The bootcamp is an 5 day educational program organized with the aim of training the participants in specific technological skills around practical use cases. It is intended for masters and PhD students who are already engaged in studying or working in the fields of artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI/ML), electronics and bio-medicine.
The bootcamp will deepen students’ understanding of fundamental science and cutting-edge technologies in a multidisciplinary environment.
The program includes:
Specialized Workshops and inspiring lectures by world-renowned scientists - sessions on topics such as neural networks, brain implants, the ethics of artificial intelligence and neurotechnology.
Collective Projects: Participants will have the opportunity in teams to tackle real use cases:
• Neuromorphic / AI chips
• Green AI - low power/ Edge computing
• Sensors, Implants and surgical robots
• Brain imaging
in the field of artificial intelligence, machine learning, neurotechnology and medicine.
Stimulating future research and Spinoff culture and creation - the best ideas developed by the teams will receive additional training's on presentation and creation of a high-tech startup company.
Key dates:
Open application and Register your interest: open till 31 Oct 2024
Review, approve and inform Finalists: 1 Nov 2024
Start Bootcamp with Finalists: TBD
IICT/IMEC
Dimiter Prodnaov was recently elected for an Assoc. Prof. at IICT, Bulgarian Academy of Science. In 2022 he was granted one of the first ERA Chairs in Bulgaria to start a research laboratory at IICT focusing on neurotechnology. He also holds a position at the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (Imec) in Leuven, Belgium—a world-leading research center in the area of nanoelectronics and digital technologies. Since 2008 Dimiter Prodanov conducted research in the development of deep brain stimulation and recording electrodes. Prof. Prodanov has a rich and diverse academic and professional background in neuroscience, medicine, and engineering. Originally a doctor of medicine by training, Prof. Prodanov's research contributions span computational biology, mathematical epidemiology, as well as therapeutic modulation of brain activity. His technical pursuits involve the assessment of technological risks, and the development of computer algebra tools and numerical algorithms to model biophysical phenomena and analyze images.
AI Cluster Bulgaria
Kristina Eskenazi is the Chairwoman of the Health & Life Sciences Cluster, a member of the Managing Boards of the Artificial Intelligence Cluster Bulgaria and KRIB - Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria. She is an AI Ecosystems Expert in the Digital National Alliance and a member of the Advisory Board at the Medical University of Plovdiv. In 2022 Kristina Eskenazi took the position of Director of Women's Entrepreneurship for the SEE region in Venture Build Studio – VenRize, as well as the founder of the International Association for Women's Entrepreneurship in the biotechnology field "Global Digital Technologies Health Network". She is a Steering Committee Coordinator at Bulgarian Innovative Forum (BIF). Kristina is a mentor and host of a number of events for entrepreneurship and startup culture (Pitch2Pitch, AI & I, AI Girls), a member of a number of European and international networks (EuropaBio, CEBR, European AI Forum, DIH.net, EchAllience, etc.).
Health and Life Sciences Cluster Bulgaria / Venrize (spinoff Factory)
Above all a serial entrepreneur. Has always been convinced that innovation leading to technological breakthroughs in deep tech and Life Sciences can bring changes for society and that data and innovation will be at the heart of tomorrow’s technology.
Co-founded Micar21 with the aim of making health access and discovery drug faster and better by democratizing technology.
Launched Venrize Life Sciences with the Venrize Team in 2022, the first Venture Build Studio specialized in Deep tech, Life Sciences, Healthcare based on the conviction that data (and its use) and novel technologies were fueling major trends as of yet undetected by the European VC ecosystem.
Chairman of Management Board of Health & Life Sciences Cluster Bulgaria (professional organization for Health and Life Sciences companies), active investor, active management board member of the AI Cluster Bulgaria, co-founder of Venrize.Academy, co-founder of seedot (empowering businesses through Innovations), active board member of Bulgarian Employers Association Innovative Technologies.
Former co-founder and CEO of US Healthcare companies 2002-2005 in US. Always loved doing things differently. Knew early on in life that following the main road was not for me.In this job, change is the only constant and the learning cycle is perpetual. It’s exciting! Realized that being an entrepreneur is above all a state of mind.
