A PhD student at the Technical University has won a $10,000 scholarship from the American "Amelia Earhart" Foundation

 Eng. Stiliyana Bakalova is an alumnus of the Technical University, Branch – Plovdiv, and is currently pursuing a PhD. She holds around 20 driving licenses for various motor vehicles – from motorcycles and motorbuses to buses with trailers and tractors. She also holds a license as an amateur pilot. She dreams of piloting civil aviation aircraft. 

 Stiliyana is among the students with the highest academic achievement in the specialization Aviation Technology and Engineering; she has been named Student of the Year and is a scholarship recipient of the "Eureka" Foundation. She works diligently and publishes her reports and scientific research at national conferences in technical sciences. In one of her reports, she conducts a precise analysis of the comparative maneuvering characteristics of the MiG-29 and Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft. Her reports "Aircraft Engines," "Mathematical Analysis of the Maneuvering Properties of Combat Aircraft," and "Study of the Maneuvering Properties of Military Aircraft" have even attracted the interest of specialists from the Bulgarian Air Force.

She now flies AN-2, Tecnam P-92, Tecnam P-2006 T, and Beechcraft C90 aircraft, and is second on the list of winners. She is also the first PhD student in Bulgaria to win the scholarship. According to information on the foundation's website, there are four other Bulgarian women selected for the scholarship program in previous years, but studying in other countries.