Doctoral Seminar on Innovation and Technology at BFU

On November 19, 2025, the Doctoral Seminar was held at the Center for Informatics and Technical Sciences, including PhD students enrolled in the project “Development of Innovative Methods, Technologies and Models in Support of a Data-Driven Economy (I-METHODS),” contract BG05SFPR001-3.004-0012-C01. The event aimed to present the progress of young researchers and to encourage the exchange of ideas between doctoral students and their academic supervisors.

The scientific secretary of the seminar was Ruzhin Velkov, PhD student in Informatics, who coordinated the presentation of reports and discussions. The program showcased diverse research areas – from artificial intelligence and cognitive models, through energy efficiency and renewable sources, to engineering safety and technology transfer.

The doctoral students presented their ideas and current results:

• Adreane Dimitrova – MADQN model for the development of cognitive skills (supervisor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Penka Georgieva)
• Atanas Yovkov – Improving the efficiency of building energy systems (supervisors Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kamen Seimenliyski and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Silvia Letskovska)
• Velizar Todorov – Risk assessment and performance evaluation of photovoltaic power plants (supervisor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kamen Seimenliyski)
• Georgi Djufov – Innovation potential and opportunities for technology transfer of systems for automatic recognition, analysis, and optimization of product data in e-commerce (supervisor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Evgenia Nikolova)
• Deyan Sofiykov – Computer vision for real-time traffic management (supervisor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Evgenia Nikolova)
• Ivelin Bakalov – Technologies for harvesting renewable energy, storage, and application in transport (supervisor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Todor Kostadinov)
• Ruzhin Velkov – Oceanographic analysis using AI and drones (supervisor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Veselina Zhecheva)
• Sergiy Vashchilin – Machine learning in the stock market (supervisor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Penka Georgieva)
• Todor Slavov – Application of AI methods to enhance the security and resilience of critical infrastructure (supervisor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Evgenia Nikolova)
• Hristo Mihaylov – Engineering safety in the operation of energy systems (supervisor Prof. Dr. Radostin Dolchinkov)

The seminar concluded with a lively discussion, outlining perspectives for future research and opportunities for collaboration. The event highlighted the strong motivation of the doctoral students and the significant contribution of their work to the development of a data-driven economy.