Health & Life Sciences
Spinoff Bulgaria
SPINOFF CONFERENCE & HORIZON EUROPE INFO DAY
The Spinoff Bulgaria initiative was created by the Health and Life Sciences Cluster Bulgaria, the Artificial Intelligence Cluster Bulgaria and Venrize in collaboration and support of Invest Sofia Agency, and the Ministry of Education and Science (MON) and HaDEA.
We aim to create a sustainable spin-off ecosystem and culture in Bulgaria and Europe by connecting national stakeholders with international partners. We will present best practices, insights from universities, investors, governments, corporations and relevant industry experts, and funding opportunities from European organisations.
AIM: To stimulate interest in spinoff creation, promote knowledge exchange and engage with government, business, academia and investors.
GOAL 2030: Bulgaria to produce 100 homegrown spinoffs and become a powerhouse of innovation in Europe.
Within the event, content is planned to encourage companies to enter into consortia and closer collaboration with universities and existing scientific infrastructure.
28 September 2023 - Day 1
10:00 - 10:30 Opening Keynote
Founders of the initiative: Kristina Eskenazi, Paulina Chortova, Kaloyan Ratchev, Dimitar Dimitrov
Official Guest Speaker (Senior Government Stakeholders)
Kiril Domuschiev - Head of the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria – The Voice of Bulgarian Business (KRIB). (TBC)
Ivan Mihaylov - Chief Executive Officer of the American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria
Dennis Weiss - Investment & Organisation Manager at Spinoff Austria
Sofia Municipality
10:30 - 11:20 "Navigating EU Acts and Regulations for Spinoff Success" (AI Act, Chips Act, Data Health Act, NIS2)
Speakers:
Eva Maydell - MEP - European Parliament (TBC)
Tuan Trinh, PhD - Horizon Europe | "EIT Digital in Eastern Europe"
Albena Kuyumdzhieva, PhD - Horizon Europe |European Innovation Council, DG RTD
Prof. Dr. George Angelov. Deputy Minister of Innovation and Growth
11:20 - 11:40 Keynote: Federico Menna - Horizon Europe | "EIT Digital Initiatives" (TBC)
11:40 - 12:00 Coffee break
12:20 - 13:20 Pan European Innovative Ecosystems - European AI Forum
Moderator: Kaloyan Ratchev, AI Cluster Bulgaria, Vangavis
Speakers:
Daniel Abbou - General manager of KI Bundesverband
Chloé Plédel - European project manager at Hub France IA
Clemens Wasner - Co-founder & ChairpersonCo-founder & Chairperson of AI Austria - Austrian Society for Artificial Intelligence
Sabine Demey - Director of Flanders Artificial Intelligence Research Program at IMEC
13:20 - 14:00 Lunch break
14:00 - 14:40 "Leading the Charge: Spinoff Success Stories and the EU Champions Driving Innovation"
Moderator: Emil Shekerdzijski, Founder of Premium Coworking Spaces, Pitch2Pitch Events
Speakers:
DigiStain
Epix.AI
Kelvin Health
Hemokin
Barin Sports
Bullcharge
14:40 - 15:20 "The Promise and Perils of Deep Tech: Ethical Considerations for Technological Progress"
Moderator: Monika Manolova, PhD - Digital National Alliance
Speakers:
Richard Foster-Fletcher, Chair and Founder of Morality and Knowledge in Artificial Intelligence (MKAI)
Marisa Zalabak, Founder of Open Channel Culture, Co-Chair of the Planet Positive 2030 Global Methodologies, Co-Chair of the IEEE AI Ethics Education Committee
Prof. Melodena Stephens, Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government, United Arab Emirates
15:20 - 16:00 - European National Funds for Technology Transfer
Pavel Lisev - CEO and Member of the Management Board at Fund of Funds in Bulgaria (FMFIB)
16:00 - 16:20 Coffee break
16:20 - 16:40 "Protecting Innovation: The Role of Patents and IP in Spinoff Success"
Keynote: Vladya Borisova - President of The Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria (TBC)
16:40 - 17:20 Corporations for innovation
Moderator: Kristina Eskenazi - AI Cluster Bulgaria, Health & Life Sciences Cluster
Speakers:
Hesham Sabry - General Manager of Roche Bulgaria
Nikolay Jordanov - Managing Director at Kontrax
17:20 - 18:00 "Breaking Barriers: Women Driving Innovation and Spinoff Success in Deep Tech"
