulgaria is the knowledgeable and capable young people.
І. To realize the ideal goals of the foundation
In our annual report, we maintain the well-established approach to follow the implementation of the programs through which we achieve the goals and main tasks, and we will independently analyze the management of the property, which mainly ensures financial stability. The programs are the organizing basis of our activity and some of them take precedence depending on the priorities established by the Foundation Council and decisions of the Executive Bureau. When comparing the achieved results, it is clear that we strive to find such ways and means to achieve the possible without crossing the thresholds of risky boundaries and loss of identity.
With the activities carried out, we remained true to our main goal - discovering and developing talents and abilities in science, technology and technology among children and young people. It has remained unchanged over the last year and will increase its importance in the conditions of the drive for changes in education, where reforms are just beginning and vitally necessary, because they create conditions for adapting what has been done to the requirements of rapidly developing technologies. In this rearrangement of priorities, in the adaptation of the educational system to this, there is a place and a role not only for changes in the educational content carried out in Bulgarian schools and universities, but also in many activities and new approaches of organizations like ours. The new conditions require staff with new training, with new knowledge and skills and a return to the prestige of creative approaches to this and full use of new technologies to modernize education and extracurricular activities. We need more than just studying science. We need better science education—one that teaches kids how to think, not just what to know. We need an integrated science education – an education that connects the dots between theory and practice, between biology and engineering, between mathematics and society. This is how we will prepare students for the reality they live in – technological, connected and often confusing.
- For the acquisition of natural-scientific, technical and economic knowledge, skills and culture in the younger generation, supporting the training and qualification of young people with outstanding abilities in the field of natural sciences, technology and management.
By tradition, the "Talents" program remains the largest and most representative. Through it, we try to find our own approaches to support through activities and incentives the training of personnel in areas of knowledge that are directly related to the needs of personnel of a new type for production, where deficits are acutely felt. Everyone is really aware of the need for changes to respond to changes in production technologies, to a new culture based on rapidly changing working conditions and quality requirements corresponding to increased criteria in everything. A lot of lagging education needs to be caught up, in the preparation of professionals of a new type, responding to the needs of the economy and the lack of labor resources with new modern qualities.
It is reasonable to look at our capabilities and real contributions. Thus, the provision of scholarships, through which we seek influence and support in precisely selected areas, the selection of topics and research programs in which to support the conduct of schools and individual specializations, the expression of achieved results, which are steps towards the development of the individual personality and group scientific interests, come to the fore. In this, as in a mirror, the searches of young people are also reflected, of the increasingly aging Bulgarian scientific community and the need to direct young people to the expression of knowledge and skills at the corresponding high professional level. Finally, real actions of the state in this direction are visibly felt, as an example in this regard is the very recently adopted new program of the Ministry of Education and Culture, which offers free training and scholarships for native talents. The "I choose to study in Bulgaria" program will encourage talented Bulgarian youth who have won medals from international Olympiads in mathematics, informatics, physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, linguistics, geography, earth sciences and artificial intelligence, to continue their education in their home universities without paying semester fees and receiving scholarships. In recognition of the long-term successful activity of the Evrika Foundation in this direction, it is included in an official commission that will carry out the selection and approval of the participants in the MES Program, as well as an annual review of the academic achievements of the participants.
A key place in the implementation of the foundation's "Talents" program is occupied by the campaign to determine the winners of the Evrika Foundation's named scholarships, the foundation's scholarship holders who won medals from the international high school Olympiads in mathematics, informatics, physics, chemistry and biology, and the foundation's scholarship holders for targeted donations. To our satisfaction, after the end of the Covid epidemics, the normal rhythm of conducting our scholarship campaign gradually returned. International Olympiads are already being held in person. Many international scientific appearances have also resumed, providing an additional asset-building opportunity for potential applicants for the foundation's named fellowships. Trainings in all universities are present. Offices began to work as scheduled. Apathy and even laziness began to gradually overcome in most of the students, who got used to absenteeism and lost motivation and wanted them to work extra and improve themselves constantly.
The Evrika Foundation's scholarship program is one of its most significant activities. It brings great prestige to the foundation and the largest financial part of our budget is allocated to it. There are well-established traditions and tried-and-tested mechanisms for selecting fellows. This makes her respected and in demand among graduates of higher education institutions and university management. Some of the best scientists and specialists, people with great experience and who have proven their principles in their work with young people, objectivity in evaluations and transparency in determining the best in a real competitive environment, are engaged to help the foundation. The requirements of the "Talents" program and its Basic Rules are strictly followed, which allow selection based on the success shown by the students in passing the exams, participation in the implementation of scientific projects, the creation of innovative products and first scientific publications as a result of their research.
We are constantly striving to build on new things and improve our work on each of the foundation's programs. A great challenge for us remains the desire to further improve the well-functioning mechanism for determining the recipients of the Evrika Foundation's named scholarships and the Foundation's grantees by targeted donations. And all this happens against the background of the constantly deteriorating characteristics of the quality of young people, the lack of desire to learn, curiosity, general culture and focus on material security without coverage from knowledge and professionalism. Of course there are exceptions, and we are working precisely with those exceptions, but they only confirm the rule that things are getting more difficult and unfavorable for the future of the country. We perceive the selection of Evrika Foundation scholarship holders as a great battle in the interest of the entire society, because we are sure of the great effect that these scholarships have not only for their specific holders, but also for the entire process of conducting the foundation's scholarship campaigns and, above all, on the promotion of the scholarships among a very large circle of students throughout the country. Our joint work continues to grow, which began six years ago on the initiative of Georgi Balanski - a member of the Foundation's Executive Bureau and Todor Stanchev - a member of the specialized jury for determining the winners of the "John Atanasov" scholarships, "Acad. Nikola Obreshkov", "Acad. Blagovest Sendov" and "Acad. Georgi Nadjakov" for a new special scholarship "Acad. Alexander Teodorov – Balan". As a result of the very good preliminary work of publicizing this special scholarship and securing many and valuable applicants, and thanks to the outreach work we started very early on, we have attracted additional interest from many active citizens in the community. The amount of this scholarship is BGN 3,000, as are the remaining eleven named scholarships. The new scholarship holders of the foundation and the recipient of the scholarship "Acad. Alexander Teodorov-Balan" were determined after conducting an open and public competition, following the principles of equality and transparency and in accordance with the Basic Rules of the "Evrika" Foundation for awarding scholarships to schoolchildren and students. Throughout the campaign, our efforts were focused on creating optimally favorable conditions for attracting the best and outstanding Bulgarian students to participate in the scholarship competitions. We made an effort to organize and conduct a good information provision of the entire campaign, and for this purpose we tried to attract the wide range of scientists and specialists with whom the foundation has been working for many years. Along with the traditional and detailed letters to the rectors' and deans' managements of the Bulgarian higher schools, we actively used the already established permanent contacts with a number of specialized youth and student organizations with which the "Evrika" Foundation has implemented several joint projects over the years, as well as the foundation's website, the Facebook page and several popular online platforms in academic circles. Throughout the campaign to recruit scholarship candidates, we kept in active correspondence with many rectors, vice-chancellors. rectors, deputy academic work deans and heads of departments, which made it possible to reduce to a minimum some negatives from previous years, related to inaccuracies in the preparation of the package of application documents and the omission of essential elements that determine to a very large extent the overall appearance of the applying students. We sent thousands of e-mails to university professors with detailed information on the requirements and how to apply for the foundation's named scholarships and endowment scholarships, thus relying not only on the administrative actions of the university administrations, but also, above all, on the direct contact that individual professors and lecturers have with students in their daily teaching and learning activities. Some public appearances and projects carried out with partners were also used to present our concrete proposals to the public. The Career and Resource Centers at the universities gave us great help in the campaign, as well as a large part of the Student Councils, with whom we have been constantly improving the interaction in recent years. We tried again to seek feedback from students in all universities about the level of information provision of our campaign and what else needs to be done to improve it. We found that in all universities in the country, information about our scholarships found wide coverage both on their official sites and on a number of specialized sites of youth organizations and student associations. We can safely say that in some universities we have been able to create virtual representations with the active and free help of distinguished professors and heads of units from departments to faculties. A very important role in our information campaign was once again played by previous winners of named scholarships, who, excited by the recognition of the Evrika Foundation, informed and agitated their colleagues to get actively involved and apply in this year's campaign and scholarship competitions. It is important to emphasize that the good contacts we maintain with a very large number of our previous grantees, as well as their selfless help in the interest of the foundation, are mainly due to the extremely accurate to pedantic fulfillment of all the obligations that we undertake towards them during all the time during which they are our grantees. Here we must note the many administrative, methodical, financial and logistical activities with which the foundation engages not only in the running of the campaign to determine the grantees, but also subsequently in the disbursement of the funds, easing the procedures for withdrawing debit cards, their maintenance and the implementation of a constant two-way exchange of information between the representatives of the foundation and the grantees. Trying to reach the maximum number of potential candidates for the named and targeted scholarships, we took advantage of our membership in several national Bulgarian associations and disseminated detailed information about our scholarship contests through the information networks of the Bulgarian Donor Forum, the National Portal of Non-Profit Organizations, the Sofia City of Knowledge Cluster, the National Network for Children in Bulgaria and the Specialized Network for Corporate Social Responsibility CSR Bulgaria.
For the final round of competitions for the 11 named scholarships and the scholarship "Acad. Alexander Teodorov-Balan" 54 students from 22 higher schools in the country were admitted for interviews. It is gratifying that once again we met the full understanding, dedication, professionalism and selfless work of the members of the specialized juries. We should especially mention by name and once again most heartily thank Academician Petya Vasileva, Academician Alexander Alexandrov, Academician Yachko Ivanov, Prof. Stefan Armyanov, Prof. Ivan Parshorov, Prof. Rositsa Chobanova, Prof. Spartak Keremedchiev, Prof. Ana Georgieva, Assoc. Ana Yanakieva, Assoc. Petya Nozharova, Emil Kelevedjiev, Todor Stanchev and Georgi Balansky. The attracted scientists and specialists respond to the specifics of the performances and achievements of individual candidates for scholarships, and are also as little as possible involved with individual higher education institutions, which allows to largely avoid dependence and subjectivity in evaluation and ranking.
We should especially thank the chairman of the Council of the Evrika Foundation, Academician Kiril Boyanov, for the targeted donation he made to pay the scholarships of two medal winners from the international Olympiads and to finance an annual named scholarship "Dr. Lyuben Boyanov" for the academic year 2026/2027 to a Bulgarian medical student in the last courses of study or a specialist interested in the treatment of lung diseases.
The total number of students applying remains high. They already know well the rules for awarding scholarships. Moreover, the rules are also well known by the rectors, deans and department managements in the universities and this helps to a great extent to avoid formal participants in the competitions. This is an indicator that we have managed to explain well the conditions and requirements for participation in the competitions, the specifics of our scholarships and what significantly distinguishes them from the many other similar competitions for students and schoolchildren. We had the largest number of applicants from: SU "St. Cl. Ohridski", MU - Sofia, UNSS, PU "Paisiy Hilendarski", NSU "V. Levski", Faculty of "Artillery, Air Defense and CSI" - Shumen, VVVU "Georgi Benkovski" - Dolna Mitropolia, Medical University - Varna, Technical University - Varna, RU "Angel Kanchev", University of Thrace - Stara Zagora, Medical University - Plovdiv, University of Economics - Varna, YuZU "Neofit Rilski" - Blagoevgrad, HTMU - Sofia, Technical University - Sofia, VVMU - Varna, Forestry University - Sofia and UASG - Sofia. For another year, we did not have problem areas with few and low-quality candidates. The hesitation of recent years regarding physics candidates for the named scholarship "Acad. Georgi Nadjakov". We took very quick and concrete actions, stimulating the work of all organizations to popularize physics in secondary education. Our efforts must continue and be aimed at supporting the work of the student clubs established in the fields of mathematics, informatics and physics and maintaining an even greater number of competitions, olympiads and contests. Finally, we notice the activation of the students from Technical University - Sofia. We should especially note the strong competition among the candidates for the named scholarship "Acad. Metodi Popov", the named scholarship "Acad. Evgeni Mateev", the named scholarship "Acad. Nikola Obreshkov", the named scholarship "Acad. Blagovest Sendov" and the named scholarship "Acad. Rostislav Kaishev". The continued high level of applicants for the two engineering scholarships and the strong participation of the student-cadets from Vasil Levski National University, Faculty of Artillery, Air Defense and CIS - Shumen is pleasing. The lack of candidates for the "Kolio Ficheto" named scholarship from "Lyuben Karavelov" VSU is again worrying, and this is very surprising, since we still remember years in which we determined two winners of the named scholarship for architecture, precisely from this higher school. The reasons are clearly at the level of the students at the moment, as the information about our competitions is very well reflected in the university, both by its management, as well as by the Career Center and the Student Council. The candidates from the Artillery, Air Defense and CSI Faculty - Shumen of Vasil Levski National University are many in number and of good quality, and the level of applicants from Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" and the Medical Universities in Sofia, Varna and Plovdiv. The trend has been maintained in recent years, a very large number of our scholarship winners, medal winners of the International High School Olympiads, continue their education in prestigious universities in England, Germany, France, Switzerland and the USA, and according to the Statute of the Foundation Scholarships, they will no longer receive scholarships from us. Despite this, and above all, due to the large number of medals won in recent years, the number of scholarship holders of the Evrika Foundation is sufficiently large. Of the Evrika Foundation scholarship recipients so far, 7 have completed their higher education, and another 7 have continued their studies abroad in bachelor's and master's programs. Of the new high school international Olympiad medalists, 3 people have directly enrolled to study at prestigious universities in the USA and Europe.
And in 2025, the tradition of winning many medals and honors was followed by the high school teams in mathematics, informatics, physics, chemistry and biology. The year 2025 began with the winning of a total of 25 medals - 6 gold, 10 silver and 9 bronze at the 21st Zhautekov Olympiad in Mathematics, Physics and Informatics. In this prestigious competition, which took place from January 13 to 17, 2025. in Astana, Kazakhstan, nearly 620 students from 16 countries tested their knowledge. Bulgaria presented itself with 6 teams. Absolute first place and a gold medal in informatics was won by our previous scholarship holder Boris Mihov from SMG. Another gold medal was added by his teammate Alexander Gatev, also a scholarship recipient of the "Evrika" Foundation. Lazar Delyanov returned with a silver distinction in mathematics, and in physics Hristo Hristov and Yunsin Hu. Veselin Markovic, also a scholarship recipient of the foundation, won a gold medal in mathematics. Bulgarian students won 6 medals from the most prestigious mathematics competition in the world. At the 66th International Mathematics Olympiad in Australia, the Bulgarian national team won 3 silver and three bronze medals. 630 students from 110 countries took part in the Olympiad. The silver medalist and scholarship recipient of the "Evrika" Foundation Angel Hristov remained only 1 point away from the gold. Andrey Stefanov and Veselin Markovic won the other two silver medals. Bronze medals were won by Petko Lazarov, Georgi Nikolov and Iliya Vasilev. Along with the medals since 2025, Bulgaria has won 309 medals from the International Mathematics Olympiad - 57 gold, 130 silver and 122 bronze. At the 42nd Balkan Mathematics Olympiad in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Bulgarian Olympians tested their knowledge against 143 students from 23 countries and won 1 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze medals. In the team ranking, Bulgaria took 3rd place. Georgi Nikolov from SMG won a gold medal. The silver medals were won by Angel Hristov from PPMG - Burgas, Andrey Stefanov from PCMG, Alexander Bangachev from PCMG and Lazar Todorov from SMG. Alexander Pendov from MG - Plovdiv won the bronze. Two gold medals with absolute first and second place, two silver and two bronze medals were brought by the Bulgarian students from the 22nd International Olympiad in Linguistics, which was held in Chinese Taipei. The Bulgarian students returned from the International Physics Olympiad in Paris with four bronze medals and one certificate of honor. They were conquered by the scholarship holders of the foundation Hristo Hristov, Iliya Nikov, Alexander Nikolov and Svetoslav Arabov. In the International Biology Olympiad, Bulgarian students won four medals - two silver and two bronze. The silver medals became the possession of our new scholarship holders Dimitar Oronov from NPMG and Stoyan Dobrev - now a student in Bulgaria. The bronze awards went to our new scholarship holders Martin Zamfirov and Boyan Tsenov. Golden, four silver and one bronze medal were won by Bulgarian students from the 29th Balkan Youth Olympiad in Mathematics. Homegrown under-16 athletes competed with participants from 23 countries in Struga, North Macedonia. 220 schoolgirls from 55 countries took part in the European Mathematics Olympiad for Girls, which took place in Pristina, Kosovo. Adelina Dorovska from PCMG won a silver medal, and Maya Minkova and Vanessa Kalinkova reached the bronze. Excellent results were also recorded by our representatives in the European Olympiad in experimental sciences, which was held in Zagreb. On it, the Bulgarian students won two sets of team silver medals. 46 teams from 23 countries competed in the Croatian capital. Bulgarian students won two gold and two silver medals at the 37th International Informatics Olympiad in Bolivia. This brought Bulgaria the fourth place in the world in the unofficial ranking ahead of the USA and Japan. The success of the native talents is the best Bulgarian performance in the history of the most prestigious world competition in informatics. 330 competitors from 86 countries took part in the competition. The gold medals were won by the previous scholarship holders of the "Evrika" Foundation, Veselin Markovich and Alexander Gatev. The silver awards were won by Boris Mihov and Andrey Stefanov - also scholarship recipients of the foundation. The leaders of the team were Iliyan Yordanov and Viktor Kozhuharov, also long-time grantees of the Evrika Foundation. Bulgarian high school students won 4 medals from the 32nd Balkan Informatics Olympiad held in Udine, Italy. In the competition of nearly 50 students from 12 countries, the native computer scientists won one gold medal with absolute first place, one silver and two bronze awards. These achievements earned us second place in the unofficial team standings. The gold medal was won by Andrey Stefanov from PCMG. This is his third award for 2025. The silver award went to Daniel Getov from SMG, and the bronze medals went to Denislav Manev and Nermin Idiriz. Five medals - two silver and three bronze - were won by the Bulgarian students from the 9th European Youth Olympiad in Informatics, which was held in Shumen. Four medals – gold, silver and two bronze – were won by Bulgarian students at the 57th International Chemistry Olympiad, which took place in July 2025 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 360 high school students from 90 countries participated in it. Damian Ivanov from SMG won the gold medal. Viktor Angelov from SMG won the silver, and Nikola Ninkov and Teodor Kusev - scholarship holders of the "Evrika" Foundation - were awarded bronze awards. With the winnings in 2025 honors Bulgaria's tally from the International Chemistry Olympiad is 123 medals - 14 gold, 28 silver and 81 bronze. One of the best Bulgarian chemistry students won 4 medals from the International Mendeleev Chemistry Olympiad. At the 59th edition of the Knowledge Olympiad, a record number of participants from 40 countries competed, with our native high school students winning one silver and three bronze medals.
