The project by students from the Technical University – Sofia has received recognition at two prestigious forums for young innovators – the international competition EUt+ Incubation Programme – Start-Up Lab in Darmstadt, Germany, and the national competition "Academy for Innovations 2025" in Sofia. SolarBlinds is the work of Denis Ismetov, Aleksandar Kolchev, and Ivian Stoyanov, and the team reports that it won second place in both competitions. EUt+ Incubation Programme – Start-Up Lab is part of the initiatives of the European University of Technology (EUt+). The team proudly represented TU – Sofia among eight teams from the nine partner universities of the alliance, impressing the international jury with the innovativeness and applicability of the project.
Just a few days later, the project was again honored, this time at the national competition "Academy for Innovations 2025," organized by Innovation Starter with the participation of 15 universities from the country. Out of more than 50 applied teams, only seven reached the final stage. In addition to second place with the SolarBlinds project, the young innovators also won two special awards – from VIVACOM and "Aurubis Bulgaria," for innovation contributing to a sustainable future, at the competition held in our country.
The SolarBlinds project offers an intelligent solution for external blinds with solar panels that automatically adjust according to sunlight. Thanks to this, the system reduces the need for air conditioning, improves energy efficiency, and simultaneously generates green renewable energy. The combination of sustainability, technological innovation, and modern design makes the project suitable for a wide range of buildings – residential, commercial, and public.
Currently, the project is in an active development stage, and the team already has a working prototype. A series of technical tests, experiments, and analyses are upcoming, which will help refine the system and prepare it for real-world market implementation.
The SolarBlinds team is in the process of seeking partners and investors to accelerate technological development and move towards pilot implementation of the product in a real environment. "We are open to anyone interested – organizations, companies, institutions, or individual investors who share our vision for a sustainable and intelligent future," the authors state.
SolarBlinds continues to prove that Bulgarian students have the potential to create real solutions with global significance.
19.06.2025
