On 10-11 May, the sixth Innovation Academy took place in Sofia with the participation of students from 20 universities from all over Bulgaria. 19 out of 30 teams presented innovative business and social projects to a jury of CEOs from 7 business organizations, 5 NGOs and 10 universities.
10 mentors, including Dr. Todor Galev, senior expert at the Applied Research and Communications Fund, assisted the participants. The Fund partnered with the event for the second consecutive year.
The teams competed for a prize of 10 000 BGN and a visit to the European Institutions in Brussels, provided with the support of the European Investment Bank, Progress and the European Commission in Bulgaria.
HUB Ground by students from the American University in Blagoevgrad won first prize. Boris Angelov and Zhan Ilyov have developed an innovative online service that connects employers and employees according to the skills of the job seekers and a portfolio of projects that employers have on the market.
OS Implants – a team of students from the Medical University of Sofia, Vanyo Vezirov, Mario Emilov, Kiril Stanchev and Alexey Mitev, came second. They have an advanced prototype and project for 3D printing of bone implants. Using standard bone scanning procedures for doctors (CT scanner) they can build a virtual model of the affected bone or trauma of the patient. This is followed by the printing process, via an innovative 3D printer, using a European Medical Agency (EMA) approved polymer that mimics the strength and parameters of real bones.
Third place went to the students of The Braves from New Bulgarian University, composed of Zahari Kolev, Martin Haralanov, Diana Valkanova, Radoslava Kirkova. They developed an ice cream that relieves the symptoms of “pain and irritation” in menstruating women. “Womenicer” turns the idea of the ice cream product upside down in such a traditional sector.