Summarizing, for the academic year 2025/2026 the "Evrika" Foundation has 50 scholarship holders, of which: 22 bearers of named scholarships; 1 recipient of the scholarship "Academic Alexander Teodorov - Balan" by targeted donation; 4 students and pupils, winners of gold medals from international high school Olympiads; 5 students and pupils, winners of silver medals from international high school Olympiads; 18 students and pupils, winners of bronze medals from international high school Olympiads. Distribution of scholarships by universities and schools is as follows: 20 of them are representatives of SU "St. Cl. Ohridski"; 4 each at Medical University - Sofia and SMG "Paisiy Hilendarski"; 3 at V. Levski National University, Faculty of Artillery, Air Defense and CSI - Shumen, NPMG - Sofia; 2 each at PCMG - Sofia, Forestry University - Sofia, Technical University - Sofia and 1 each at VVMU "N.Y. Vaptsarov" - Varna, MG "Dr. Petar Beron" - Varna, PU "Paisiy Hilendarski", University of Economics - Varna, Technical University - Varna, Medical University - Plovdiv, SHU "Ep. Konstantin Preslavski", UASG - Sofia, University of Insurance and Finance - Sofia, Medical University - Varna.
Twenty-six years ago, as part of the "Talents" program, we became the founders of the Student Institute of Mathematics and Informatics /UchIMI/. He has been working very successfully until now in the direction of discovering and encouraging the creative scientific talent and potential of Bulgarian students in the field of mathematics, informatics and information technologies. We have taken the first steps and are still together with our traditional partners - the Institute of Mathematics and Informatics of the BAS, the Ministry of Finance "St. St. Cyril and Methodius", American Foundation for Bulgaria and the Union of Mathematicians in Bulgaria /SMB/. This project has established itself as a fruitful way for Bulgarian scientists to work with secondary school students. Traditionally, a student conference, an interview for selection of participants in the Research Science Institute /RSI/ at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a summer research school, a student workshop and a seminar for teachers of mathematics, informatics and information technology are held annually. For the twenty-six year period of its existence, several thousand students and several hundred teachers of mathematics, informatics and information technology have passed through its forms. More than 100 projects are developed annually by about 140 students from more than 25 cities in the country. Among the leaders of the student projects, there are more and more often the graduates of this school, who participate again in its life. We will mention a few facts and numbers that show the image of UchiMI for the past year:
The twenty-fifth student conference (UC'25) of UchIMI was held from January 10 to 12, 2025 in Blagoevgrad, with the courtesy of PMG "Acad. Sergey Korolyov". 47 students from 7th to 12th grade took part in it, who presented 38 original projects - 12 in mathematics and 26 in information technology. The participants were representatives of 33 mathematics and science high schools, 5 language, 8 vocational high schools and one secondary school from Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Dobrich, Kardjali, Montana, Pleven, Plovdiv, Ruse, Sofia and Stara Zagora. 12 teachers also participated in the Student Conference, most of whom were scientific supervisors of student projects.
UK'25 has a competitive nature and is the first of the two competitive sessions of UCIMI during the school year. Certificates for excellent performance were awarded to the authors of 7 projects in mathematics and 13 projects in informatics and information technologies. Their authors received as a reward an invitation to participate at partial expenses of UchiMI in the Student Section of the Spring Conference of the Union of Mathematicians in Bulgaria. The distinguished participants from the 11th grade received the right to appear at the interview to determine the Bulgarian participants in RSI'25. Two projects in mathematics and five in informatics received special awards from the jury. Paisii Hilendarski University of Plovdiv recognized the excellent grades of the 12th grade participants with excellent and very good performance for their majors in the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics. Assoc. Prof. Evgenia Sendova and the Bulgarian participants in the international summer research school RSI'24, held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Emiliana Dimitrova from SMG "Paisii Hilendarski" and Nikola Gülev from MG "Acad. Kiril Popov", Plovdiv, gave a lecture on "RSI'24 - doing science with a competitive edge", in which they talked about their participation in the six-week challenge.
The student section /US'25/ of UchIMI was held from March 31 to April 3, 2025. in Varna, within the framework of the 54th Spring Conference of the SMB. The conference is an annual national forum where teachers and experts in mathematics and informatics from the field of secondary education, university professors, researchers, business representatives and publishers of educational and scientific literature meet. 70 projects were submitted and pre-approved for participation in the SC'25 - 12 in mathematics and 58 in informatics and information technologies. In Varna, 92 students from 6th to 12th grade from 13 cities in the country appeared: Burgas, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Gabrovo, Dobrich, Kazanlak, Montana, Pleven, Plovdiv, Ruse, Sliven, Sofia and Stara Zagora. They represented 43 mathematics and science high schools, 7 language, 7 professional high schools and 16 secondary schools. 16 teachers - scientific supervisors of student projects - also took part in UC'25. The mathematics jury identified 10 projects as excellently presented, which received certificates and medals. A special prize in mathematics was awarded to one project. The Informatics and Information Technology Jury awarded certificates for excellent performance and medals to 18 projects. Special awards were also given for 9 projects. The authors of the awarded projects received an invitation to participate at the expense of UCIMI in the Twenty-fifth International Summer Research School in July 2025. in Varna. The University of Plovdiv "Paisiy Hilendarski" recognized the 20th graders with excellent grades for applying to the specialties of its Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics. The Informatics and Information Technology Jury has determined the participants in the Bulgarian team for the upcoming Second International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence in August 2025. in China.
To participate in the interview to determine two Bulgarian participants in the international program "Scientific Research Institute RSI'2025" at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, 17 students from the 11th grade were invited - holders of excellent diplomas from the last two winter Student Conferences of UchIMI. Jury members and consultants conducted a 20-30 minute interview in English with each of the applicants in order to check the level of language proficiency and assess the general culture, specialized training in their respective scientific fields and their readiness to tackle the main challenges of the RSI program. After a lively discussion, the jury chose Dimana Pramatarova from MG "Acad. Kiril Popov", Plovdiv and Atanas Mitrev from EG "Hristo Botev", Kardzhali to represent Bulgaria in RSI'25. The two students performed brilliantly, as during the international school Dimana Pramatarova developed a project in mathematics on the topic: "Weighted and Bounded Catalan numbers and their periodicities", and Atanas Mitrev in astrophysics on the topic: "Studies of Supersoft X-ray sources in M51". It is worth noting the success of Dimana Pramatarova, who ranked among the best five presentations, representative of the topics in which RSI'25 students achieved original research results. For the second year in a row for participation in RSI we had a significant increase in fees and the founders of UchIMI had serious problems in securing the participation fee for the Bulgarian group in the amount of 26,000 US dollars. As founders and long-term participants in all forms of UchIMI, the "Evrika" Foundation financially supported the participation of Bulgarian students, together with the Ministry of Education "St. Cyril and Methodius" and SMB.
At the Summer Research School in Mathematics and Informatics /LISH'25/, which was held in the Creative House of the BAS near Varna from July 6 to 26, 2025. 50 students with prominent interests in the field of mathematics, informatics and information technologies took part. The school now traditionally enjoys international participation and the official language in which it is conducted is English. In 2025, six participated from Luxembourg, Pakistan, Turkey, Great Britain and India. The scientific program of LISH'25 included 18 hours of lectures on current topics in the field of mathematics, informatics and information technologies. The lecturers were BAS scientists, business representatives and students at prestigious universities, former graduates of UchIMI. Students worked on specific research problems, supported by mentors - specialists in the field. Each student works independently or in collaboration on an individual project on a specific topic with the help of a mentor. In this way, young talents got acquainted with new scientific achievements and were given the opportunity to create innovations with a high social application. The opportunity to make healthy professional and academic connections is also beneficial, both for students and silent mentors. Of the 16 mentors who participated in the preparation of the students during LISH'25, two participated in the international summer research school Research Science Institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A large part of the projects continue their development after the school and every year LISH graduates present their works at the national and international level. Some of them are laureates of some of the most prestigious European and world science fairs, such as the European Competition for Young Scientists (EUCYS), the International Science and Technology Fair (Regeneron ISEF), Expo Sciences, etc. The collaboration of the participants with their mentors very often also leads to scientific publications. The school's program was varied with social activities for the students, such as: sports activities and tournaments; evenings of culture, talents; movie night etc. A special website has been created and is being used to promote the Summer Research School. The special pages on Facebook are also actively used, and a closed group has also been created, used for organizational aspects and for additional communication between the participants in the school.
In 2025 we continued the joint work with the Student Institute of the BAS /UchI-BAS/ at the Center for Training at the BAS on the implementation of a joint project to provide mentors/consultants for ten small learning and research communities at the Student Institute of the BAS. Following the example of UchIMI eleven years ago, BAS created a Student Institute to support children with interests in all fields of science and arts /UchI-BAS/. A central place in its activity is the holding of the annual Student Scientific Session, at which the results of student research are presented, which were obtained independently or in co-authorship with other students under the scientific guidance of a specialist in the relevant field and possibly with the assistance of one or more consultants. At the XII Student Session held on November 15 and 16, 2025. a record 115 projects were presented by 208 students from 50 schools in 26 cities in the country. The thematic diversity in each of the five thematic sections was impressive. Both classic areas of the humanities and social sciences, as well as contemporary topics related to the most rapidly developing technologies, were covered. For the first time, a special STEM section was also opened for student projects that are interdisciplinary and cannot be attributed to just one science. Through the Student Scientific Session of UCI-BAS, one of the main goals is realized in practice, namely: to encourage students to research through science, to participate in similar forums where they can present their developments, which makes it possible to build a lasting relationship between schools and the academic community.
For another year, we were one of the organizers of the ninth edition of the Competition-Exhibition "Youth Technical Creativity'2025" (MTT'2025) in the town of Gorna Oryahovitsa in October. The project is aimed at overcoming the negative trend of the outflow of young people from studying the exact sciences and professional education, adequate for the needs of the Bulgarian industry. The Evrika Foundation has long been an integral part of the realization of this project over the years and strives to constantly expand the scope of youth collectives from schools, universities and clubs to demonstrate their developments in the areas of: mechatronic systems for home and industry; software solutions; electric drives; RES; hybrid vehicles; robotics, etc. Through the annual implementation of this contest-exhibition, we strive to encourage and stimulate youth technical creativity. For the holding of the exhibition, we received substantial help from the Municipality of Gorna Oryahovitsa, the Federation of NTS, the Ministry of Education and Culture and business representatives. The bearer of the idea and the main organizer is the Milen Grigorov Foundation. At this year's exhibition, 44 teams from 186 students presented themselves. Four first prizes were awarded to teams from the National Vocational High School for Computer Technologies and Systems - Pravets, the National Vocational High School for Precision Engineering and Optics "M. C. Lomonosov" - Sofia, PG "Gen Vladimir Zaimov" - Sopot and PGSGST "N. J. Vaptsarov" - Chepelare. The exhibition became a true celebration of the intelligence, curiosity and innovative spirit of the young generation. The event attracted the brightest minds who do not just absorb the knowledge of science and technology, but turn it into bold ideas, useful inventions and creative solutions.
In 2025, we finished the work on the fourth joint project with the "Vale" Computer School at the "Zarya-1858" HSC, Haskovo on the topic "In the world of computers". The interest of children and adolescents was enormous. With the help of new technologies, we gave more than 50 participants the opportunity to develop skills and motivation to turn learning into a lifelong activity. The activities helped young people develop their logical and analytical thinking, took part in experiments, were encouraged to share their ideas and contribute to the development of group interests. Active participation and learning through practical application and experience of learning were the main principles underlying each lesson. The children acquired theoretical knowledge and practical skills in the field of computer graphics - dialog graphic systems, geometric modeling, visualization algorithms, creating a graphical user interface, etc. Programming became their new literacy. Their participation in the programming course also developed some other important skills, such as logic and communication skills, helped the children learn to cooperate, work in a team, navigate the social environment and achieve better academic results. The participants of the project "In the world of computers!" demonstrated their projects, computer games, presented an exhibition with collages, retouching models and products, digital drawings and 3D models created with the program Blender.
As a continuation of the extremely successful and useful joint work with the "Vale" Computer School, Haskovo, in 2025 we launched the implementation of a new project on the theme "From the spark of the idea to the world of microbit technologies". With the help of Microbit microcontrollers and compatible builds, children are now creating interactive smart devices such as pedometers, alarm systems, automated barriers, robots and weather stations. Within the framework of this project, in October we organized and held an Open Day. It is a project with a future and aims to unlock the creative potential of young people by giving them the opportunity to create real, interactive projects with social, educational and social value.
Again, together with the "Zarya-1858" Educational Institution and the "Vale" Computer School, we held the Sixteenth International Competition for Computer Drawing and Collage "Creativity Without Borders" Haskovo'2025. We have been committed to supporting this event for fourteen years in a row, and for the last eleven years we have been part of the specialized jury for project evaluation. We must firmly note that the allocated funds were used in the best way, with the event undergoing constant development, especially from the point of view of expanding the spectrum of participants and the quality of the presented projects. The graduates of the "Zarya-1858" National Technical University, and in particular of the "Vale" Computer School, are among the most active and successful participants in the editions of the National Contest "Space - Present and Future of Humanity", and have also won many other national and international awards in the field of digital graphics and painting. With the crucial help of the foundation, for the eleventh year the international competition has been included in the National Calendar of the Ministry of Education and Culture for extracurricular activities for the academic year 2025/2026. A total of 2,043 works were submitted for participation in the sixteenth edition of the international competition in 2025. Participants aged 4 to 27 submitted 671 computer drawings, 803 collages and 243 works from 10 countries, which were evaluated and ranked by a specialized jury in eight age groups. Each year, the number of participants increases, and their works become even more inspired and beautiful. With their sincerity, they tell us the wonderful story of their childhood. The traditional exhibition and the official presentation of the prizes further stimulated the children and their scientific supervisors. An exhibition featuring the work of the LEGO Robotics Club was presented during the extremely exciting and endearing awards ceremony. It turned out that some of the participants in the "Creativity Without Limits" competition are also fascinated by robotics, that is, not only is creativity without limits, but the same applies to the variety of talents that these young people possess. Vale Computer School is a pioneer in the development and implementation of digital graphics and painting. The graduates of teacher Lyudmila Staykova, whom she trains and directs with professionalism, innovative means and stimulating creative thinking, skills and techniques, have won many international and national awards. The wonderful works of the school's students are the product of persistent creative searches for the realization of artistic ideas through new technologies.