Moderator: Paulina Chortova, Women in DeepTech
Speakers:
Maria Hristova - CEO of Sofia Investment Agency
Teodora Lapshova - Author and screenwriter of "INOVATIVNO" at Bulgarian National Television
Victoria Hristova - Executive Director and Board member of the Fund of Funds in Bulgaria (FMFIB
18:00 - 18:30 Ceremony: The best Spinoff for 2022
18:30 - 19:00 CyberCLUB special edition
29 September 2023 - Day 2
09:00 – 09:30 Registration
09:30 - 10:00 Opening Keynote
Academician Nikolai Denkov - Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria (TBC)
Mariya Gabriel - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs (TBC)
Galin Tzokov - Minister of Education and Science (TBC)
Milena Stoycheva - Minister of Innovation and Growth (TBC)
Alexander Yolovski - Minister of e-Government (TBC)
10:00 - 12:40 HaDEA Key speaking
Moderator: Boyan Jekov, HE Bulgarian National Coordinator
10:10 - 10:35 Keynote speaker: Marina ZANCHI, HaDEA Director:
Introduction to HaDEA
10:35 – 11:20
Angelo MARINO, Head of Department A – Health and Food:
Presentation of HaDEA/A, Health and Food programs and Tips & Tricks for applying for EC funding
11:00 - 11:20 Q&A session
11:20 – 11:40 Coffee Break
11:40 - 12:40
Katleen ENGELBOSCH, Head of Department B - Digital, Industry and Space
Presentation of HaDEA/B, Programs on Digital, Industry and Space and Synergies
12:20 - 12:40 - Q&A session
12:40 - 14:00 Lunch break
14:00 - 14:20 EIT Manufacturing
14:20 - 15:00 Building successful EU-funded projects (Panel discussion)
Moderator: Kristina Eskenazi - AI Cluster Bulgaria, Health & Life Sciences Cluster
Karen Lindegaard - International Programme Manager at Danish Life Sciences Cluster, Project INNAXE (TBC)
Prof. Dr. Dimiter Prodanov, MD PhD ERA Chair holder VIBraTE
Medical University of Sofia
Maria Nakova - EDIH in construction, Cleantech Bulgaria
Maria Pournari - COO EDIH Health Hub, Larisa
15:00 - 15:40 Workshop: AI for research and spinoff organisations (from 0 to 1)
Trainers:
Svetlin Penkov - AI Cluster Bulgaria
Daniel Angelov - Efemerai
15:40 - 16:20 Testimonials – Showing European experiences in Health and Digital sectors
Moderator: Kristina Eskenazi - AI Cluster Bulgaria, Health & Life Sciences Cluster
Speakers:
Irena Pavlova - EU Programmes Manager at GATE, Project Veles
Prof. Iliya Iliev - Perimed
Felip Miralles - Executive Director, Health Technologies at Eurecat - Centre Tecnològic de Catalunya
FORTH, Institute of Computer Science
16:20 - 16:50 "Innovative Agrotech Solutions: Cultivating Sustainable Growth and Generating Spinoff Opportunities"
Svetlana Boyanova, Chairperson of Institute for Agrostrategies and Innovations and Chairperson of AgroHub.BG (TBC)
Mariyana Hamanova – Executive Director of Cleantech Bulgaria and NCP for Cluster 6: Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
16:50 - 17:30 "Building a Strong Foundation: Exploring the Intersection of Spinoff and Infrastructure"
Moderator: Assoc. Professor Dimitar Nikolov - AI Cluster Bulgaria, TU Sofia
Speakers:
Todor Mladenov - Chief Executive Officer&Board Member · Sofia Tech Park JSC
Sylvia Ilieva - Director of the GATE Institute at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski (TBC)
Svetoslav Mollov, Head of Technology Transfer and Commercialization at Quasar Competence Center
Prof. Dr Eng. Georgi Todorov - Technical University Sofia
Kiril Kirilov - operational manager at Discoverer
17:30 - Closing remarks
OPEN CONTEST: SPINOFF OF THE YEAR 2022!
TIMEFRAME:
Campaign period: 10 January 2023 - 10 September 2023
Meeting of the jury and selection of winners: June 11 - June 21
The official announcement of winners: June 22, 2023, during the Spinoff Bulgaria conference!
Categories:
Corporate spinoff
University spinoff
Academy spinoff
Government spinoff
Only projects that have successfully passed at least the second stage of technological readiness according to the internationally accepted scale for evaluating the maturity of a newly created technology (Technology Readiness Levels) will be evaluated, and work has begun on the third stage - proof of concept in the experimental environment.
