On December 16, 2024, the second seminar in the series “Open Science with a View to the Future” took place at the Ministry of Education and Science building, located at 2A Kniaz Dondukov Blvd. The seminar series is organized as part of the ORBIT project for open science, funded by the REINFORCING program.
The seminar brought together stakeholders interested in the development of Оpen Science, including university and BAS (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) researchers, representatives of the state administration from the “Science” Directorate in MES, librarians, and representatives of non-governmental organizations. The meeting aimed to discuss the challenges and barriers to Open Science, as well as potential incentives and practical steps for its implementation. The workshop followed the principles of collaboration and design and included participation from:
- Prof. Dr. Madlen Danova, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”;
- Prof. Eliza Stefanova, Chair of the National Agency for Evaluation and Accreditation;
- Prof. Krasen Stefanov, Head of the Research Center for Information Society Technologies at Sofia University “St. Kl. Ohridski”;
- Prof. Todor Gurov, Deputy Director of the Institute of Information and Communication Technologies (IICT) at BAS and leader of the Bulgarian team in the Skills4EOSC project;
- Karina Angelieva, CEO of the International Science and Technology Center (ISTC);
- Yordan Iliev from NACID;
- Dr. Milena Damyanova, “Science” Directorate at the Ministry of Education and Science (MES);
- Yanita Zherkova from MES;
- Dr. Dimitar Iliev from Sofia University “St. Kl. Ohridski”;
- Dr. Ana Lazarova from Sofia University “St. Kl. Ohridski”;
- Assoc. Prof. Bilyana Yavrukova, Director of the University Library at Sofia University “St. Kl. Ohridski”;
- Prof. Neli Dimitrova from Shumen University “St. Constantine of Preslav”;
- Dr. Nikolay Kanchev from the Military Academy “G. S. Rakovski.”
As a result of the seminar, specific steps were outlined for introducing Оpen Сcience at the university level in the coming year. Opportunities for improving Bulgaria’s Open Science Development Plan were also discussed. Information about the seminar program can be found [here], and details on upcoming and past events related to open science are available [here].