In 2025 we started the implementation of another joint project with the National Polytechnic Museum on the topic "RoBo - LegoTech - the next generation of inventors. This project targets children from grades 1 to 4 and aims to introduce them to the world of robotics, engineering and programming through interactive and hands-on learning using LEGO-Education sets. The training is suitable both for children with no previous experience and for those with some knowledge in the field, as well as for those who have already passed the first levels of training. This project is a logical continuation of joint successful initiatives of the two organizations for 8 years already. The aim is to expand the scope of impact and reach new participants. The project is not only a logical, but also a necessary step to consolidate and expand the already achieved successes. Over the past years, a significant resource has already been invested in purchasing the necessary machinery and equipment, including LEGO – Education sets, interactive displays and cameras. The continuation of the joint activity through this project enables the maximum utilization of these investments, using the resources already available to train new groups of children. This is a cost-effective approach that ensures project sustainability and allows funding to be concentrated on the fees of qualified trainers. The continuation of this project is essential to consolidate and build on the results achieved, as well as to expand the scope of the training program. It provides more children with the opportunity to engage in an educational initiative that prepares them for future success and inspires them to become the next generation of inventors and innovators. The main goal of the project is to develop key STEM skills in students by providing them with an opportunity for interactive and hands-on learning. The aim is to stimulate critical thinking, creativity and problem-solving skills while encouraging collaborative learning and cooperation between children. About 90 children and students between the ages of 6 and 13 participate in the project. Classes are held twice a week, with two groups of 6-8 participants and the duration of one class is 90 minutes.
In 2025 we implemented our first joint project with the "University for Children" Foundation to organize and conduct a Distance Tournament ScienceMeUp (Raise Me Scientifically). This marked the beginning of a new partnership, born of the many common goals of the two organizations in the direction of supporting talented young Bulgarians. ScienceMeUp is a science and math tournament that discovers and develops the talents of young scientists and researchers of junior high school age. Thanks to the experience of the University for Children and the professionalism of the teachers in the natural sciences faculties of the University of St. Kliment Ohridski", the tournament has become a major scientific event for students with an interest in science in Bulgaria and abroad. Partners in the project were young Bulgarian specialists - engineers, who completed their education abroad and returned to Bulgaria to implement what they learned and acquired skills. The tournament was held in three stages. More than 850 participants registered, and more than 650 participants submitted their projects in the disciplines of mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology. We are happy to note the significant increase in interest in the tournament by teachers and students from all over Bulgaria. The tendency for more mass participation of students from smaller settlements was maintained, which is one of the main goals of the performance. The tournament has become an annual event that supports students from all over the country to develop in the natural sciences by exposing them to the world of laboratory research and scientific discovery. Our ambition is to increase the fundraising for the realization of this useful project so that it can become accessible to more students and provide more inspiring experiences for future participants.
Taking advantage of the targeted donation made by "Velev Invest" OOD and taking into account the very good results of the joint work with the "University for Children" Foundation, in the fall of 2025 we launched a new one-year project on the topic "Career guidance in natural and technical sciences at the junior high school stage. This is a large-scale initiative, including the following main activities: Organizing and conducting a ScienceMeUp tournament in mathematics and natural sciences; Organization and holding of the Science and Technology Fair in Sofia, Shumen, Plovdiv, Stara Zagora and Blagoevgrad; Participation with stands with demonstrations of scientific experiments in various scientific forums; Participation in hands-on natural science workshops for students in various scientific forums. The implementation of this project is being carried out very successfully at this stage, which is a guarantee for the achievement of results with high added value, in the interest of young people showing a particular interest in engineering and natural and mathematical sciences.
Implementing a decision of the Foundation Council from last year to strengthen our work on the "Talents" program related to summer schools and universities for schoolchildren, students, as well as for young scientists and specialists, in 2025. we got involved in organizing and holding the 55th "Beli Brezi" Summer Astronomy School. It was held from July 17 to August 2, 2025. in the area "Belite Brezi" - municipality of Ardino. We carried out the project together with the Association "Astronomical Club "VEGA" - town Kurdzhali. This school has been running since 1970. and is very popular among students and students with an interest in physics and in particular astronomy and astrophysics. Many of the scholarship recipients of the Evrika Foundation have studied at this school over the years. Astronomical observations and other practical activities covering a wide range of phenomena and celestial objects are carried out during the school. 65 students from grades 8 to 12 of schools in almost the entire country and students participated, and their leaders were prominent Bulgarian professors and doctoral students in astronomy and other physical sciences. During school days, participants were in groups working on specific research tasks. They mastered basic observational techniques and built skills for processing the obtained observational data and their interpretation. Based on observational data obtained during Beli Brezi school, the students developed scientific projects at the university level, which they presented and are about to present at various scientific conferences and forums. Over the years, a significant number of participants in the school have continued their professional development in the field of astronomy in the country and abroad.
In the report, we have presented information on a number of good examples of long-term and effective joint work with universities, non-governmental organizations, business organizations and other institutions in the interest of talented and inquisitive young people.
- To stimulate youth scientific and technical research, invention and other innovative activities.
A significant part of the foundation's work is related to conducting contests and competitions, various forms of creative expression of "live" competitions, exhibitions, schools and mass initiatives. The possible forms of expression of the creativity of young people and children are changing at a very fast pace. As a country of the European Union, we have more opportunities not only to organize local and national competitions, but also to participate in large-scale multilateral projects and events in the field of new technologies and techniques to implement this. Over the last year we have been looking for the best possible approaches to expand the areas and forms of work. For some of the activities we already have traditions, and for others we require new searches, forms of impact and new partners with whom to implement all this. We welcome the intentions of the Ministry of Education and Culture to develop professional education and change the curricula to free up more time for teachers and for the formation of functional knowledge. The new proposals from the Ministry for the National Programs "Future for Talents" and "Skills in Focus" aim to create a sustainable link between generations of teachers and ensure high quality preparation of talented students in mathematics, informatics and natural sciences. The goals of these programs fully correspond with the main goals of the "Evrika" Foundation, for the realization of which we have been working for 36 years. The overall effort is aimed at turning mathematical knowledge into a tool for thinking, understanding, analyzing and evaluating the world with an emphasis on solving practical problems. We are entering the era of shock emergence of new professions. Our efforts must be aimed at guaranteeing the technical staff of the industries with high added value, which offer high-paying jobs, and thus retain young people with mathematical and technical skills in Bulgaria. Artificial intelligence, which is entering at a rapid pace, will more easily replace professions that require specialized knowledge, and much more difficult those that require complex skills. Therefore, our emphasis in teaching children should be directed towards building complex skills.
Our work among students bears the mark of tradition and innovation. When we mention traditions, what comes to mind is what was done through the "Space - Present and Future of Humanity" contest. In the last year was its XXII edition. With the awarding and completion of one competition, work on new projects begins. Increasingly, authors use the accumulated knowledge and ideas for their projects from what they learned at school, but also with the help of information sources on the Internet and with the help of artificial intelligence. The competition is included in the National calendar plan for extracurricular activities of the Ministry of Education and Science. It benefits from the support of Bulgarian scientists working in the field of space exploration and exploitation and is held under the patronage of the first Bulgarian cosmonaut Gen. George Ivanov.
On the Day of the People's Awakeners at the National Polytechnic Museum in Sofia, the "Evrika" Foundation presented the awards to the laureates of the XXVII National Competition "Cosmos - Present and Future of Humanity" at an official ceremony. In 2025, 2,543 students from 8 to 19 years of age took part in it 2,503 projects in five thematic areas.
The participants of the celebration were welcomed Krasimir Stoyanov - double of the second Bulgarian cosmonaut and Academician Kiril Boyanov - chairman of the Council of the "Evrika" Foundation. The laureate in the field of literary works, Velimir Todorov from Konstantin Konstantinov State University, Sliven, with scientific supervisor Penka Vasileva, presented his poem "Letter to the Cosmos". The chairman of the specialized jury, Prof. Tanya Ivanova, spoke on the topic "The Bulgarian Space Greenhouse". The hosts from the museum exhibited a special exhibition with drawings and models of the laureates from the last two editions of the competition.
In the direction "Ideas for scientific and technical experiments" in 2025 they participated 18 students from Sofia, Ruse, Krumovgrad and Madan. The specialized jury evaluated and ranked the submitted projects based on the following criteria:
– thematic focus;
– content and presentation;
– originality of author's ideas;
– conducting research and experiments.
The winner was Bogdan Yulianov Dimitrov from Professional High School of Ecology and Biotechnology "Prof. Dr. Asen Zlatarov", Sofia with scientific supervisor Vyara Yordanova. His project was distinguished by a thorough study and analysis of programs for the application of meteorological satellites to the observation of natural processes. The importance of satellite imagery has been extensively researched, particularly for the warning of dangerous climate events such as floods, forest fires and drought. The Bulgarian participation in this activity is also described. The idea is described in detail in a volume of 19 pages and 15 color figures. The projects of other students from the same high school were also highly appreciated, as well as projects of students from Vocational High School "Vasil Dimitrov", town of Madan, SUPNE "Friedrich Schiller", town of Ruse and SU "Vasil Levski", town of Krumovgrad.
In the direction "Models and mock-ups of space objects" the record of all editions of the competition so far were presented 88 models and models of 124 students from: PGT "Ivan P. Pavlov", town Rousse with scientific supervisor Albena Kotseva; PG in design "Elisaveta Vazova", city Sofia with research supervisor Galya Aralova-Atanasova; SU "Vasil Levski", town Dulovo with academic supervisor Kadrie Shukri; Language High School "V. Karagyozov", town Yambol with research supervisor Velichka Stoyanova; "Knyaz Boris Parvi" Elementary School, Bogdanitsa village, Sadovo municipality, with academic supervisor Nikola Shekerimov; SU "Peyo Yavorov", town Plovdiv; CSU "I'm Bulgarian", c. Varna with scientific supervisor Iliana Michaelova; SU "Nikolai Katranov", town Svishtov with scientific supervisor Elena Ilieva; SU "Elin Pelin", Ruen village, Burgas region with scientific supervisor Maria Dimitrova; PGIT "Racho Stoyanov", town Dryanovo with scientific supervisor Snezhana Stefanova; Father Paisiy Primary School, Ravna Gora village; Frédéric Joliot Curie Language High School, town Varna; "Zahari Stoyanov" Elementary School, town Varna; OU "St. St. Cyril and Methodius", Popitsa village; OU "St. St. Cyril and Methodius", Zamfirovo village; "Vasil Levski" Secondary School, town Krumovgrad; "Knyaz Simeon Turnovski" commercial high school, town Stara Zagora; PG in mechanical engineering "Yuriy Gagarin", city Ruse; PGMET- Lovech; SU "Hristo Botev", town Nova Zagora; "Vasil Levski" Primary School, Vidrare village; "Raina Knyaginya" Elementary School, town Plovdiv; 22 SEU "Georgi S. Rakovski", town Sofia; SU "Hadji Mina Pashov", town Sliven; CPLR - ODK - Balchik; SU "Tsvetan Radoslavov", town Svishtov; OU "Lyuben Karavelov", town Botevgrad; PG in clothing and design "Euridika", city Kurdzhali; "Geo Milev" Elementary School, town Sadovo; Professional forestry high school "N. J. Vaptsarov", town Bansko; VI Primary School "St. P. Hilendarski", town Kyustendil; SU "Konstantin Preslavski", town Burgas; "Petko Slaveikov" Elementary School, town Varna; I "Vasil Levski" Primary School, town Wolfdrum; 119 SU "Acad. Mihail Arnaudov", town Sofia; SUPNE "Friedrich Schiller", c. Ruse; SU "Dimitar Matevski", town Plovdiv; CSU "Gianni Rodari", c. Sofia; 88 SU "Dimitar Popnikolov", town Sofia; Professional high school of light industry, ecology and chemical technologies - Yambol; "Nikolay Petrini" Elementary School, town Yambol; "Otets Paisii" Secondary School, Stamboliyski; SU "St. P. Hilendarski", town Hole.
Although recent, the direction of graphic works created with the help of a computer already has a twenty-year history. The jury had the opportunity to examine and evaluate many interesting and well-crafted projects such as websites, computer games, games for mobile phones, presentations, web-based works with a deep and very content exploratory character about the vast Cosmos. The participation with computer drawings and collages was very massive. They presented their developments and works 285 participants in the national competition. Particularly active and attractive were the projects of students from: PGMET "Acad. Angel Balevski", town Troyan with supervisor Helda Penkova-Marinova; National April High School, Gabrovo with research supervisor Krasinela Georgieva; "Vale" computer school at the "Zarya-1858" elementary school, town Haskovo with scientific supervisor Lyudmila Staykova; SU "N. J. Vaptsarov", town Tsarevo with scientific supervisor Daniela Felonova; "Zahari Stoyanov" Elementary School, town Varna with scientific supervisor Georgi Todorov; "Raina Knyaginya" Elementary School, town Plovdiv; PMG "Prof. Em. Ivanov", town Kyustendil; "John Atanasov" Professional High School of Economic Informatics, Targovishte with scientific supervisor Milena Ivanova; SU "Neofit Rilski", town Bansko; SUPNE "Friedrich Schiller", c. Ruse; "Otets Paisii" Secondary School, Samokov; SU "Vasil Levski", town Krumovgrad; MG "Dr. Peter Beron", town Varna; I SU "St. Semtochiselnitsi", town Market place; 127 SU "Ivan Nikolaevich Denkoglu", town Sofia; EG "Hristo Botev", town Kurdzhali; SU "Hristo Botev", town Carnobat; "Pencho Slaveikov" Elementary School, town Dimitrovgrad; Professional High School of Computer Science and Mathematical Analysis "Prof. Minko Balkanski", town Stara Zagora; "Vasil Drumev" Elementary School, town Varna; SU "Panayot Volov", town Noisy; NUPID "Acad. Dechko Uzunov", town Kazanlak; SU "Ep. Konstantin Preslavski", town Burgas; SU "Dimcho Debelyanov", town Varna; 119 SU "Acad. Mihail Arnaudov", town Sofia; Vocational high school for tourism and light industry "Gotse Delchev", town Blagoevgrad; Panayot Pipkov National School of Arts, Weed; "Nikolay Petrini" Elementary School, town Yambol; PG "Vasil Dimitrov", town Madan; SU "Peyo Yavorov", town Plovdiv; ODC – Nessebar; SU "Ep. K. Preslavski", town Burgas.
They took part in the direction for literary works 168 young authors with 178 works. Very active, inventive and creative were the students from: SU "Vasil Levski", town Dulovo with research supervisor Ivelina Krumova; SU "Konstantin Konstantinov", town Sliven with research supervisor Penka Vasileva; PGMET "Acad. Angel Balevski", town Troyan with scientific supervisor Teodora Dudeva; SUPNE "Friedrich Schiller", c. Rousse with research supervisor Gergana Krasteva; National April High School, Gabrovo; UDC "St. Ivan Rilski", town Kazanlak with scientific supervisor Valentina Dimova; EG "Hristo Botev", town Kardzhali with scientific supervisor Anna Dimitrova; SU "Vasil Levski", town Krumovgrad with scientific supervisor Leila Ahmed; Professional High School of Computer Science and Mathematical Analysis "Prof. Minko Balkanski", town Stara Zagora with scientific supervisor Petya Mihailova; PGIT "Prof. Dr. Asen Zlatarov", city Petrich with supervisor Fatime Izirova; SU "Ep. K. Preslavski", town Burgas with scientific supervisor Daniela Kostadinova; Neurokop Vocational High School "Dimitar Talev", town Gotse Delchev with research supervisor Velichka Chakarova; NGDEK "St. Konstantin Kiril the Philosopher", c. Sofia with scientific supervisor Magdalena Markova; CPLR - ODK - Varna, Literary Club "Castalia"; SU "Elin Pelin", village of Rouen with scientific supervisor Fatme Moussa; SU "Petko Rosen", town Burgas; SU "Yordan Yovkov", town Kurdzhali; 119 SU "Acad. Mihail Arnaudov", town Sofia; SU "Alexander Ivanov - Chapai", town Belovo with scientific supervisor Sonya Panicharova; PGKNMA "Prof. Minko Balkanski", town Stara Zagora; Professional high school for computer modeling and computer systems "Acad. Blagovest Sendov", city Varna; BSU "Dr. Peter Beron", town Prague; SU "Nikolai Katranov", town Svishtov; 4 EG "Frederic Joliot-Curie", city Varna; 127 SU "Ivan Nikolaevich Denkoglu", town Sofia; "Stefan Karadzha" Elementary School, town Varna; NPGVM "Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimov", city Lovech; SU "Savo Savov", town Pirdop; "Peño Penev" Vocational High School of Construction, town Silistra; SU "Peyo Yavorov", town Ruse; SU "Father Paisii", village Medkovets; PG "Vasil Dimitrov", town Madan; SUEE "St. Constantine-Kyril the Philosopher", city Ruse; SU "Aleko Konstantinov", town Bulbous; PG in design "Elisaveta Vazova", city Sofia; "Vasil Aprilov" Elementary School, town Varna; OU "P. R. Slaveykov", town Varna; PG in Mechanoelectrical Engineering and Electronics - Burgas; "Vasil Drumev" Elementary School, town Varna; "Zahari Stoyanov" Elementary School, town Varna; 22 SEU "Georgi S. Rakovski", town Sofia; SU "Hadji Mina Pashov", town Sliven; "Raina Knyaginya" Elementary School, town Plovdiv; SU "Dimcho Debelyanov", town Varna; SU "Kozma Trichkov", town Vratsa, Club "Eloquent syllabists"; СУ „П.Р. Slaveykov", town Kurdzhali; EG "Hristo Botev", town Carnobat; NPGGSD "Sava Mladenov", town Teteven; "Geo Milev" Elementary School, town Sadovo; "Ivan Vazov" Elementary School, town Smolyan; SU "Nikolai Petrini", town Yambol; "Chernorizets Hrabar" Secondary School, town Plovdiv; "Anton Strashimirov" Elementary School, Burgas; "Vasil Levski" Elementary School, Toros village, region Lovech; PGVM "Prof. Dr. Georgi Pavlov", town Dobrich; "Pencho Slaveikov" Elementary School, town Dimitrovgrad; Elementary school "Stoyu Shishkov", town Smolyan; VI Primary School "St. P. Hilendarski", town Kyustendil; SU "Nikola Vaptsarov", town Aitos; SU "Hristo Yasenov", town Etropole.