Innovation Areas: Applicant need to propose activities in biotechnology, health, food tech, semiconductors/chips, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and VR&AR.
Evaluation criteria:
Skills of the team, knowledge of the sector, the feasibility of the project;
The development stage of the product/service;
Degree of innovation and its defensibility;
Positioning concerning competitors;
Consistency with the market and customers’ needs and potential outreach;
The business potential of the idea;
Completeness of the documentation presented.
The expected results of the project need to be clear, measurable, realistic, bound to a specific period and be a logical consequence of the planned activities.
Apply HERE!
A spinoff is an entity, formed as a separate and independent enterprise from an existing organisation, which holds novel value and new strategic purpose. Spinoffs often come from academia, corporates, government and healthcare.
Spinoffs are the bedrock of economic growth and innovation. They create jobs, unlock private capital, stimulate R&D and adoption of innovation. One prominent example of a spinoff powerhouse is the UK, with 1,500 spinoffs in the last 10 years, which created 6000 jobs and £11b of capital raised.
Some prominent clusters such as Oxford, generated 200 spinoffs since 2011 which unlocked £2.4 billion of private capital. The famous ‘Golden Triangle’ produces over 100 spinoffs every year. Moreover, a spinoff on average has 50% higher valuation at seed stage than a non-spinoff company.
A Spinoff innovation can be created and developed via a number of different models. These models are applicable at different stages of the innovation cycle. They share similar purposes and characteristics but vary by strategy, execution and organisational context.
Technology Transfer – protection and commercialisation of research, often experimental and scientific, developed by a university for economic and social benefits.
Venture Build – the process of developing a venture in a controlled manner by putting the best ideas, teams and resources together.
Design Thinking – a solution based approach which redefines problems and builds ventures with alternative strategies that address customer needs effectively.
Acceleration – the development of an existing venture or idea by supporting launch or market access by offering expertise and finance for a fixed period of time.
Incubation – a centre which offers early stage organisation access to infrastructure such as office, laboratories and resources to support the growth of a business.
Founders
Partners
Become a partner
General Partner
Amount: 5000 €
Positioning of the General partner, along with the organizers, in general place, in all printed and digital materials.
Display of the General Partner logo before the start of each presentation during the events
Full access to the event for up to 10 representatives of the General partner.
Publishing an active General partner Logo/Banner on the front page of the site.
Opportunity to present and participate in the panels of the events organized for 2023.
Оpportunity to position General partner stand and banner at the events organized for 2023.
Five dedicated posts in social media, with the ability to shape the target audience.
Оpportunity to distribute advertising information materials of the General partner among the participants and guests of the events.
Mention the General partner in all press releases to the media before and after the event.
The logo and name of the General partner will be visible on the photos from the event, which will be published on the event website.
Gold Partner
Amount: 2500 €
Positioning the logo of the Gold Partner and mentioning at the beginning and end of all organised events for 2023.
Full access to the event for 4 representatives of the Gold Partner in all events for 2023.
Post an active Gold Partner Logo/Banner on the front page of the website.
Link to the page of the Gold Partner in all social networks
Three dedicated posts during the social media campaign, with the ability to shape the target audience.
Оpportunity to distribute advertising information materials among the guests of the events.
Mention as a Gold Partner in all press releases to the media before and after the event.
Contact us for more information: info@spinoff.bg
Silver Parner
Amount: 1500 €
Positioning the logo of the Silver Partner and mentioning at the beginning and end of the organised events for 2023
Оpportunity for distribution of advertising information materials, provided by the Sponsor to the guests of the events.
Full access to the event for 2 representatives of the Silver Partner in all events for 2023.
Publishing the Silver Partner Logo/Banner on the front page of the website.
One dedicated post during the campaign on social media, with the ability to shape the target audience.
Mentioning the Silver Partner in all press releases to the media before and after the event.