Kiril Alexiev began his higher education at TU - Sofia, majoring in "Computing Technology". After one year of study, he transferred to the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, where after 6 years of study he graduated with the specialty "Automated Control Systems". From 1984 to 1988, he worked as a designer and research assistant at the Institute for Special Electronics at DSO "Electron" - Sofia. In 1988, together with his group, he was transferred to the Coordination Center for Informatics and Computing Technology at the BAS. There he defended his doctoral thesis, obtained his habilitation in 2005 and later became Professor. Many years Kiril Alexiev e served as head of the "Mathematical Methods for Sensory Information Processing" section at the Institute of Information and Communication Technologies at the BAS, Chair of Bulgarian Section of IEEE, Deputy president of professional Union of Automation and Informatics "John Atanasov", as Editor and Scientific secretary of several national and international journals and etc. He participated in many scientific and industrial projects and led several of them. He has taught at several universities and currently lectures at two of them.
Research interests are in the field of sensor information processing methods and algorithms. He has over 120 publications in journals and conference proceedings.
Çağatay Aydın is a senior scientist at the Neuro-Electronics Research Flanders (NERF). He received his bachelor's degree in Electronic Engineering from Işık University and his master's degree in biomedical engineering from Boğaziçi University. He completed his doctorate in cognitive and molecular neuroscience track at KU Leuven University in Belgium in 2019. His main areas of interest are designing and developing next-generation neural implants and the interpretation of the complex data obtained using artificial intelligence in the context of understanding the impact of
fundamental neuronal networks on our behavior. Recently, with an international consortium, he developed high-resolution neural implants and produced new prostheses that will enable high-
resolution data collection on test animals for months. These studies have been published in prestigious journals such as Nature and Science. In addition, last year, he was selected as Belgium's most promising young scientist, together with a Turkish colleague. His ultimate aim is to implement personalized brain therapies with the devices he develops in the future.
Lucia Machová Urdzíková is a medical doctor and researcher specializing in central nervous system tissue regeneration. She works at the Institute of Experimental Medicine, Academy of Sciences in the Czech Republic in Prague, with over 25 years of experience in neuroscience research. Her work focuses on integrating stem cells, biomaterials, gene therapy, and neurotechnology for CNS tissue regeneration. Her current focus is on axon regeneration after spinal cord injury (SCI) and extracellular matrix manipulation to achieve anatomical and functional recovery after SCI. Dr. Machová Urdzíková has served as an ad hoc ethics expert for UNESCO, contributing to the creation of ethical guidelines for the use of neurotechnologies. Additionally, she is an active member of the Ethics Committee at her institution and serves as an ethics expert for European Commission programs, including Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe. She has been a key researcher in several EU-funded and national grants. Dr. Machová Urdzíková also acts as an Ethics Monitor and Independent Ethics Advisor for SMEs, emphasizing ethical practices in advanced research.
I also included our UNESCO experience, as this will be , as you mentioned one of the topics.
IICT
MSc.: Faculty of Maths and Mechanics, Sofia University "Kliment Ohridski" (1979).
PhD: Computer & Automation Institute, Hungarian Academy of Sciences MTA SZTAKI (1988).
Doctor of Sciences: Bulgarian High Attestation Commission (2010).
Position: Professor in Computer Science at the Institute of Information and Communication Technologies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
Research Expertise: Artificial Intelligence, Natural Language Processing with strong inclination towards building practical applications. Galya Angelova initiated the first activities in the automatic processing of clinical patient records in Bulgarian language, together with medical experts from the University Specialized Hospital for Active Treatment of Endocrinology (USHATE), Medical University Sofia. In 2015 the group generated automatically a National Diabetes Register, based on more than 300 mln outpatient records submitted to the Bulgarian National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF). Today the Register is hosted by USHATE and updated yearly with information extracted automatically from NHIF outpatient records for the respective year.
Projects: Coordinator or principal investigator of more than 25 projects. Coordinator of AComIn "Advanced Computing for Innovation" (2012-2016), a 3.2 M Euro grant with the European Commission, FP7 Capacity, included in the European Commission’s book "Achievements of FP7: examples that make us proud".