And in the past year, the majority of participants were young artists. They took part in it 1,948 young representatives from 134 schools and other extracurricular units. The most active were the students from: "Peño Penev" Vocational High School for Construction, town Silistra with supervisor Hristina Gaeva; "Zahari Stoyanov" Elementary School, town Varna with research supervisor Krasimira Yordanova; SU "Ivan Momchilov", town Elena; PG in design "Elisaveta Vazova", city Sofia with research supervisor Galya Aralova-Atanasova; SU "Nikolai Katranov", town Svishtov with scientific supervisor Elena Ilieva; OU "Raino Popovich", town Karlovo with research supervisor Rumen Chitov; 2 AEG "Thomas Jefferson", town Sofia; INU "St. St. Cyril and Methodius", town Yambol with scientific supervisor Lena Ivanova; SU "Vasil Levski", town Dulovo with scientific supervisors Kadrie Shukri and Krasimira Valcheva-Radeva; Elementary school "Khan Asparuh", town Dobrich; PGSSD "Nikolay Haitov", town Varna with research supervisor Elitsa Muchinova; SUPNE "Friedrich Schiller", c. Rousse with research supervisor Gergana Krasteva; "Otets Paisii" Secondary School, Stamboliyski; Father Paisiy Secondary School, Medkovets village, region Montana; OU "St. Paisiy Hilendarski", village of Sotirya; OU "Hristo Botev", village of Pelishat, region Weed; NU "St. Sophronius Vrachanski", town Vratsa; OU "St. St. Cyril and Methodius", Zimnitsa village, Straldzha municipality; "Captain Petar Parmakov" primary school, Gradets village, region Sliven; "Tsani Ginchev" University, town Lyaskovets; NUPID "Acad. Dechko Uzunov", town Kazanlak; "Kiril Hristov" Elementary School, town Stara Zagora; Elementary school "Stoyu Shishkov", town Smolyan; SU "Dr. Peter Beron", city Svilengrad; PGYE "Igor Kurchatov", city Kozloduy; 119 SU "Acad. Mihail Arnaudov", town Sofia; SU "St. St. Cyril and Methodius", town Medium; PGVM "Prof. Dr. Georgi Pavlov", town Dobrich; "Vasil Levski" Primary School, Toros village; "Anton Strashimirov" Elementary School, town Varna; SU "Hristo Smirnenski", town Gurkovo; "Hristo Botev" Elementary School, Oresh village; EG "Hristo Botev", town Kurdzhali; PG in Textiles and Fashion Design - Varna; IV "Frederic Joliot-Curie" Language High School, town Varna; 22 SEU "Georgi S. Rakovski", town Sofia; CPLR - ODK, c. Kubrate; NU "P. R. Slaveykov", town White; OU "St. St. Cyril and Methodius", Manolich village, commune. Sungulare; "Peter Beron" elementary school, Lazhnitsa village, commune. Gotse Delchev; SU "Dimcho Debelyanov", Burgas; CPLR – Burgas; "Dimitar Petrov" Elementary School, town Sliven; SU "Maxim Gorki", town Stara Zagora; SU "Hristo Botev", town Nova Zagora; 26 Secondary School "Yordan Yovkov", town Sofia; "Elisaveta Bagryana" Elementary School, town Sliven; OU "St. St. Cyril and Methodius", Aleksandrovo village, commune. Lovech; SU "Dimcho Debelyanov", town Varna; NU "St. Kliment Ohridski", the village of Krumovo; PGIT "Prof. Dr. Asen Zlatarov", city Petrich; "Raina Knyaginya" Elementary School, town Plovdiv; OU "St. St. Cyril and Methodius", Kravoder village, commune. Krivodol; "Vasil Aprilov" Elementary School, town Varna; OU "P.R. Slaveykov", town Varna; SU "Vasil Levski", town Krumovgrad; 52 "Tsanko Tserkovski" Elementary School, town Sofia; 127 SU "Iv. N. Denkoglu", town Sofia; CSU "Gianni Rodari", c. Sofia; 6 "St. Paisius Hilendarski", town Kyustendil; PG in tourism, city Ruse; Father Paisiy Primary School, Ravna Gora village; PGMT "Yuri Gagarin", city Ruse; I "Vasil Levski" Primary School, town Wolfdrum; "Stefan Karadzha" Elementary School, town Varna; NPGGSD "Sava Mladenov", town Teteven; I Elementary School "St. St. Cyril and Methodius", town Gotse Delchev; "Geo Milev" Elementary School, town Sadovo; 112 "Stoyan Zaimov" Elementary School, town Sofia; 109 "Hristo Smirnenski" Elementary School, town Sofia; SU "Nikola Y. Vaptsarov", town Aitos; 39 SU "Peter Dinekov", town Sofia; II Primary School "Dr. Petar Beron", town Noisy; OU "St. Cl. Ohridski", town Krun; SU "Ep. K. Preslavski", town Burgas; II "Konstantin Fotinov" Elementary School, town Scrap; "Rainbow" art school, city Kozloduy; SU "St. Prince Boris I", Startsevo village, municipality. Zlatograd; SU "Peyo Yavorov", town Chirpan; SU "Vazrazhdane", city Ruse; Fine art studio "Cvetovete", c. Sofia; CSU "Orpheus", city Sofia; NU "Lyuben Karavelov", city Nova Zagora; VI "Saint Nicholas" Elementary School, town Stara Zagora; "Vasil Levski" elementary school, Vidrare village, commune. Director; NUI "Prof. Veselin Stoyanov", town Ruse; OU "L. Karavelov", town Yambol; OU "Vasil Levski", town Plovdiv; SU "Dimitar Matevski", town Plovdiv; OU "St. St. Cyril and Methodius", village of Kanchevo; 143 OU "Georgi Benkovski", town Sofia; SU "Dr. Peter Beron", city Kostinbrod; "Hristo Botev" Elementary School, Zidarevo village, commune. Sozopol; "Hristo Botev" Primary School, village of Pirne, municipality Aitos; SU "Angel Karaliichev", town Sentry; III Primary School "Petko Rachov Slaveikov", town Market place; SUEE "St. Constantine-Kyril the Philosopher", city Ruse; CSU "Leonardo da Vinci", city Dobrich; "Otets Paisii" Secondary School, Samokov; CPLR – Pleven; NU "St. St. Cyril and Methodius", Byala, region Ruse; SU "Hristo Yasenov", town Etropolis; "Father Paisii" National University, Pazardzhik; "Nikola Furnadzhiev" University, Pazardzhik; SU "Georgi Benkovski", town Pazardzhik; OU "Prof. Ivan Batakliev", city Pazardzhik; "Vasil Levski" University, town Pazardzhik; NU "Vasil Drumev", city Pazardzhik; SU "Georgi Bregov", town Pazardzhik; OU "Hristo Smirnenski", town Pazardzhik; SU "Todor Kirkov", town Lovech; SU "Alexander Ivanov - Chapai", town Belovo; AI "Art Popovo"; SU "Tsanko Tserkovski", town Polish Trumpet; PGI "Dr. Ivan Bogorov", town Varna; 7 "Nayden Gerov" Secondary School, town Varna; PGKMCS "Acad. Blagovest Sendov", city Varna; CPLR – Stara Zagora; SEU "St. P. Hilendarski", town Hole; SU "Geo Milev", town Radnevo; "Father Paisiy" Elementary School, Stryama village; "Nikolay Petrini" Elementary School, town Yambol; SU "Aleko Konstantinov", town Bulbous; SU "Peyo Yavorov", town Straldja; III Primary School "Ivan Vazov", town Berkovitsa; "Raina Knyaginya" Elementary School, town Plovdiv; Secondary School for Humanities and Arts "Konstantin Preslavski", town Varna; "Otets Paisii" Secondary School, Puppet; Primary school "Hristo Botev", village of Novo Panicharevo, commune. Primorsky.
For the third year now, an increased amount of prizes has been in effect, which were not changed from the first edition of the competition. This fact was met with satisfaction by the participants and their scientific supervisors. We also made contact with the management of the Agency for Bulgarians Abroad, who undertook to assist us in more actively attracting students from Bulgarian schools in Europe to participate in the competition.
We have been organizing the largest number of joint national events for students for many years with the National Children's Palace /NDD/. They are extremely diverse in subject matter and form of participation. The fields are wide – from ecology and modelling, to competition in applied-technical science and technology competitions. Such a partnership is also very productive. Through it, we have managed to get as close as possible to the structures in education, to take advantage of the capacity of units for extracurricular activities and information channels in education. Through our joint activity with NDD, the foundation successfully implements the dual policy of preparing children and students in the forms of science and technology in their free time from school.
The national scientific and technical performances with students from 5th to 7th grade took place from June 19 to 23, 2025 in the village of Kranevo. More than 65 students from Debnevo, Troyan, Belovo, Plovdiv, Sofia, Kyustendil, Sliven, Shumen, Kazanlak, Veliko Narnovo and Varna took part in the natural sciences, ecology and technology competitions. They were held according to the previously announced modules with the use of modern educational software and the provision of the necessary peripheral devices for the implementation of the practical part. After the performances were finished, an analysis was done and the students were given the opportunity to share their impressions and ideas for the future. Everyone expressed satisfaction at the fact that for the first time they were presenting their knowledge and skills in such an interesting and fun way and were satisfied with the results shown and the participation itself. Within the framework of the performance, various initiatives were organized and carried out, presenting activities and ideas for children's and students' free time - information boards, photos, posters, a poster exhibition and multimedia presentations.
73 participants were admitted to the National Science, Engineering and Technology Competitions with students from 8th to 12th grade after preliminary selection to public defense. Of these, 52 students from Sevlievo, Sliven, Plovdiv, Shumen, Sofia, Krumovgrad, Varna, Troyan, Debnevo, Ruse, Pernik, Vratsa and Pleven appeared before the judging committees to present and defend their designs. In parallel with the holding of the scientific and technical competitions, there is also an exhibition with demonstrations of student creativity. Among the best were the student groups from SU "Vasil Levski" - Troyan, OU "Ivan Vazov" - Debnevo, PGMET "Gen. Ivan Bachvarov" - Sevlievo and CPLR - Troyan.
The Evrika Foundation is a long-standing partner of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, the Bulgarian Federation of Modeling Sports, the Bulgarian Federation of Modeling Sports and the Bulgarian Federation of Aeromodelling in the organization and holding of the National Student Competitions in modelling, modelling, modelling, and rocketry.
The national school model airplane and rocket model competitions were held from May 15 to 18, 2025 in the city of Lovech. 224 children and students from MK - Lovech, SK "Modelist" - Sevlievo, SK "Modelist" - Gorna Oryahovitsa, SK "Modelist" - Kaspichan, SKAK - Sofia, SMK "Prista" - Ruse, SK "IKAR 2010" - Sevlievo, OU "Ivan Vazov" - Ruse, RMK "Condor" - Peshtera, SKM took part in them. - Kazanlak, SU "St. St. Cyril and Methodius" - Beloslav, AMK - Levski, SK "Modelizmi - Veliko Tarnovo, OU "Lyuben Karavelov" - Ruse, MK - Plovdiv, Aviation club - Dupnitsa, STK "Strela" - Dolna Mitropolia, OU "P.R. Slaveykov" - Varna, SKA - Pazardzhik, SKVMS "Asen Yordanov" - Shabla, CPLR - Pleven and PGMEG "Gen. Ivan Bachvarov" - Sevlievo.
From June 6 to 8, 2025, the National school model car and ship model competitions were held in Pazardzhik. More than 125 children and students from the Automobile Model Club - city of Levski, AMK - Pazardzhik, AMK "Pol Position" - Sofia, SCM "Vladimir Zaimov" - Sopot, STMK - Vratsa, MK "Kinetik" - Ruse, CPLR - Pleven, MK - Veliko Tarnovo, SK "Modelizmi" - Kazanlak, OP DMC - Dimitrovgrad, SMK - took part in the competitions. Harmanli, MK - Gabrovo, Model yacht club - Pazardzhik, MK - Varna, MK "Poseidon" - Sofia, MK "Druster" - Razgrad and NDD - Sofia. As always, the competitions were followed with great interest by a significant number of observers and audiences, among whom were present representatives of the media, federations, many children, students, citizens and former competitors.
The interdisciplinary nature of the scientific and technical activity with the students in aircraft, car, ship and rocket modeling, as well as the opportunity given to them for public speaking, help to the fullest extent to expand the knowledge of young people in the field of physics, chemistry, mathematics, the study of the basic laws of nature and their application in practice. This type of activities helps the professional orientation of adolescents and determines their choice of a suitable profession and social position in life. The preparation of students is carried out by highly qualified specialists - engineers, technicians, teachers, masters of sports in the relevant field. It is year-round and is combined with participation in many school, municipal and regional competitions and tournaments.
The International Ecological Forum "Srebarna - 2025", including the National Competition for Student Projects in Ecology and Environmental Protection, was held on June 6 and 7, 2025 in the city of Silistra. The main goal of the competition was to activate the activities of young people in the study and protection of the environment and promotion of the unique natural wealth of the "Srebarna" reserve. Its holding is also connected with World Environment Day - June 5. The participants in 21 teams in two age groups presented original ideas, their own research aimed at solving certain environmental problems, original thinking and an up-to-date civic position on public issues of regional and national importance aimed at protecting nature and the human living environment, studying and protecting biodiversity and using new energy sources. The accompanying performances of the International Ecology Forum, in which about 500 children and students from all over the country participated, aroused interest among the students. An exhibition of works from the International Drawing Competition on the theme "Planet Earth - a priceless gift" was exhibited. An international essay, poem and short story competition was also held.
In the National Student Competition "Nature - Our Home" in 2025, 58 students from grades 1 to 12 from NDD, CPLR and schools in the country from Sofia-city, Sofia-region, Razgrad, Kardjali, Pleven, Plovdiv, Vratsa, Varna, Stara Zagora, Kyustendil, Pazardzhik, Shumen and Pernik participated. The best projects in the separate sections were of students from Eco Club "Krumovitsa" - Krumovgrad, SU "Nikola Voivodov" - Vratsa, 139 Primary School "Zachariy Krusha" - Sofia, CPLR-CIKO - Sofia, Botunets branch, Children's Art School "Zivopis" - Kazanlak, "Lyuben Karavelov" Primary School - Trudovets village and Pupils' Literary Club "Sladkodumtsi" at CPLR - Noisy. Within the framework of the competition, many interesting presentations were presented, an exhibition was exhibited, accompanied by a fashion show.
For the third year in a row, the Evrika Foundation, the Union of Physicists in Bulgaria and the Sofia Vocational High School of Electronics "John Atanasov" organized and held the Third National Youth Ecoforum "For a Clean Environment and Sustainable Development" from June 6 to 8, 2025. It was dedicated to World Environment Day, June 5. Since its inception in 1973, the event has grown into a global platform to reach people from all over the world. It is celebrated in over 100 countries. The main goal of the forum is to direct the attention of young people to the problems of environmental protection and sustainable development and to contribute to the sharing of ideas and positive practices from youth activities in schools. All the participants in the forum presented in an attractive way environmental projects based on a research approach in teaching in class and extracurricular activities related to environmental protection. The students were able to exchange ideas and solve cases related to the circular economy and sustainable development together. Teachers shared good practices in teaching students. The results of were published on the school's website, the Facebook page of the Ecoforum, the magazine "World of Physics", the newspaper "Az-Buki", electronic media - Nauka OFFNews, MediaBricks. The descriptions of the presented projects will also be able to serve as teaching aids for science teachers. Teachers and students from a total of 15 schools from Sofia and the country participated in this forum with 18 interesting projects.
