site.btaEducation and Science Minister Talks with Bulgarian Researchers at CERN

Education and Science Minister Galin Tsokov met with some of the 100-plus Bulgarian scientists and engineers working at the Geneva headquarters of CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, Tsokov's ministry reported on Sunday. He was in the Swiss city for the inauguration of a CERN facility called the Science Gateway.

Tsokov and his deputy Genka Petrova attended a ministerial roundtable on the role of research infrastructure as a platform for career development in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

The Science Gateway is designed to help people of various ages, educational backgrounds and occupations to learn about CERN's discoveries, scientific achievements and technological successes. It is aimed to inspire young people to pursue a career in the STEM disciplines.

The Gateway building will host exhibitions and activities explaining the mysteries of nature, from the tiniest elementary particles to the structure and the evolution of the Universe.

Tsokov said practical experiments will be a key element of the educational programme at the Gateway, which will allow visitors to gain first-hand experience. Among others, the opportunity will be available to the Bulgarian students and teachers who visit CERN Headquarters.

Between 250 and 300 school students from Bulgaria visit CERN Headquarters annually, and 60 teachers come here for training under an Education and Science Ministry programme. They specialize in physics, chemistry, man and nature, technology or informatics, Tsokov said.

Students coming on a one-day visit usually tour various facilities such as particle accelerators, detectors, control rooms and computer centres, and participate in practical experiments, lectures and discussions with Bulgarian researchers and engineers working at CERN.