The economic potential of a nation is no longer measured only by industrial achievements, but also by research and models developed through artificial intelligence. With this extremely effective symbiosis and a strong ecosystem that has been built around INSAIT, Bulgaria is now at the center of this process. This was said by Prime Minister Rumen Radev at the official ceremony in the Council of Ministers, during which the new fellows in the EXPLORER (EXcellence Program in technoLOgy and REseaRch) program of INSAIT were presented.
Prime Minister Rumen Radev emphasized that when it was established several years ago, INSAIT had a clear strategic goal - to develop artificial intelligence and high technologies in Bulgaria. “I can say that in just a few years this goal has been exceeded. What you are all doing together – INSAIT, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski“, the Olympic Movement, Bulgarian schools, Bulgarian innovative companies, “launches” Bulgaria into a new orbit”, said the Prime Minister.
”With today's event we show that Bulgaria can take care of its young minds”, said the Minister of Education and Science Georgi Valchev. According to him, even during the discussion of launching EXPLORER, together with Prof. Vechev, they set as their main idea to give some of our most talented students the opportunity to develop their potential at Sofia University by focusing entirely on the educational process. “Be brave, become a shining example and don't forget that in order to get this far, someone has supported you - these are your families and someone has opened a door that you don't suspect - these are your teachers”, Prof. Valchev addressed the scholarship holders. He urged them to make full use of their time at Sofia University and to draw on knowledge in all areas - both in the field of information technology and artificial intelligence, as well as in social sciences and all other branches of knowledge, in order to develop themselves as knowledgeable and capable young people who understand the world in which they live.
The new fifteen EXPLORER scholarship holders are winners of numerous medals from international olympiads and competitions and have dozens of awards from national competitions. Even before starting their higher education, some of them have already worked with autonomous robots, participated in the development of systems for training large language models and applications with artificial intelligence. They have participation in scientific and software projects, publications at international scientific forums and experience in technology companies and startups. Leading universities and technology centers from all over the world compete for young people with similar achievements. EXPLORER gives them the opportunity to work on world-class scientific research while still students and at the same time stay in Bulgaria.