Together with the Union of Physicists in Bulgaria, we organized and held a Youth Scientific Session for schoolchildren and students "Physics and the World of Technologies", within the framework of the 53rd National Conference on Physics Education. It was held from April 10 to 13, 2025. in the city of Plovdiv. The theme of the conference "Studying quantum physics for a sustainable future from classroom to industry" is relevant because of the importance of quantum science and the need to broaden its past and future impact. This was also the reason for the UN to declare 2025. for the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ) to mark 100 years since the creation of quantum mechanics. The decision was supported by international organizations such as the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), the International Union of Crystallography (IUCR) and the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology (IUHPST). The youth science session is a specific form for guiding and promoting the interest of students in natural sciences and physics in particular, as well as for improving the qualification of physics teachers in secondary and higher schools. The theme of the Youth Science Session for schoolchildren and students "Physics and the world of technology" was directly related to one of the main priorities of the SFB and the Evrika Foundation - working with young people - schoolchildren, students, doctoral students and young scientists, with the aim of increasing their interest in natural sciences and their application in technologies to improve the quality of life. 98 pupils and students from 24 secondary and 3 higher schools in the country took part in it. The youth scientific session included the following components: Presentation of the scientific projects according to the desire and capabilities of the participants in the session in a hybrid version. All schools that have participants with projects in the session received a free subscription to the Physics World magazine for 2025; National Essay Competition "Prof. Nikola Balabanov" - the essays awarded with the I, II, and III prizes were printed in the brochure for the Youth Science Session; National online photo contest "The Invisible Forces of Physics" - for high school students and students. It aimed to provoke the participants to observe, capture and share manifestations of harmony and phenomena in nature resulting from various natural phenomena and to make their physical description.
Together with the Municipal Center for extracurricular activities and hobbies - Baikal village, led by Ivo Jokin and the municipality of Dolna Mitropolia, we organized and held the 21st National Astro Party "Baikal'2025". More than 60 students and teachers from all over the country took part in it. The event was held under the patronage of the Minister of Education and Science and the Mayor of the Municipality of Dolna Mitropolia. "The Life of the Stars" was the exciting lecture of Dr. Eva Bozhurova from NAOP "N. Copernicus" - Varna. This was followed by the International Astronomical Union NASE (Network for School Astronomy Education) Astro Workshop "Colours in the Sky" and the very interesting lecture on "How to Tell a Compelling Science Story". The traditional round table "From teachers to teachers" was also held, where pedagogical experience was exchanged. Snezhana Dimitrova - national coordinator of CERN's teacher and student programs, and Tsetsa Tsolova "Inspiring students to study astronomy with SCIENTIX". The evening continued with a musical and poetic evening "Under the stars of the Danube", poems and songs by Galina Moskova - physics teacher and poet, "Optical phenomena in the atmosphere", "CERN and the programs for students". The participants were able to observe the sun with a special telescope of the Astronomical Association - Sofia. On the second day, observations of waterfowl were carried out along the Danube. The participants visited the Ad Putea archaeological site and the new tourist information center, where the Chairman of the Municipal Council of the Lower Metropolia and a local archaeologist narrated the Roman history of the site in a fascinating way.
In the past year, we continued the joint work with the Association "Territorial Organization of Scientific and Technical Unions with the House of Science and Technology - Plovdiv" to organize and hold the National Youth Forum "Science, Technology, Innovation, Business". More than 160 young people took part in the two sessions of the forum (spring and autumn) - pupils, students, doctoral students, young teachers from higher schools and young specialists from practice, as well as their scientific supervisors. Scientific developments in the fields of aviation, transport, engineering, computer technology, agriculture, food technology, business and entrepreneurship were presented. A total of 132 papers were given. After two rankings by committees composed of habilitated teachers, a total of 34 youth developments reported in six sections of the spring edition and in five sections of the autumn edition were honored and awarded. The results of the forum and the explicit mention of the participation of the "Evrika" Foundation were published in the newspaper "Science and Society", a publication of the Federation of Scientific and Technical Unions in Bulgaria.
In 2025, together with the Scientific and Technical Union for Construction in Bulgaria, we organized and held a Youth Conference with international participation "Design and construction of buildings and facilities" DCB'2025. We managed to gather participants from all higher schools in the country with construction specialties: students, doctoral students, postdoctoral students, young scientists, as well as students from vocational high schools. The goal was to show the level of preparation of our secondary and higher technical education to young engineers and specialists, to provide an opportunity for discussions and exchange of experience and ideas between future professionals in the field of construction. Direct contact with colleagues, scientists and specialists in the industry is important for young specialists for orientation and realization after graduation, as well as for developing doctoral theses. In total, 17 students, 6 doctoral students, 10 young scientists and 2 students presented. The scientific papers on the conference topics were published in the Proceedings and CD.
The Evrika Foundation is a long-standing partner of the Union of Inventors in Bulgaria. And in the past year, we supported the organization and holding of another Exhibition "Inventions, Technologies, Innovations - ITI'2025". The exhibition is a very useful meeting of scientists, entrepreneurs, inventors, innovation intermediaries, breeders, manufacturers, students, students and patent specialists, with interests in the development and prosperity of their activity based on creativity, innovation and effective use of intellectual property. The exhibition is also a competition of inventors, breeders and innovators, as well as an attempt to market their intellectual products. During the exhibition, business contacts are established to put into use the presented inventions, utility models, industrial designs, new plant varieties and other new solutions. Our partners in this project were the Federation of Scientific and Technical Unions, the Maintenance Department of NTS - Plovdiv, the BTPP, the Institute for Space Research and Technologies - BAS and the Maintenance Department of NTS - Pleven. The exhibition was held from September 24 to 27, 2025. within the framework of the International Technical Fair in Plovdiv. Within the framework of the exhibition, round tables, seminars and workshops were organized and held, where problematic issues related to the successful participation of inventors, innovators and breeders in the OP "Innovations and Competitiveness" programs were examined and discussed, as well as the new moments and amendments to the regulations related to the protection of objects of industrial property.
For a long time, the "Evrika" Foundation has been a partner of higher schools in organizing and holding the National Student Olympiad in Mathematics (NSOM). Only in the last two years, when the main organizer was the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics of SU "St. Cl. Ohridski" we did not participate, as the performance was well enough financially secured by IT companies. In 2025 we returned to the organizing committee again and were the main co-organizers of the RU "Angel Kanchev" for the National Student Olympiad in Mathematics. It already has a 50-year history. Students from bachelor's and master's programs from higher schools in Bulgaria participate in it. The goal is to increase students' interest in mathematics and to create conditions for exchange and experience among teaching assets. Students are divided into three competitive groups according to the professional field in which they specialize: Group A – mathematics, informatics and computer sciences; Group B – natural and technical sciences, security and defense; Group B - all not listed in groups A and B. The organization of the Olympiad is carried out by the National Commission and the host university. 123 students from 17 universities took part in the jubilee Olympiad: SU "St. Cl. Ohridski" - FMI and Faculty of Economics, PU "P. Hilendarski", TU - Sofia, UASG - Sofia, VTU "St. St. Kiril and Methodius", RU "Angel Kanchev", TU - Varna, University of Economics - Varna, LTU - Sofia, VVMU "N.Y. Vaptsarov" - Varna, TU - Gabrovo, Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs - Sofia, UNSS, HTMU, SU "Neofit Rilski" - Blagoevgrad", American University in Bulgaria and SHU "Ep. K. Preslavsky". On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the founding of NSOM, a collection of tasks from all Olympiads was issued, as well as information about the awarded students and the work of the national commissions and jury.
By decision of the Foundation's Executive Bureau and after a thorough analysis of the benefits for students and young scientists, we participated in the organization and holding of the Jubilee International Scientific Conference "Synergy and Reflection in Mathematics Education - SREM'2025". The conference was held from October 22 to 24, 2025 in Pamporovo and brought together established scientists, researchers and teachers, as well as young scientists and doctoral students for the exchange of scientific ideas and good practices for applying synergistic and reflexive strategies in mathematics, informatics and information technology education. The total number of participants was 103 people. A specialized discussion on "Raising the level of preparation of pupils, students and teachers for high achievements in the field of mathematics, informatics, information technologies and mathematical linguistics" was also held. The program committee approved for publication 33 scientific reports, divided into two sections: 20 in the mathematics training section and 13 in the informatics and information technology training section. With the participation of scientists and teachers from Russia, Israel, Romania, Cyprus, North Macedonia, Serbia, Greece, Poland, USA, Japan and Bulgaria, SREM'2025 has become a significant international scientific and educational forum.
In this report, we also present another new joint project of the foundation and the Institute of Space Research and Technologies /IKIT/ of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. We were co-organizers of the Second Youth Session "Space, Ecology, Security", which took place on October 24, 2025. within the framework of the 21st International Scientific Conference "Space, Ecology, Security". The main goal was to encourage young people's interest in current trends in space research, environmental sustainability and security. The forum provided an opportunity for students and trainees to present their developments, to exchange knowledge and ideas, as well as to get acquainted with real scientific and applied problems in these areas. A collection of reports from the youth session was released. 19 young researchers participated in it - 14 students from PGEB "Prof. Dr. Asen Zlatarov", 3 cadets from the National Military University "Vasil Levski", 6 students from the "Dr. Petar Beron" Military University - Varna and Home LIFE Academy - Varna. The developments presented during the session were distinguished by a high scientific and applied level, demonstrating serious preparation, analytical thinking and the ability for independent research work. Participants presented topics related to current issues and trends in space technology, Earth observation, environmental monitoring, and security systems. The projects included both theoretical studies and practical models, simulations and experimental approaches. Particularly impressive were the interdisciplinary developments in which students and cadets successfully combined knowledge of physics, informatics, geography, mathematics, ecology and engineering sciences. Some of the presented ideas showed real potential for future development within the framework of modern space programs, as well as the possibility of application in educational and scientific institutions.
We were co-organizers of the Tenth Anniversary Edition of the National Festival "Science on the Stage". It was held from October 24 to 26, 2025 in Sevlievo. The festival takes place once every two years and in it teachers show good practices and different projects they have implemented with their students. The principle "From teachers for teachers" is followed, so the projects shown are directly applicable in other classrooms. One of the main goals that the festival fulfills is communication between teachers, which leads to the dissemination of good practices and gives the opportunity to create common projects. 33 projects from 17 settlements in Bulgaria participated in the jubilee edition of the event. The winners of the national festival will represent Bulgaria at the European Science on Stage Festival, which will be held from 28 to 30 May 2026 in Klaipeda, Estonia. More than 450 teachers from different stages of education from 30 countries will take part in the international festival.
And when we describe scientific performances and competitions as an opportunity to stimulate research, invention and other creative activity among children and young people, we cannot miss the Evrika Prize competitions for achievements in science, for a young manager, inventor and farmer. They have been held for many years - for the thirty-sixth time for a manager, for the thirty-fifth time for an inventor and a farmer, and for achievements in science for the thirtieth year in a row. They have public recognition and are carefully evaluated by state and public organizations and institutions. The work on the preparation and holding of the contests began already with the completion of their previous editions. We strive to timely take into account the rapidly changing reality and promptly correct our specific actions in order to minimize to the smallest possible unpleasant surprises related to the selection of candidates and ensuring a sufficient competitive environment. At each of the annual meetings of the Council of the Foundation, the issues of the "Evrika" contests are discussed in depth and timely measures are taken to improve their overall organization and conduct. The changes made in the last few years to the statuses of the individual awards have increased the element of competition and contributed to the emergence of worthy prize winners.
For the fourth time, we have combined the presentation of the Evrika Awards and the presentation of the scholarship certificates. This is an expression of our policy for the discovery and development of young people with outstanding abilities in science, engineering and technology and their preparation and realization. Representatives of state and public organizations, university leaders, members of the Foundation Council, members of specialized juries, scientists, laureates of the "Evrika" awards in previous years, former and current scholarship holders were present at a sophisticated celebration, to pay well-deserved respect to what has been achieved.
For the year 2025, the "Evrika" prize for achievements in science was awarded to Dr. Monika Mukovska. She graduated from the Faculty of Biology of the "St. Cl. Ohridski" University with a bachelor's degree in molecular biology in 2018. In the same year, she enrolled in a master's degree in the specialty "Modern methods for the synthesis and analysis of organic compounds" at the Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, which she graduated in 2019. Since February 2020, she has been enrolled as a doctoral student in the Department of Organic Chemistry and Pharmacognosy of Sofia University with a supervisor Prof. Dr. Julian Zagranyarski. Throughout the duration of his doctoral studies, he worked as a chemist and expert at the National Center for Radiobiology and Radiation Protection, and since 2023 at the Chemical-Toxicological Laboratory of the Military Medical Academy. From 2021 until now, Dr. Mutovska has been teaching students as an assistant professor in organic chemistry at SU "St. Cl. Ohridski". She is well regarded by her colleagues and students, thanks to her serious theoretical and practical training and her good communication skills.
Dr. Monika Mutovska's scientific output is impressive. He is an active participant in 7 national scientific projects, one international scientific project included in the National Recovery and Sustainability Plan, as well as the EXTREME project under the National Program "European Scientific Networks - Excellence in Scientific Research and Innovation in the Field of Colloids and Interfaces for a Better Quality of Life". He is a co-author in 16 scientific publications. The high criteria and requirements she sets for her own work, as well as her desire for new knowledge, the inspiration and strong motivation she puts into scientific work, combined with the wide range of her professional qualifications, emphasize the intellectual courage and curiosity of Dr. Mutovska. She took part with posters and reports in 15 international and national scientific forums.
Dr. Monika Mutovska received the joint award of the "Evrika" Foundation and the Union of Scientists in Bulgaria for the excellent defense of a dissertation on the topic "Heterocyclic condensed 1,8-naphthalimides - synthesis and applications in OLED and as antitumor agents".
In the dissertation, approaches were developed for obtaining benzofuran and benzodioxin substituted 1,8-naphthalimides, as well as for creating a library of compounds with potential biological activity. A great amount and quality of experimental work has been carried out in the field of organic synthesis. The main scientific contributions of the dissertation work are: 104 new, undescribed in the literature substances were synthesized and characterized, the structure of which was proven using spectral and analytical methods; a one-pot method for the synthesis of alkyl esters of dibenzofuran-1,8-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid was developed, and the obtained alkyl esters were converted into the corresponding anhydrides with a quantitative yield; an efficient method for the synthesis of 3,4,6-tribromo-1,8-naphthalene anhydride was developed, which allows the preparation of the antihydride on a multigram scale; the enormous potential of 3,4-dibromo-6nitro-1,8-naphthalene anhydride for the synthesis of a series of heterocyclic fused 1,8-naphthalimide analogues of Mitonafide and Amonafide is shown; demonstrated conceptually novel heterocyclic fused 1,8-naphthalamide analogs of Mitonafide and Amonafide possessing extremely high cytotoxicity against cancer cell lines and excellent selectivity.
The great results obtained show that Dr. Monika Mutovska has developed as a specialist in the field of organic chemistry and is a scientist who skillfully handles modern instrumental methods. The conducted research has fundamental scientific and scientific-applied contributions, enriching the existing knowledge in the field of organic chemistry and in particular in the field of organic synthesis.
The results of the dissertation have been published in two scientific papers in one of the leading international journals in the field of dye chemistry, Dyes and Pigments – Paper 1, Q1 and Paper 2, Q2. In one of the articles, Dr. Mutovska is the first author, and in the other, the second after his supervisor, which is an indication of a substantial personal contribution. At the moment, 12 citations of the first and 2 citations of the second article have been noticed, which absolutely unequivocally shows the relevance of the topic of the dissertation work. The results of the dissertation have been presented at seven national and international scientific forums with oral presentations and poster presentations. Dr. Mutovska is a co-author in 9 more publications in refereed scientific publications outside the topic of the dissertation.
The dissertation presents Dr. Monika Mutovska as a talented, serious and promising young scientist, distinguished by her own scientific profile, in-depth approach, enthusiasm and high professional skills in the field of organic synthesis, aimed at obtaining new compounds with application in dyestuff and medicinal chemistry.
The winner of the Evrika Award for Young Inventor of 2025 is Dr. Eng. Daniel Deneuve. He completed his secondary education in 2014 at the Professional High School of Mechanical Engineering and Telecommunications "Hristo Botev", Shumen, with the professional qualification "Computer Systems Technician". In 2018, he graduated as a bachelor at the "Ep. Konstantin Preslavski" University of Shumen, majoring in "Computer technology for production automation", and in 2019 as a master's degree at the same university, majoring in "Communication and Information Systems". Successfully defended his PhD in Communication Networks and Systems in 2024. Acquired additional skills and a certificate of competence as "Programmer - CS50: Introduction to Computer Science HarvardX" after completing a six-month training course at Harvard University. Since December 2021, he has been an assistant, and since October 2024, a principal assistant at "Ep. K. Preslavski" Higher Secondary School.
Even as a student, Daniel Deneuve showed himself to be a young man of exceptional dedication and curiosity. During his studies, he demonstrated creative thinking, discipline and a strong motivation to improve, which carried over to his engineering and technical projects. Possesses excellent communication skills, teamwork and the ability to present complex ideas in an understandable manner.