Contact us for more information: info@spinoff.bg
Check out previous events of the Spinoff Initiative
Speakers in 2022
Chairwoman of Health & Life Sciences Cluster, Founder of AI Cluster Bulgaria
AI Cluster Bulgaria, Founder of Venrize Ltd and Vangavis
Executive Director Bulgarian SME Promotion Agency
Director Marketing and investment services at InvestBulgaria Agency
Vesna Baltina
Deputy Mayor of the Burgas Municipality
Iva Marinova
Senior expert from the Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency
Zoya Stoyanova
Senior expert Strategic planning, Digitalization & Sustainable development, Burgas Municipality
Dobrinka Blagova
Director, Digitalisation, Innovation & Investment Directorate (Innovative Sofia), Sofia Municipality
Viktor Goussev
Sofia Investment Agency
Dennis Weiss
Investment & Organisation Manager at Spinoff Austria
Prof. Nikolai Zhelev
CSO Venrize, Prof. - University Of Dundee
Ass. Professor
dr. Costin Lianu
General Manager USH Pro Business, Spiru Haret University
Antonio Giordano
MD PhD
president of SHRO
Dr. Tanja Sovic
Head of Patent & Licence Management, TU Vienna
Maria Todorova
Director for Policy and Analyses at the Ministry of Innovation and Growth
Ivailo Ivanov
Founder Institute
Stoyan Yordanov
Postdoctoral Researcher at Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, BTI
Andreas Maier
Founder of Industry Association Digital Bulgaria
Ivan Mihaylov
Chairman of the Bulgarian Association of Innovative Technologies (BRAIT)
Prof. Dr.
Viktoria Sarafian
Medical University
of Plovdiv
Assoc. prof. Svilen Kunev, PhD
Assistant professor - University of Ruse
Krasimir Tonchev
AI Cluster Bulgaria, Technical University Sofia
Georgi Georgiev
American University in Bulgaria
Juan R. Garcia, MBA
Managing Partner at the BBI Business School
Prof. DSc
George Todorov
Dean of the Faculty of Industrial Technology (FIT) - Technical University Sofia
Jeannette Gorzala
IP Law Austria
Prof. Dr. Vladia Borisova
President of the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria
Fabian Lim
Senior Executive, Industry Partnerships & Commercialisation. Imperial College London
Neli Poprelkova
Law Firm
Tzvetkova & Partners
Kamen Slavov
Member of The Board of Directors of Fund of Funds in Bulgaria (FMFIB)
Vladimir Tomov
President of BCCI Investment Council, Member of the Board of BCCI
Alper Celen
Enhance Ventures
Angel Angelov
Managing Partner at Innovation Capital
Eva Maydell
MEP, European Parliament
Tsvetelina Penkova
MEP, European Parliament
Thomas Hellebrand
Health policy lead, DIGITALEUROPE
Albena Kuyumdzhieva
European Innovation Council EIC
Yumer Kodjayumer
Ministry of Education and Science
Daniela Tchonkova
EEN-Bulgaria Coordinator, Programme Manager at Applied Research and Communications Fund
Diane Nevin
CEO of GRIT (Grit International Female Accelerator)
Elena Nikolova
Community Manager of CEO Angels Club
Alexandra Velkova
Atlas Agro
Maya Milanova
Managing Director at Flow Logic
Assoc. Prof. PhD Agata Manolova
Technical University of Sofia
Rumyana Grozeva
European Digital Innovation Hub Zagore
Mariana Hamanova
Director of
CleanTech Bulgaria
Svetlana Boyanova
Director of AgroHub
Svetlin Iliev
Director of Trakia Digital Innovation Hub
Todor Mladenov
Executive Director at Sofia Tech Park JSC
Prof. Ilia Iliev
Director Centre of Technologies Plovdiv University, PERIMED
Evgeni Ivanov
Head of Technology Transfer Center QUASAR
Prof. Sotir Sotirov PhD
Prof. Assen Zlatarov University
Denitsa Tsekova
Chairman of the Managing Board of IIRDE
Teodora Jilkova
Consulting Cluster Veritas, International Relations & Business Development
Prof. George Angelov
Chair of Cluster of Microelectronics, Technical University Sofia
Petko Georgiev
Chairman of Southeast Digital Innovation Hub
Assoc. prof. Dimitar Nikolov
Technical University Sofia
Clemens Wasner
ADRA, Member of European AI Forum
Andy Bleaden
Communities Director ECHAlliance
Montse Daban
Vice President of CEBR, Biocat, BioRegion of Catalonia, INNAXE
Maria Pournari
Institute of Entrepreneurship Development (iED, Larissa)
Benjamin Talin
MoreThanDigital International
Daniel Cosnita
President of the Romanian Cluster Association, Co-chairs of EEN Thematic Group on Clusters
Emil Shekerdzhiiski
Founder
Networking Premium Spaces
Husein Yemendzhiev
ENOVA H2O
Dimitar Mitev
Meteo.Rocks