During 2018 our team achieved a lot and each and every team member was instrumental in turning this research venture into an internationally recognized success story. Apart from the many publications, which were featured in international scientific conference proceedings and journals, the team behind the Center for Shared Science & Business was at the center of a few high-rank award ceremonies and events, intended to honor excellence in R&D and innovation.
In the “Outstanding Projects with Social Value-Added” category of the annual Presidential Awards for IT research & development excellence, three initiatives were awarded for their potential and successes in their drive to change, and most of all – to make some of our citizens’ duties easier, by offering various services. Among them was the Open Source University R&D project! Jordan Jambazov, a student of the Technical University, received the prize as the chief software developer of the OS.University platform.
The research project started a new chapter in its commercialization journey by becoming part of the Founder Institute accelerator, which the software development team joined after winning a pitching competition at “Betahaus” (Sofia). The panel of international experts chose the team in recognition of the worthiness of its overall mission to enable frictionless exchange of information and value over the public blockchain.
Earlier during the year, we completed a 6-month long exchange with focus on research commercialization in London, UK. The exchange program was financed by the European Commission through the “Erasmus for Entrepreneurs” initiative and was administrated by the Centre for IP & Business at the British Library and BCause Foundation on the Bulgarian side. Throughout the 6-months period, Hristian Daskalov from CSSB managed to develop strong ties on London’s edtech and blockchain scenes and helped our UK partner – “Cobden Partners” to excel not only as a trusted consultancy, but also as a digital transformation partner of choise for disruptive teams and projects. In the meanwhile, the software development team, based in Bulgaria, took part in the EU-funded “Startup Lighthouse” program, establishing new research and market partnerships across continental Europe.
Below is a list of some of the other events we were invited to attend and speak at:
- NEXT DIFI 2018 (28 September) — The Financial Innovation Forum brought together industry leaders, policy makers, regulators and experts to explore the disruptive forces that are shaping the financial sector into the future and discuss where opportunities lie. It brought together people who want to discover the future of finance and help their company unveiling these new opportunities. Through presentations, panel sessions and on-stage interviews, senior executives from local and international banks joined leaders from other organisations, among which ours, to give their views on what banks, insurance and pension companies must do to stay ahead of the game technology-wise.
- Bits & Pretzels 2018 (30 September – 02 October) — by far the biggest forum on our roadmap in September and October, thanks to the Startup Lighthouse and our previous participation in the Baltics Deep Dive Week in Lithuania. Now that we are part of the pan-European Startup Lighthouse community, we were headed to the “Bits & Pretzels” founders’ forum in Munich, Germany. We tapped into the pool of 5,000 attendees (founders, investors & startup enthusiasts), separated on 7 stages (from inspiration to learning and matchmaking), with 100+ speakers, sharing their insights on stage and 150+ experts, which we shared a table with at Oktoberfest.
- CEE Block 2018 (25–26 October) — we took part in a panel at CEE Block 2018, together with representatives of the European Commission, PwC Zurich, ENDEAVOR, Consensys, and others. CEE Block 2018 was the biggest blockchain forum in Central and Eastern Europe that brought together high-level policy-makers and global brands. It was under the patronage of Maria Gabriel, the European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society.
Center for Shared Science & Business 