Daniel Deneve has participated with posters and reports in 26 international and national scientific conferences and seminars. He is a member of the "John Atanasov" Union of Automation and Informatics and the IEEE Engineering Club. He was part of teams that implemented 10 student internships and scientific projects. He is the winner of a number of awards and scholarships, such as: twice "Student of the Year" of Shumen University; annual award for 2019 of the Rector of Shumen University; scholarship holder of the "Evrika" Foundation and Huwei Technologies Bulgaria; scholarship holder of "Alcomet" JSC; scholarship holder of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
The "Evrika" prize was awarded to Daniel Denev as a co-author in a protected patent for the invention "Metal cutting machine", registered as a patent by the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria under No. 67648 B1 dated 30.08.2024. The machine is designed for flat grinding and milling of metal surfaces and is used in auto tractor and other workshops that support the operation of vehicles. It is suitable for the processing of cylinder blocks and cylinder heads, for which it is particularly important that there is no deviation from flatness of the connecting surfaces. Due to the massiveness of the body parts, the probability of deviations related to the impacts of the cutting tool on the different shapes of the processed part is greatly reduced. The construction is based on a solid cast iron foundation and body, which provide high stability, reduce vibration and guarantee precision when machining critical details, such as cylinder blocks and heads.
High safety standards are provided - emergency stop pedal, safety shields and protection against electric shock. The machine is designed for economical and environmentally friendly operation, featuring a variable speed electric motor for lower consumption and seals to prevent coolant leaks.
The invented metal cutting machine has a number of advantages that make it effective, both from an economic, social and technological point of view. It is suitable for small batch and single production, it reduces the cost of purchasing several machines. Works with standard tools and reduces maintenance and consumables costs. Allows easy reconfiguration for new products, reduces deployment time and costs. Enables combining functions (milling and grinding) in one machine, saves investment in separate equipment. The device is easy to train the staff thanks to the digital program control. High safety for operators is ensured by electric shock protection, stable construction against overturning and protective shields against physical injuries. The invention has a high educational potential. Its configuration and capabilities make it a highly suitable tool for teaching and training applications, providing learners with a realistic, controlled environment to learn about manufacturing technologies. This makes the machine a highly valuable and useful tool for professional training, and its creator, Daniel Deneuve, a worthy example of a young engineer who thinks with an eye to the future of industry and knowledge.
The contribution of Eng. Daniel Deneuve includes: concept and basic idea of the invention; constructive solutions; integration of digital-program management; functional flexibility and modular construction; energy efficiency.
For excellent performance in the competition, Elena Atanasova Blagoeva was awarded with an honorary diploma - co-author in a protected patent for the invention "Device for dosing the feed of farm animals", registered as a patent by the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria under No. 67622 B1 dated 04/30/2024 and co-author in the following registered utility models:
- Device for dosing the feed of farm animals - No. 4866/09.05.2024
- Device to prevent transmission of infections in automated or robotic milking machines - No. 4847/01.04.2024
- Milk pre-cooling device for automated and robotic milking machines - No. 4927/18-07.2024
Elena Blagoeva is a doctoral student at the Institute of Information and Communication Technologies of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. She participated in three national and international research projects. He is the recipient of the "Lchezar Tsotsorkov" Award and the scholarship of "Asarel Medet" JSC. In the last five years, there are 16 scientific publications, two of which have an impact factor and 11 citations of scientific publications.
The "Evrika" award for a young manager for 2025 was awarded to Dr. Antoine Shotarov. In 2010, he graduated from Vasil Levski Secondary School, Smolyan, majoring in informatics and English. In 2014, he completed his bachelor's studies in the specialty "International Economic Relations" at the University of National and World Economy. During this period, for two years, he was the chairman of the Student Council at UNSS, a member of the Rector's and Academic Councils of UNSS and the National Representation of Student Councils. In 2015, Antoine Shotarov graduated with a master's degree in "International Finance" at UNSS. He successfully defended his doctorate on the topic "Dynamics of innovation activity and competitiveness in the Republic of Bulgaria in the period 2007 - 2019. He holds certificates for completed courses from Imperial College London and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is currently a teacher and chief assistant at the Economics Department of the UNSS. He believes in the power of education and practical experience, actively working to create a bridge between academic knowledge and the real business world.
Antoine Shotarov grew up in Smolyan, where from a young age he was raised in values such as hard work and responsibility. His path leads him from the football field in his hometown to the prestigious University of National and World Economy in Sofia. One of the most valuable lessons he shares is the importance of personal responsibility and realizing that our choices determine our future. For Antoine, the need for long-term planning and constant preparation for the challenges that the future may bring is very important.
Dr. Antoine Shotarov is an entrepreneur, university lecturer on innovation and entrepreneurship, product manager and innovation consultant. He combines academic activity with practical entrepreneurial projects and manages a multidisciplinary group of companies in the IT, fintech, HR, hospitality and education sectors. Under his strategic and operational leadership, the group unites more than 80 specialists and realizes consolidated revenues of more than 5 million euros for 2025. His role covers overall strategic planning, product vision, attracting key customers, coordination of technological implementation and operational management of the portfolio. The model it applies is integrated: strategy à product à technology à market à education and social impact. This enables rapid prototyping and scaling of solutions with real value for customers and society.
Antoine Shotarov's software company Donatix is the technological backbone of the group. It started as a student project that turned into a successful business with international clients. Performs full cycle software development (web and mobile applications), UX/UI design, AI/ML solutions and corporate integrations. Under his leadership, Donatix implements projects for international clients (WHO, Bayer, Stada, Syngnta), implements and provides the technical basis for product initiatives within the group. Donatix is also a strategic investor in other projects in the ecosystem.
Innowave is a consultancy focused on innovation and digital transformation in large corporations. In 2025 alone, the company has implemented three separate consulting projects for large clients – from strategy and design thinking to delivery and implementation of solutions aimed at optimizing processes and accelerating digital transformation.
Antoan Shotarov's other company HR One is a digital platform that automates processes from hiring through document management to payroll and administration. It has been honored as "HR Tool/Project of the Year" by BAUH for 2025, which confirms its practical usability and impact in the HR ecosystem.
MediaScreener is a product AI platform for monitoring and analyzing crypto-related content on social networks. The solution automates the early detection of trends and risks and provides operational information for corporate and regulatory needs.
Another platform of Antoine Shotarov is Creet.bg, for personalized video greetings and interactions between fans and talents. Responsible for the product vision, technology architecture and monetization models of the platform.
Dr. Shotarov's Hotel.One integration platform is for hotels, centralizing accounting data and revenue management for operational decisions, budgeting and real-time forecasting. The current valuation of Hotel.One is over 10,000,000 EUR. Donatix owns 25% of Hotel.One and Antoine Shotarov owns 33.3% of Donatix. Based on product traction and business plans, the target valuation for the next 5 years is over EUR 100,000,000.
Antoine Shotarov's great commitment to society is also manifested through the creation and operation of three private kindergartens that serve over 300 children and the organization of charitable initiatives in his hometown. The opening of three more kindergartens is currently being prepared.
The academic activity of Dr. Antoan Shotarov as a university lecturer on innovation and entrepreneurship at UNSS is notable, where he leads courses and seminars that combine theory and practical cases from real projects. He is also the head of a project to develop a new master's program in Uganda and Tanzania, focused on social entrepreneurship and knowledge transfer. It organizes and supports programs such as Digital Academy Smolyan for free programming trainings with over 500 participants, a significant number of whom find work after the course. He has two TEDx appearances and over 30 appearances as a speaker and panelist at business conferences. The innovation and entrepreneurship knowledge sharing TikTok account has over 2,000,000 views in total, an indicator of digital reach and impactful content.
Dr. Antoine Shotarov has created and developed dozens of strategic partnerships with major international organizations and corporations, which supports rapid product scaling and access to key markets.
The specialized jury awarded the "Evrika" award for the best young manager of 2025 to Dr. Antoine Shotarov for: significant achievements in the implementation of innovative entrepreneurial projects; successful use of a strategic approach in portfolio management; significant personal commitment to the development of academic institutions and socially significant causes.
Mitko Ivanov received the "Evrika" award for a young farmer of 2025. He graduated from secondary education at FSG "Vasil Levski", Dobrich. In 2013, he completed a bachelor's degree at the D. A. Tsenov Academy of Economics - Svishtov, majoring in "Agrarian Economics", and in 2015 he already received a master's degree in "Agribusiness". From 2013 to 2016, he worked as an accountant in crop and animal husbandry at the "Kamen" Polytechnic University, Kamen village, Dobrich municipality. He has completed training courses on: "Humane treatment of farm animals, as a complex measure to increase productivity and prevent the occurrence of diseases" at Thrace University - Stara Zagora; "Veterinary-medical requirements for the prevention, control and realization of infectious diseases in animals and increasing the biosecurity of animal breeding facilities" at Thrace University - Stara Zagora; "Beekeeping and Bee Health". Since March 2022, he has a certificate for vocational training "Worker in animal husbandry, specialty "Beekeeping" from the National Agency for Vocational Education and Training, Vocational Training Center at "IKoMS" EOOD, Pleven. At the 22nd International Beekeeping Exhibition, Mitko Ivanov was awarded the prestigious award for "Most Prosperous Young Beekeeper of Bulgaria".
Mitko Ivanov started working with bees at the age of 12. His beekeeping began in May 2003 with one bee family and one brood. This sweet love continues to this day and as he hopes will last a lifetime. Currently, his farm has about 200 hives in three types of beehive systems.
Despite the problems in recent years, related to inflation, the increase in the cost of all costs and, above all, the low purchase price of honey, Mitko Ivanov makes great efforts and manages to find an optimal environment for work and realization on the market. His farm uses its own highly productive and auxiliary equipment to serve the bee colonies and harvest production. It has 3 electric centrifuges, a production line with a screw press, a printing bath, a vertical sieve, a honey pump, a decrystallizer, a wax grinder, a maturator, a powder dryer, an Apilift, a transport vehicle with a trailer, etc.
Mitko Ivanov's main product is honey. The annual value of the honey produced varies according to the yield and the cost of realization. His farm realizes the production mainly in wholesale.
Mitko Ivanov was registered as a farmer in 2012. He is satisfied with beekeeping. For him, bees are love, pleasure and challenge. When he is in the apiary, he devotes himself completely to work, feels inner peace and never forgets the maxim: "There is honey in the hive because there is order."
In addition to being a farmer, Mitko Ivanov is an avid chess player, raises lake fish and birds, is attracted to fruit and vegetable growing, loves to travel and adores the theater. Able to work in a team. He does not give up chasing his dreams and is convinced that not only standard things should be used, but that work should be done exclusively according to the peculiarities of the area in which the activity is developed. Of great importance is the need for a high level of knowledge of the instincts of bees and plants.
Using his communication skills, combined with persistence, initiative, responsibility and hard work, Mitko Ivanov constantly improves and successfully develops his activity in very complex and changing conditions. He does not stop looking for the optimal environment for work and realization in the market. Even in the most difficult moments, he does not lose courage. Above all, he wants to be a good person and he is sure that he will never forget where he started from and how much effort it cost him to achieve everything he has achieved so far. He is calm because in beekeeping, as a profession: "Whatever you do, you can always lick your fingers!" J
Another competition with which we are involved and which has subsequent international stages is the MES "Young Talents" competition, where we successfully partner in its implementation. In 2025, a record number of 100 students took part in its twenty-seventh edition. They presented 62 projects, the most being from Sofia, Burgas, Varna, Plovdiv, Veliko Tarnovo, Ruse and Pleven. 36 of them were admitted to the final stage, and 13 projects received awards. Those ranked in the first three places received the right to represent Bulgaria in the European competition for young scientists EUCYS in September in the Latvian capital Riga. For another year, the "Evrika" Foundation organizes the participation of those awarded for projects of an applied nature in the World Youth Science Fair (EXPO Science International 2025), which took place in September in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The financing of the participation of the students and their supervisor at the exhibition in Abu Dhabi was fully covered by the Ministry of Education and Culture.
The young people that the Evrika Foundation has supported for so many years are role models. This applies both to the students, laureates of competitions, our scholarship recipients, young scientists and specialists, as well as to the winners of the "Evrika" awards over the past 36 years. We try to make popular their achievements, work style and visions of development. We monitor their development so that we can provide them with help and support if needed. For this purpose, we also use the expertise of consulting offices for the protection of intellectual property, on some legal issues of the organization and functioning of companies and non-governmental organizations, for the opportunities for even more complete use of new equipment and computer technologies. Together with the specialists from the intellectual property protection office, we maintain the registration of the brands of all four "Evrika" competitions at the Patent Office. We managed to register as our property the emblem of the Movement for TNTM. In the past year alone, over 160 free consultations on intellectual property protection have been provided, according to its report, to the Office of Intellectual Property Protection. With his help, twelve applications for utility models and two for patents were formed and filed. Together with the Patent Bureau "Dr. Emil Benatov and Partners" we tried to be as useful as possible to young entrepreneurs, scientists and inventors, assisting them through the consulting office to save funds for the protection of brands, patents, designs and services, taking advantage of European funds and in particular the Special Fund of the European Union of 20 million euros to promote the use of intellectual property by small and medium-sized enterprises. Through this consulting office, we are about to register the trademark of the Competition-Exhibition "Youth Technical Creativity" with the Patent Office, as well as the event itself, which we hold every year in Gorna Oryahovitsa, together with the Milen Grigorov Foundation and the municipality of Gorna Oryahovitsa.
And in 2025, the consulting office on information technology and technology continued to function successfully. Through this office and with the participation of a member of our Executive Bureau, we maintain and use the website of the foundation to inform about events and competitions. We maintain a foundation page on Facebook. There we regularly publish information about all our events and those in which we participate as co-organizers. Consultants help young people, but also ourselves when we need to make expert assessments of projects. They are also in demand as professional services.
The legal offices of the foundation are a kind of our assistant in the implementation of daily tasks and our targeted efforts to develop and present to national and international donors competitive projects and funding programs. We also use them optimally in solving emerging legal disputes for the protection of copyrights and solving problems arising in disputes with external contractors of various types of services that the foundation needs. In fulfillment of the terms of the concluded contracts, the foundation's legal experts are included as members of various commissions and advise us in the fulfillment of a number of legal requirements for the entry of circumstances, reports and changes in the Register under the ZULNC at the Registration Agency. The legal specialists officially declared their readiness to assist us in the future activities of the foundation, but without functioning as consulting offices and without receiving funds for this.
- To support the dissemination of natural-scientific, technical and economic knowledge and information
The "Information, Publications, Appearances" program, created many years ago, aims at the popularization of knowledge in the fields of natural, technical and economic sciences. Through it, we support projects and initiatives related to this. Children are most often the object of such promotion. And in this area, the main activity has moved to the Internet, and this is completely understandable. Newspapers and magazines with such themes will probably continue to decline, and we must be ready for that. The number of books that are published and popularize knowledge in the fields of science, technique and technology is also decreasing. Even our own publications have long been converted to computer sites, and there's nothing wrong with that either. Depending on the time, we will look for opportunities to use them more actively.
When we talk about the promotion of science and technology among children, we do not miss the impact of what they hear, see and touch with their own hands. This is done with the help of our long-standing partner, the National Polytechnic Museum. Educational programs have increased, demonstrations have diversified, and this attracts more children. Some things also require people and investments. In one way, static exposures have an effect, and in a completely different way, those with practical activities. During the year, we continued the program of working with children to learn construction with the help of LEGO constructors. Besides completing this curriculum, a construction club was furnished, whose groups work to form interests in children through practical activities and influence to attract them to professions of which the country badly needs. We upgraded our joint work with the museum by starting work on another project on the topic "Robo-LeGoTech - next generation of inventors". The National Polytechnic Museum functions not only as a purely museum institution, but also as a cultural center that develops various programs and has very strong links with education and other public sectors. We very often hold our initiatives on the territory of the museum. There, everyone comes with interests and leaves with the conviction that they must come back again because there is so much more to see and learn. This partnership of ours with the museum is also realized thanks to the policy of its management. They are the ones who help us preserve the history of the "Space - Present and Future of Humanity" competition. Award-winning projects of students are stored with them. They help us organize an exhibition of drawings and models placed in our competition every year. Together with them, we have been publishing a children's scientific and technical newspaper "Technitarche" for many years. This is a specialized children's museum publication with a technical focus, which popularizes the history and development of Bulgarian and world science, technology and technology, introduces its readers to the Bulgarian and world cultural heritage, educates in love for science, technology and museum activity. It presents in an entertaining form and accessible language the diverse activities of the NPTM, its exposition, temporary exhibitions, educational programs and projects, selected samples from the collections of the museum and its affiliate. It informs about the Bulgarian contribution to science, technology and technology, as well as about little-known curious facts from their development. The newspaper broadens the interests of young people and introduces them to the field of science, attracts young authors by promoting their developments. However, this interest must also be nurtured among the youngest, as the "Technitarche" newspaper is a great mediator for fulfilling this task. The publication is also of interest to a more specialized audience, including secondary school teachers. In 2025, 6 thematic and/or collective issues were published, aimed at children and young people with various interests in the field of science, technology and technology. The issues were dedicated to events in the history of science and technology and anniversaries associated with names from world and Bulgarian science and technology, which gave impetus to their development. It's your turn! /with student authorship/, "Did you know?", "Nature, science, technologies", "In the world of science", "On the Bulgarian trail". The most interesting and significant exhibitions and events that took place in the National Polytechnic Museum were reflected. The pages of the newspaper continued to promote the award-winning participants in the National Contest "Space - Present and Future of Mankind" and other similar contests for students. The development of the "Technitarche" newspaper is a very responsible task, which the team of NPTM, writing the newspaper, has been doing brilliantly for thirty-four years now and has developed the relevant competencies to move forward with it.
