site.btaINSAIT Institute Presents Edition of Programme for Keeping Young Talents in Bulgaria

The Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Technology (INSAIT) with the St Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia Thursday presented the new edition of EXPLORER, the Institute's programme for keeping young talents in Bulgaria. Attending the events were Education and Youth Minister Krasimir Valchev, Sofia University Rector Georgi Valchev and Vice-Rector Parvan Parvanov, INSAIT founder Martin Vechev and Executive Director Borislav Petrov, and business representatives.

In his address, Minister Valchev  said that INSAIT shines bright on the world map of AI's development and is a model for keeping talents in this country and attracting them from across the globe. INSAIT is also a model for the return of Bulgarian scientists and students - the best in the world - to their country, the Minister added. "I am convinced that they work in one of the best places for the development of AI," he noted.

Georgi Valchev said that what INSAIT has made in high achievements and potential opportunities for students is wonderful but it is important not only because they stay in Bulgaria and choose Sofia University and INSAIT, but also because there is ambition to show how higher education should develop in the coming years. That means talented children should be additionally encouraged, he added.

Vechev said that EXPLORER started with a budget of around BGN 1 million, donated mostly by Bulgarian companies, organizations, and institutions. Some ten students will receive scholarships of BGN 2,000 a month. They will receive basic education at Sofia University's Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics, in the Computer Science programme, the research and technologies developed at INSAIT, and will have internships in leading Bulgarian and world technological companies, Velchev explained.

EXPLORER was launched in 2024 to keep in Bulgaria talented students in computer science and mathematics. Thanks to donations from technological companies, resources were provided for monthly scholarships of BGN 2,000 for each of the selected students for four years. That allows the students to focus on their studies while working on projects in innovative fields: large language models, computer learning, robotics, machine learning, algorithms, and others. One of the requirements was for them to be enrolled in a programme at Sofia University's Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics.