Maria Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, visited the Technical University (TU) in Sofia. She was received by the Rector of TU-Sofia, Prof. Dr. Eng. Ivan Králov, in the building of the newly established National Center for Mechatronics and Clean Technologies on the "Student City" campus, the university's press center reported. The meeting was attended by the Deputy Rectors - Prof. Dr. Eng. Lyubomir Dimitrov, Prof. Dr. Georgi Venkov, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eng. Liya Gálbova and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eng. Rosen Radonov, Prof. Eng. Georgi Todorov, Dean of the Faculty of Industrial Technologies and Chairman of the General Assembly of TU-Sofia, Prof. Eng. Nikolay Nikolov, Assistant Rector, Prof. Dr. Eng. Georgi Angelov, Director of the Directorate "Information and Public Relations", and Nikolay Nikolov - General Secretary of TU-Sofia. Prof. Králov presented the Technical University in Sofia, emphasizing that it is the oldest and leading technical university in Bulgaria and the region, established in 1945. "For nearly 80 years, we have trained over 160,000 engineers, and currently, 11,500 students are studying, of whom 750 are foreign, as well as over 300 doctoral students. There are over 700 professors. The university has three foreign-language faculties - German, English, and French, which award double degrees, has two branches - in Plovdiv and Sliven, two colleges, and two secondary schools in its structure. Our university prepares multi-profile specialists in the most modern fields - intelligent systems and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data analysis, information and communication technologies, robotics, mechatronics, aviation, energy, etc. We receive strong support from business, which actively participates in student training in the upper years. Every year we organize "Science Days", during which over 30 scientific conferences are held, 17 of which are indexed in Scopus and Web of Science. TU-Sofia has concluded over 150 agreements with foreign universities and research institutes. Under the "Erasmus+" program, the university has the largest budget for student mobility in the country. TU-Sofia is part of the European Technological University, which unites eight universities from different parts of Europe, thereby opening up opportunities for our students to study in different campuses and receive a unified European degree", said Prof. Králov. "Research and applied activities account for one-third of the university's budget. In recent years, we have established and participated in five Centers of Excellence and Centers of Competence. The largest is the National Center for Mechatronics and Clean Technologies, which has 16 laboratories with state-of-the-art technologies and equipment. Our students and doctoral candidates work and train there, we have recruited top graduates, and now science is being created there, ready-to-market products are being developed, and technologies are being transferred to industry," Prof. Králov said. "In this way, we fulfill our social commitment by working to find solutions to pressing issues in the economy and society - energy efficiency, environmental protection, healthcare, and preparing the country's future technical elite," the rector added.
European Commissioner Mariya Gabriel thanked for the warm welcome and interesting information, and stated: "My visit is a sign that we, European Commissioners, are actively interested in the development of education, innovation, and scientific research. The Technical University of Sofia is a great example of building European university networks and their role in these processes, and participation in numerous European research projects creates additional value for society and enhances the authority of your university". Afterwards, Mariya Gabriel toured the laboratories at the National Center for Mechatronics and Clean Technologies and was highly impressed by the modern equipment, the young team of researchers, the achieved successes, and future work plans. The meeting concluded with mutual wishes to maintain constant contact, dialogue, and cooperation between the European Commission and the Technical University of Sofia.