For the third year in a row, we worked very successfully to implement a joint project with SFB on the topic "Young Researchers", including the maintenance of a permanent column "Young Researchers" in the printed organ of SFB magazine "The World of Physics". The magazine is aimed at the Bulgarian audience and its goals include informing the readers about physical phenomena, processes, achievements from all over the world in an accessible form in the native language. Original and full-length review articles are published in all areas of the physical and natural sciences. Included are articles by leading Bulgarian scientists and translated materials on current issues in the field of physical and natural sciences, their applications in modern technologies, the history of physics, the relationship of physics with other sciences, such as biology, mathematics, philosophy, etc. The section "Young researchers" is of particular importance. Young people are excited about various issues, such as physical principles that are used to develop technologies to create smart systems, artificial intelligence that will become more and more powerful and intelligent. They appreciate that physics is an unchanging guide to the future. Physics provides tools for critical thinking and the ability to evaluate scientific information. Understanding the fundamentals of physics gives an advantage in any field you choose for a career. The scientific world is filled with extraordinary minds, but few are those who not only push the boundaries of human knowledge, but also inspire millions with their fortitude. In 2025 in the column "Young researchers" were published: scientific publications of young people /young scientists, students, doctoral students and secondary school students/; information on youth scientific conferences, competitions, awards, awards for young people; information about distinguished young scientists, about events and announcements related to joint events of the Evrika Foundation and SFB. The magazine "The World of Physics" has an active website where all published books are published in Bulgarian and English. The site also has an English version, and the magazine also has an address on Facebook.
We must also send good words and thanks to the newspaper "Az buki". On its pages, you can read information about the foundation's appearances, but also meet young scientists and specialists who have received awards. For many years, the newspaper has been our media partner in organizing and holding the National Contest "Space - Present and Future of Humanity". Through this newspaper, which goes to every school and university, we make known and accessible the information about scholarships, projects and initiatives.
In one of the few university newspapers "New Technical Avant-Garde" we traditionally find a good partnership. And this is natural, because the majority of student events are with the participation of graduates of the largest technical university in our country. It is a satisfaction for us that there is much to say and tell about the common goals, but also about common achievements in promoting student success.
We are grateful to Capital newspaper, which also annually presents the winners of the Evrika Awards and spotlights individuals of outstanding ability in business and research.
With great satisfaction and satisfaction, we continued our joint work with the National Radio - program "Hr. Botev" for broadcasting the column "Evrika! Successful Bulgarians" in the "Ether Knowledge" program line. The project is aimed at pupils, students, specialists, scientists, etc., who get the opportunity to talk about themselves and their scientific achievements on national air. The goal is to continue to tell about the achievements of successful Bulgarian scientists and specialists from various fields and thus motivate students to follow their example, accumulate knowledge and develop creative thinking and ingenuity. Through this section, the activities of the "Evrika" Foundation and its contribution to the cultivation and stimulation of young Bulgarian talents are promoted. The foundation's work with young scientists, pupils and students is made known to the public, promoting their successes at home and abroad. Last but not least, the experience of their teachers and professors is presented and shown. Within 10 minutes, twice a month, scientists and specialists, teachers, farmers, entrepreneurs, students and pupils are presented. The column tells about the projects and activities of these Bulgarians, how they are realized and developed around the world and in Bulgaria, and what their successes are due to. The response from the broadcasting of this column so far has been very positive, both from the audience of the national radio and from the successful young Bulgarians participating in the broadcasts, laureates of many contests and competitions organized by the "Evrika" Foundation in the past years. In the last year, twenty-four editions of the column were prepared and broadcast. They presented the projects and activities of talented and successful young Bulgarians, their realization and development around the world and in Bulgaria, and what their success is due to. Their popularization aims to motivate young and intelligent Bulgarians to accumulate knowledge and develop their creative thinking and ingenuity. In the last show for 2025. we had the opportunity to summarize what was done during the year and outline the new tasks that we set ourselves for implementation in 2026. The implementation of this joint project of the foundation with the Bulgarian National People's Republic is a clear example of a very important activity that contributes both to increasing the authority of the "Evrika" Foundation and to a very good popularization of the successes of talented Bulgarian youth. We are very pleased with the positive response that the column finds among the scholarship holders of the foundation and the laureates of the various competitions.
We have set an ambitious goal in 2026 to start the implementation of a very difficult and ambitious project to create a TV series to popularize the engineering profession. We are working hard to find the right producer, writer, director and walkers to deliver the broadcast.
the 35th anniversary of the establishment of the "Evrika" Foundation was a very appropriate occasion for our activities to be widely reflected in a number of regional newspapers and specialized sites and platforms in Sevlievo, Haskovo, Plovdiv, Ruse, Pleven, Kardjali, Varna, etc. A spatial interview with a representative of the foundation was broadcast in the "Thank you" Podcast, which caused a lot of interest and a positive response and helped our efforts to support young talents in Bulgaria for the last 35 years to reach a very large number of people.
- Participation in international educational, natural-scientific and technical programs and projects for international youth scientific-technical cooperation.
Our international contacts and projects are part of the activities in which there is interest among learners. While students and specialists are self-organizing and finding an individual expression, students have a greater need for support and assistance. To a certain extent, the partnership with organizations from other countries also helps us for this, but also our membership in those that are international and themselves organize scientific and technical activities for children and students. The largest among them is MILSET, in which we have been a member for over 30 years. More than 100 countries are represented in it. It is also natural that our contacts within MILSET - Europe are the closest and most fruitful. Activities are concentrated in it, which are also supported by the functioning programs and funds of the EU, and this allows more projects and initiatives to be organized. We continue to be the only Bulgarian organization in it. We enjoy a good reputation and have hosted and organized various activities. In 2025, we welcomed the election of Dr. Driss Lauradi as the new president of MILSET.
After the successful Bulgarian participation in the World Science Expo in Mexico and the European Science Expo in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the past year 2025. we made a lot of efforts and managed to secure the Bulgarian participation at a high level in the MILSET World Youth Science Exhibition Expo-Sciences International' 2025 (ESI 2025) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The conduct of science exhibitions is always related to the creation of friendships and the enrichment of the personal culture and attitude of different countries without distinguishing by geographical areas. The program of the exhibition in Abu Dhabi included cultural, research and discovery games, defense of scientific projects, work in small groups, conferences, seminars and entertainment. All participants presented the results of their research in a specially prepared place, using posters, tabular models, audio-video materials, pictures, etc. Thanks to the contact with institutions dealing with similar projects to the expo participants, our representatives had the opportunity to exchange ideas for future activities, discuss best practices in the promotion of STEM and establish links with organizations for future joint research work. Using the already established practice from past participations in similar performances, the Bulgarian group was formed by laureates of the National Competition "Young Talents" and included the students: Vladislav Nachev from the American College in Sofia and Alexander Rozhkov and Alexander Milanov from the Mathematical High School "Dr. Petar Beron" in Varna. They presented two projects on the topics: "Apollonian Sphere and Collinearity in Stereographic Projection; "Musica Manus (Musical Hands)". The organization for this participation was not easy and required good coordination, both with the organizers from the United Arab Emirates, and with the Ministry of Education and Culture and the leadership of MILSET - Europe. We managed to register the Bulgarian participants in the special platform of the world event in Abu Dhabi in time. We paid on time the fees of 425 euros for the students and 525 euros for the supervisor. Using the good cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science in the implementation of such projects and considering that the students are laureates of the MES competition, we took the necessary actions and all the expenses of the three students and the supervisor - Elitsa Foteva from the MES were covered by the ministry. As always, the Bulgarian participants performed at an extremely high level. We are already actively working together with the Science Directorate of the Ministry of Education and Culture on the organization of the Bulgarian participation in the European Science Expo (ESE'2026), which will be held from October 18 to 23, 2026 in the city of Mantua, Italy.
For the twenty-first time in a row, MILSET - Europe held the European Science Day for Youth (ESDY'2025) from March 10 to 14, 2025. It was a unique opportunity for curious and creative Bulgarian children and youth to enjoy science by organizing and sharing entertaining experiments on the theme of "Temperature". European Science Days connect young people through a themed day across Europe. More than 20 countries on five continents joined this very interesting and useful initiative. On the Bulgarian side, representatives of many of the eleven student clubs in science and technology in different types of schools in Sofia, Stara Zagora, Sevlievo, Pleven and Blagoevgrad, established by the "Evrika" Foundation 17 years ago under a European project, participated.
The scientific photo contest "When art meets science" was also held for the nineteenth time. Traditionally, there have always been Bulgarian participants in this competition, and in past years we have also won many awards. This contest is very specific and entirely depends on the initiative of the individual participants, as we only inform them and cannot directly influence them to participate.
Through MILSET, we provided an opportunity for Bulgarian participation in Round Tables on the topic "Let's share experience and grow together", organized by the Executive Committee of MILSET Europe. We assisted in ensuring Bulgarian participation in the International Scientific Summer Camp on "Sustainability and Education for Sustainable Development" in July 2025 in Heilbronn, Germany. His program was packed with dynamic lectures and hands-on workshops, including: exploring the concept of sustainability; calculation of personal ecological footprint; creative engineering; an inspiring science dome show; examination of drug residues in drinking water; building and testing solar vehicles.
As in the previous years, we provided informational and logistical support for the participation of Bulgarian representatives, especially teachers, students, scholarship holders - students and laureates of science and invention awards in: international scientific conference ECPD'2025 in Montenegro; IYRIC'2025 correspondence distance competition hosted by Indonesia; International Scientific Summer Camp ISSC'2025 at Izmir University; summer school of science (S3) in Croatia; 4th European Summit of STEAM Educators; international research project competition for secondary school students, Yakutia International Science Fair (YISF'2025), etc.
We would like to be able to preserve what has been achieved in the field of international youth scientific and technical cooperation. It is also worth thinking about organizing a Bulgarian hosting of the European Science Expo through MILSET, as well as about organized Bulgarian participation in international camps, and for this purpose we adapt our annual events to the calendar and the requirements of the international exchange programs financing such activity from European funds.
- For some activities related to our ideal goals and for the place and role of our organization in the development of cooperation with other organizations and institutions in our country.
In recent years, the Evrika Foundation has proven to be an organization that relies on the loyal partnership and synergy with other such allies among the non-governmental organizations, government institutions, businesses and media that we have already written about. What is important to us is to pursue our goals and champion the causes of supporting and developing young people with outstanding abilities. This is what we have done for all the years of our existence, we are doing it now and we are convinced that it makes us stronger and more successful. This is part of our policy and a significant part of our resources goes to the implementation of joint projects with such like-minded people. Proof of this was the participants and guests of all our events during the foundation's jubilee year 2025, when we had the pleasure of hearing good words from their representatives and congratulations on the holiday. With many of them we have long-term contracts for interaction and joint events and programs.
Our partnership with non-governmental organizations is the largest. We are co-founders of many of them. We have permanent contacts, many joint activities and projects. An example of this can be our joint activities with the Union of Mathematicians in Bulgaria, the Union of Physicists in Bulgaria, the MF "St. St. Cyril and Methodius", the Union of Scientists in Bulgaria, the "Sofia City of Knowledge" Cluster, the Bulgarian Donor Forum, the "University for Children" Foundation, the BCause Foundation, the Union of Inventors in Bulgaria, the Association of Agricultural Producers in Bulgaria, the "SOS Children's Villages Bulgaria" Association, the "Milen" Foundation Grigorov" and others. We reported on some of the joint projects and programs and their results in the previous sections of the report - schools, conferences, competitions, etc. We have a long-term sector partnership with others and thus support the development and prosperity of the third sector in our country.
We implement a large part of our projects jointly with other organizations and structures, mostly through the "Development" Program. Along with partnerships already established over the years, we strive to attract new like-minded people, both among non-governmental organizations and with schools and universities.
Поддържаме делови партньорства с държавните институции и организации. Our goals almost completely coincide with those of the Ministry of Education and Science and its units for extra-curricular and extra-curricular activities, and this explains why we mainly seek contacts with them. As it became clear from the previous sections of the report, the closest and longest-standing ties and joint activity are with the National Children's Palace. Имаме не един съвместен проект и това е свързано с много добри резултати. In many cases, they are also our connecting link for the implementation of a number of European programs and initiatives. We were once again part of their celebrations dedicated to International Children's Day, the opening of the new school year and the official presentation of the "Talents of the Year" award. Many of the implemented projects in 2025, which we described in this report, are included in the Calendar plan for extracurricular activities of the Ministry of Education and Culture.
We are working hard and we are happy to justify the trust of the business and in 2025 we again received substantial support from "M+S Hidravlik" AD, Kazanlak and "Velev Invest" OOD.
In fulfillment of a targeted donation in 2025, we participated in the organization and holding of the next edition of the Competition-Exhibition "Youth Technical Creativity MTT'2025. The funds from the donation were used for: making stands for exhibiting mock-ups, useful models, structures, prototypes, tools, machines, software and demonstrations; advertising and information provision of the event; organizing and holding accompanying events; attracting new participants and promoting of the achievements of young people and their clubs in the exhibition We have detailed above in the report about the participation of young people in this performance in 2025.
With funds from the donation of "Velev Invest" OOD, we started the implementation of two projects with "Vale" Computer School - Haskovo and "University for Children" Foundation, which we described in the previous sections of this report. These projects will be completed in 2026.
Again, in fulfillment of the terms of the donation, we managed to implement another joint project with the Association "SOS Children's Villages Bulgaria" on the theme "Journey in the world of science and technology - from the magic of clay to the secrets of the Cosmos". On May 15, 2025, the first ever Career Fair was held in the Dren Children's Village as the main activity of this project. 170 children, students and young people participated, both from SOS care and from the local communities - 7 schools from Pernik, Breznik and Radomir. Four zones were distinguished for typical professions: economy and science; social activities and education; crafts and 3D printer; outdoor occupations. The Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria presented the Vocational Training Center at a separate stand, where people of all ages can be trained in 35 professions and 52 specialties. For this project, a very modern ceramic 3D printer was purchased, with the aim of presenting a unique new way of creating ceramics and bringing the ancient craft into the technological future. Two trainings on the topic "Wild clay to 3D printing of ceramics" were held, in which 88 children and young people took part. As part of the Astroclub activity, an excursion was organized with visits to key locations for every physicist and space lover - the Planetarium in the city of Smolyan and the National Astronomical Observatory "Rozhen". theme "Creators of the future.
Encouraged by the excellent results of the previous two projects, in the autumn of 2025 we launched a new one-year project on the theme "Career Fair: Engineering, Science, Crafts and Stars". The project is intended for children and youth from vulnerable groups aged 10-18. The activities of the project are different and are divided by age groups, according to the level of development of the children. More than 150 children, youth and parents will be involved in the implementation of the project. It has been developed in several main directions and the following activities are already being implemented: organizing and conducting the Science and Professions Fair; introducing and training young people in the field of ceramics - from an ancient craft to digitized creativity through a 3D ceramic printer; development of the activity of Astro Club, as an interest club, attracting young people for purposeful use of the club; organizing and conducting a photo contest on the theme "Future Makers - Engineering, Science, Crafts and Stars".
For the successful partnership with SOS Children's Villages Bulgaria, the foundation was awarded a statuette and diploma for Silver Partner at the Annual Corporate Awards "One Family".
Through the targeted donation, we were able to enrich and expand our joint activity with the Faculty of Physics and Technology at Paisii Hilendarski University of Plovdiv. During the reporting year, the following were organized and held: National Student Conference "Physics - Engineering - Technologies"; National Student Scientific Conference "Physics - Engineering - Technologies"; Student academy at the FTF of PU "P. Hilendarski".
IX National Student Scientific Conference "Physics - Engineering - Technologies" was held on December 4 and 5, 2025. More than 100 students, teachers and guests took part in it. The idea of this event is to provide an opportunity to discuss innovative ideas and current problems in the fields of physics, engineering, communications, electronics and educational technology. The event provided an opportunity for young scientists, students and doctoral students from higher schools and institutes in the country and abroad to perform. The forum was structured into three main sections that reflect current trends in science and technology: physics and physical technologies; engineering, communications and electronics; educational technologies. The jury was faced with the difficult task of evaluating 72 scientific works, of which 27 were oral presentations and 45 were posters. The atmosphere during the poster session was full of discussion. Young scientists had the opportunity not only to present their work, but also to receive feedback from established scientists and teachers. Within the framework of this conference, a special award "Best Scientific Achievement" was presented to outstanding young scientists, students and doctoral students.
