An intensive training course "Creating an Enterprise Based on a Scientific Product", organized within the framework of the project "Hub for Scientific Entrepreneurship in Bulgaria" has been organized by the Institute of Entrepreneurship of the UNWE.

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Assoc. Prof. Kostadin Kolarov, PhD, Director of the Institute of Entrepreneurship of the University of National and World Economy and Prof. Dmytro Zherlitsyn, D.Sc., Researcher at the Institute

Assoc. Prof. Kostadin Kolarov, PhD, Director of the Institute of Entrepreneurship at the UNWE and Head of the Chair of Entrepreneurship, opened the forum by explaining that the initiative is aimed at researchers from various fields who want to realize themselves as entrepreneurs. In his introductory speech, Assoc. Prof. Kolarov emphasized the fact that the UNWE is one of the first universities not only in Bulgaria, but also in Europe, in which Entrepreneurship began to be systematically studied as a separate discipline (since 1991), a Chair of Entrepreneurship was established in 2006; an independent bachelor's program in Entrepreneurship was opened in 2007, and later, based on the Center for Entrepreneurship Development launched in 1997, an Institute of Entrepreneurship at the UNWE was also established. He recalled the great merits of Prof. Kiril Todorov, D.Sc., founder and honorary head of the Chair, as well as the achievements of the Department of Entrepreneurship in educational and scientific activities. “As a University, we have undertaken various initiatives to develop entrepreneurship – from a discipline that is offered to students of all majors, to training in practical skills for those wishing to start their own business. For this purpose, career centers, a startup hub, startup companies have been built, business academies, business workshops, internships, and competitions are organized. We also actively participate in several international projects,” said Assoc. Prof. Kolarov.

The event's moderator was Prof. Dmytro Zherlitsyn, D.Sc., researcher at the Institute of Entrepreneurship and head of the project "Scientific Entrepreneurship Hub in Bulgaria". He introduced the participants in the intensive training course, some of whom attended the conference hall of the UNWE, while others joined remotely. The majority were representatives from various institutes of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, from other higher education institutions, as well as people from business practice.

Assoc. Prof. Kostadin Kolarov, PhD, gave a presentation on the topic “Scientific Entrepreneurship – Principles and Approaches”. "There must be a link between the remuneration of all participants in the process of creating the scientific product, its promotion and transfer and the achieved economic results from the implementation of this product, and this is the main principle in scientific entrepreneurship," said Assoc. Prof. Kolarov emphasizes the need for commercialization, which is transforming knowledge into products, processes, and organizations. According to him, there are gaps in the methodologies for evaluating scientific production at universities. "It is also not clear whether our economy has sufficient need for inventions achieved by working on problems that have lost their relevance in practice," pointed out Assoc. Prof. Kolarov also addressed the problem of distributing intellectual property rights, which, in his opinion, is not well regulated. Radostina Halacheva, an intellectual property expert at the Unified Innovation Center at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, took the opposite view. According to her, intellectual property rights in Bulgaria are clear and respected, which helps create new inventions.

Svetlana Dimitrova from St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia presented EURAXESS Hubs basics – a network for international cooperation through creating hubs, in which over 650 organizations from 43 countries participate. "The goal is to involve scientific entrepreneurs, to share good practices actively, and for all hubs to work together to expand the offer of better services for scientists," said Svetlana Dimitrova.

"There are two hubs in Bulgaria – the first for scientific entrepreneurship and the second is in Plovdiv at the "Center for Plant Biology and Biotechnology", said Prof. Dr. Vessela Kazashka and presented in detail the activities and structure of the Center, which realizes top achievements in the field of biology and biotechnology. "The main goal of our hub is the exchange of talents, including successful women in science", added Prof. Kazashka.

The training course developed into an active discussion on the relationship between science and practice, whether or not there is a good relationship, and who is responsible for this. All participants participated in it, and the topics of what an entrepreneur is and how to become one, what you need to know to start a business, and the path from a business idea to the actual launch were also touched upon.