On 06.12.2025, the National Student Conference "Physics-Engineering-Technology" was held at the Faculty of Physics and Technology of Plovdiv University "Paisiy Hilendarski". 50 students from Plovdiv, Sliven, Pazardzhik, etc. participated in it, divided into 19 teams. The conference provided a field for creative expression of students from all over the country with an interest in physics, engineering and technology. They showed models, simulations, computer games developed by them and presented them in an interesting and attractive way. In the category for presentations, Nikola Urumov from the 10th grade of "Konstantin Konstantinov" Secondary School, Sliven, placed first. First place in the category for the solution of previously assigned experimental tasks was won by the team of the "Georgi Benkovski" SU, Pazardzhik, represented by the students Teodor Penov, Mariela Georgieva, Yana Doshkova and Petar Petrov. They presented and analyzed the Water Barometer task they developed.
The third part of this large project with the Faculty of Physics and Technology of the PU "P. Hilendarski" includes the organization and operation of a Student Academy for high school students with a pronounced interest in natural sciences and technology. The Academy continues its work. Classes are held monthly outside of school hours according to a pre-announced program. There is a lot of interest in the presented attractive lectures with demonstrations and practical classes related to various fields of physics and engineering. Students actively participate, having the opportunity to get involved in solving a variety of practical tasks. Teachers, young scientists, doctoral students and students from the Faculty of Physics and Technology are engaged in the Student Academy, who with their pedagogical potential have improved the students' awareness of the opportunities for potential career development in the field of physics and engineering professions. As part of the student academy, a student competition on "Physics in Action: Inspired by Sommerfeld" was held. It was dedicated to the remarkable scientist and teacher Arnold Sommerfeld, who was nominated 84 times for the Nobel Prize in his entire career, but never won it. On the other hand, he remains in history not only with his scientific achievements, but also with the fact that he founded a school, and subsequently six of his students became Nobel Prize winners. During the current school year, we have set ourselves the goal of developing the academy with new lecture material, attractive lecturers, enriching the presentation with more demonstrations and experiments, as well as providing an opportunity to solve practical tasks in class for those students who show interest.
We continue our common actions and projects with BAS. The Student Institute of the BAS is also being developed, which uses the experience gained at UchiMI. We have detailed about it above in the report.
Our relations with the Union of Scientists in Bulgaria /SUB/ are excellent. The Evrika Foundation has a long-term cooperation agreement with SUB and together we have implemented many joint projects. The Evrika Foundation and SUB are co-organizers of the traditional national competition for achievements in science.
We continued to expand our joint activity with our long-standing partners from the Union of Physicists in Bulgaria (SFB) to implement projects for talented children and youth in the field of science and technology. We have described in detail the joint initiatives and appearances with the SFB in the above sections of this report. Many of our scholarship recipients and competition laureates, along with many other students, teachers, parents, children, students, researchers and citizens were part of the Spring Open Day at the Faculty of Physics of SU "St. Cl. Ohridski". We took part in the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the creation of the "World of Physics Live" Lecture.
And in 2025 we were among the participants in: the International Exhibition "Beekeeping - Pleven 2025"; the solemn celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Union of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Communications; Sofia Science Festival' 2025; European Night of Scientists' 2025; the "Agribusinessman of Bulgaria" Awards for 2025 of the "Bulgarian Farmer" newspaper; the presentation of the "Gipson" scholarships of the MF "St. St. Cyril and Methodius"; the "Manager of the Year 2025" competition of "Manager" magazine; VIII Scientific and Technical Conference "Packaging - trends in development and application; XVIII International Conference "Education and research in the information society; The third edition of the "Learn Together" program of the "Together in an Hour" Foundation; Webinar on "Implementing Quantum Communications and Technologies"; Republican Championship of road safety and applied cycling for children"; Festival "Hello, Cosmos! Speak Bulgaria!" Program "Fun Summer, Caring Autumn"; BCause Foundation's Ready for Success Program; Technovation'2025 Forum; XVIII National Scientific and Technical Conference with foreign participation "Ecology and Health'2025"; VI Scientific and Technical Conference "Science, Technology, Security"; "Information Technology for Green Energy" Conference; 7th International Conference "Artificial Intelligence and e-Leadership". For another year, we participated in the campaign and nominations for the "John Atanasov" awards of President Rumen Radev, where a large part of the laureates are former and current grantees of the foundation.
We continue to develop the useful joint work with the Federation of Scientific and Technical Unions (FNTS). In addition to the implementation of the joint project for organizing and holding a Youth Scientific Conference with international participation on the topic "Design and construction of buildings and facilities", which we described in detail in the above sections of the report, we took part in the National Conference "Problems and Prospects of STEM Education in Bulgaria" and the National Exhibition-Competition "For the Best STEM Cabinet and STEM Education". We were also part of the celebration of the 140th anniversary of FNTS and the 60th anniversary of the Scientific and Technical Union for Construction in Bulgaria.
We expanded the joint activity with the Xiro.bg Platform. It is the first online-based platform in Bulgaria that brings together both businesses and non-profit organizations in one place, giving them the opportunity to speak to the next generations in one language. Through this platform, the foundation manages to reach a very large number of potential candidates for participation in the named scholarship competitions, the National Space Competition - Present and Future of Humanity and the Evrika Awards competitions. All potential applicants can now not only be informed about the foundation's performances, but also through the platform directly apply with the relevant required documents.
For the successful implementation of the foundation's thematic program activities, we owe a great deal of gratitude for the long-term fruitful cooperation of the most representative organization of employers at the national level - the Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria /AIKB/. They are our partners in organizing and holding the competition for a young manager. With the financial support of some of the members of AIKB, such as M+S Hidravlik - Kazanlak and "Bulgarian Rose" JSC - Karlovo, we were able to implement many successful projects to stimulate and popularize the achievements of young people in science, technology and the management of business organizations. We were part of the Forum organized by AIKB on the topic "Ensuring the security of the transition to the Eurozone" and the solemn ceremony for the awarding of the "Economy of Light" awards. Our previous cooperation with AIKB is an example of a sustainable partnership with business, and we will strive to develop it in the future.
We continue to maintain good contacts with non-governmental organizations and especially with those of which we are part of the founders. According to the possibilities and interests of our organization, we are involved in activities of the Bulgarian Donor Forum (BDF). The representative of the foundation is a member of the Board of Directors of the BDF. This is recognition of the role of the Evrika Foundation in strengthening the civil sector in Bulgaria and the significant results achieved in our work so far. Within the framework of this membership, we participated in: The Annual Corporate Donor Awards 2025; Breakfast for Donors Meeting Series; Official Presentation of the Annual Giving Analysis; Discussion on "International partnerships - good practices, opportunities for philanthropy without borders and today's challenges"; Discussion on "Positive Campaign & Negative Reality: How to Use"; Discussion on "Donation through the eyes of sociology and the media"; Annual meetings of members; The annual analysis of donations in Bulgaria. Through BDF, we receive up-to-date information and analyzes of donation trends, not only in Bulgaria, but also in Europe. Thanks to the BDF, we have contacts with major donors, it is easier to find partners for various projects and we participate in useful trainings.
We actively participated in the Annual Meeting of the National Children's Network in June 2025 in Stara Zagora and in a series of appearances and initiatives of this socially significant network of over 130 organizations that advocates for the rights and well-being of children. We have made an effort to participate in many useful and interesting NMD events, such as: Forum "Future 2.0 - Literacy for Education, Leadership and Skills of the Future" Forum "Courage, Solidarity, Social Work" under the title "Bridges in the Modern World"; "Golden Apple" competition, etc.
We continue to use the information about what is happening in the non-governmental sector from the Information Portal for NGOs in Bulgaria. There we also publish our informational announcements about contests and appearances of the foundation.
Nine years ago, the Evrika Foundation, together with 25 other companies, scientific institutes and universities, established the "Sofia - City of Knowledge" Cluster. Through it, we are looking for new opportunities to proactively involve young people in joint initiatives and projects, together with scientific, development, educational and financial organizations to transform the city of Sofia from a traditional administrative capital into a city of knowledge. The Evrika Foundation is actively sought by the members of the Cluster for consultations and implementation of joint activities and initiatives. At the last Annual General Meeting, the representative of the foundation was proposed and unanimously elected as a member of the Management Board. The cluster has concluded 13 cooperation agreements, half of which are with foreign organizations. In 2025 two new projects were approved for implementation under the procedure "Support of existing information clusters" and under the program "Research, innovation and digitization for intelligent transformation". Through the Cluster, we provided an opportunity for young people to participate in: a transnational partner meeting, a seminar and a study visit to Sofia Tech Park under the "InvestTech" project; citizen science training as part of the international Placemaking for Climate project; assembly of small and medium-sized enterprises in Copenhagen; Forum Robotics Strategy'2025; a discussion on business and technological innovation in 2025; webinar on "Presentation of equity and venture financing funds and their portfolio companies"; forum on "Synergy between business, institutions and science for innovation and growth"; a webinar on "Using Digital Twins for Smarter, Safer and More Efficient Cities"; seminar on "Creating a transnational platform for cooperation between Centers of Excellence in Professional Education and Training under the InvestTech project; ECA Cluster Conference'2025 in Madrid; Smart City Expo Congress - the most influential event in the world for urban innovation.
Three years ago, we started a very successful partnership with the National University Center for Creativity and Innovation /NUTSTI/ at SU "St. Cl. Ohridski". In 2025 we held the second edition of the National Festival "Ideas that change the world". The performance deepened the ties between the university and the school. For young people, the festival was not just an event, but a great experience. A wonderful space was created where science spoke humanly, dreams met reality, and a new generation of discoverers found their place. The purpose of the festival was to encourage, stimulate, support innovators, creators, inventors, all people who deal with projects in school and preschool age. We were looking for such ideas and projects, creativity that started from the children themselves and was carried out by them as authors and doers as opposed to those with a more leading role of the teacher, the consultant or someone else who steps into that role, and in this spirit we sought to find and support children from all over the country. Students from Bulgarian schools abroad also took part in this festival. Nearly 50 projects with over 100 participants were presented at the festival, which is a huge leap from its pilot edition. The students presented their projects in the Sofia University building, which was not only solemn and exciting, but also impressive and responsible. One of the topics for reflection raised by the initiative is aimed at teachers and generally people who work with children and students, namely how to preserve, stimulate and develop creative thinking and conscious creativity in young people. The preparation and organization of the third edition of the festival, which will take place at the end of May 2026, is already underway. At the end of 2025 we started the implementation of another joint project to organize and conduct the "NUCTI Lectures" Series around significant achievements, implementation of ideas and bold innovations. The project is aimed at students, PhD students, teachers, young researchers, teachers and students with an interest in creativity and innovation. Participants will gain access to authentic practical models, inspiration for personal and professional implementations, contacts with innovators and building an entrepreneurial and innovative culture.
Our joint work with SU "St. Kl. Ohridski" is very useful and our desire is to continue to consult, advise and open centers for creativity and innovation in various schools in the country, realizing that for children's creativity it is not so important the specific achievement, but the desire, effort and attitude of young people to create and offer solutions to important problems for them.
II. About the state of the property and the investment policy of the "Evrika" Foundation
- Property status and realized income in 2025
The foundation does everything necessary to preserve the property combined with the achievement of maximum income with minimum risk. Despite the complicated market and economic uncertainty and changing conditions both nationally and globally, the necessary must be done to ensure the financial implementation of the programs and goals of our activity.
We received a net annual income from the property in 2025 in the amount of BGN 246,783. It includes only the actual cash flows that have entered the Foundation as a result of the effective management of the allocated property and reserves, reduced by the costs of investment management.
The largest, as in the previous reporting period, remains the share of received dividends from the shares of "M+S Hydraulic" AD, "HES" AD and "Stara Planina Hold" AD in the amount of BGN 209,460. Next comes income from government securities in the amount of BGN 60,794, and interest on deposit and current accounts in the amount of BGN 3,526.
The accounting result for the financial year 2025 is a profit of BGN 406,013.
This result was obtained after the revaluation operations of cash and other assets denominated in foreign currency. The revaluation of long-term investments at fair prices towards the end of the year significantly affects the accounting result. Here we should note that the stock market price of the shares we own in "M+S Hidravlik" and "Stara Planina Hold" AD increased, while that of HES AD decreased in 2025. Thus, at the end of the reporting period, the shares that the Foundation owns amount to BGN 8,634,520.
- Investments, investment policy and expected income of the "EURIKA" Foundation for 2026
The financial plan for the year 2026 was drawn up in the new monetary unit – the euro and is in line with expectations for a relatively stable financial and economic situation in the country. However, our possibilities for increasing the yield from the Foundation's property are very limited. Dividends, which are generally decreasing, represent a challenge for us and new options must be sought. In the reporting year 2025, as we noted above, they represent the main percentage of the received income. At the same time, we keep the expenditure part of the financial plan in euros. We must be careful in investing the Foundation's cash and adhere to our previously successful principles of diversification and minimization of risk.
As a result of the changes in the financial market in the last few years, interest rates on deposits remain extremely low, which will significantly reduce the income of the "EURIKA" Foundation. Bank interest rates are now in the range of 0.7% - 1% on an annual basis.
Now the investment portfolio looks like this:
| minimum | maximum | ||||
| 1. | Government securities | 10% | 50% | ||
| 2. | Tangible fixed assets | 0% | 5% | ||
| 3. | Deposits and currency in banks | 10% | 40% | ||
| 4. | Loans granted and financial assets under management | 5% | 20% | ||
| 5. | Corporate securities and equity interests | 25% | 80% | ||
The Foundation's investment portfolio at the end of the 2025 financial year has the following structure:
| Book value | Percentage of total amount | |
| 1. Government securities | 1 754 485 | 14,76% |
| 2. Tangible fixed assets | 153 256 | 1,29% |
| 3. Deposits and currency in banks | 1 349 001 | 11,34% |
| 4. Loans granted | 0 | 0,00% |
| 5. Corporate securities (shares) | 8 634 520 | 72,61% |
| TOTAL: | 11 891 262 | 100,00% |
We keep investments in government securities as a priority, as well as in shares of profitable enterprises, which, with normal development of the economy in the country, should bring stable income over a medium-term period.
Free funds are deposited in first-class banks with a guaranteed return of around 1%, with additional measures taken to reduce risk.
We plan to invest part of the free funds in government securities with a guaranteed minimum yield, but with higher security. With another part, we will buy shares of profitable companies in order to provide dividend income
Fixed tangible assets do not bring income, but at the same time they are a reserve of the Foundation. They allow money to be saved on rents that we would have to pay if we did not own real estate.
In general, the portfolio of investments of the "EURIKA" Foundation in 2025 was preserved.
We propose to the Foundation Council for the year 2026 to approve the same unchanged structure of the investment portfolio:
| Minimum | Maximum | ||||
| 1. | Government securities | 10% | 50% | ||
| 2. | Tangible fixed assets | 0% | 5% | ||
| 3. | Deposits and currency in banks | 10% | 40% | ||
| 4. | Loans granted and financial assets under management | 5% | 20% | ||
| 5. | Corporate securities and equity interests | 25% | 80% | ||
Thanks to the capitalized funds over the last 5 years and as a result of the reliable investments made, which bring us smaller but stable incomes, will allow us to maintain the financial performance and even increase the funds under the main programs of the Foundation. Based on the calculations made in advance, the Executive Bureau foresees that in 2026 the net income from the property will be in the amount of EUR 120,000. The rest of the necessary funds must be collected from donations, funds raised from joint projects, from receipts from projects under EU programs. These views on the future financing of our activities are reflected in the draft budget that we are submitting for discussion by the Foundation Council.
In accordance with Art. 12, para. 1, item 9 of the Statute of the Foundation, part of the income from the property in 2025 in the amount of BGN 57,730 should be capitalized.
We look forward to a challenging and at the same time promising options for success in 2026, in which the Evrika Foundation will be able to realize its potential and improve its positions.
* * *
We presented a report on our affairs in 2025 to the Council of the Evrika Foundation and to the entire Bulgarian public. It shows that we successfully fulfill the strategic goals and tasks set when the organization was created and the subsequent development in accordance with the changes that have occurred, as a consequence of the socio-economic development of the country and the needs of young people and children. Together with our partners and like-minded people from the big EUREKA family, we draw young people's path to higher science, giving them the self-confidence that their ideas matter here and now. What has been achieved is not a limit, but it is another step forward and it inspires us with confidence that together we can succeed in doing good in the name of capable and talented young Bulgarians. The "Evrika" Foundation has won a worthy place among the organizations working for public benefit and the new tasks and activities should allow development of the organization itself. The new times also require new goals, high criteria and appropriate actions that allow us to be satisfied that we are working for a cause with a future.