Agenda: Day 1 / 19 June 2025
Agenda: Day 1 / 19 June 2025
MAIN STAGE
MAIN STAGE
Embedded Files
9:00 – 9:30
Registration Spinoff EUROPA Conference 2025 & Morning Coffee
9:30 – 9:35
Short Keynote by founders of the Spinoff Europa Initiative
Kristina Eskenazi, Dimitar Dimitrov, Paulina Chotrova
9:35 – 10:05
Official Guest Speaker:
Viktor Goussev - Head of Investment and Business Development at Sofia Investment Agency
Yordanka Chobanova - Head of the European Commission's Representation in Bulgaria at the European Commission (TBC)
Professor Sylvia Ilieva - Director of GATE Institute at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”
Miglen Evlogiev - Chairman of MB of Bulgarian Cybersecurity association
Ivan Mihaylov - Chief Executive Officer of the American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria. (TBC)
10:05 – 10:20
Keynote Denmark’s EU Presidency & European Digital Identity / Dario Zoric - Regional Digitisation Lead at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark
Powered by Embassy of Denmark
10:20 - 10:40
Keynote: EIT Governing Board Vision for a Competitive Europe
Stefan Dobrev. Chair, EIT Governing Board
10:40 - 11:00
Keynote - Assoc. Prof. Boyan Zhekov, PhD - National Coordinator for Bulgaria for the Horizon Europe programme at the Ministry of Education and Science
11:00 - 11:50
Panel 1: Chips of Europe
Moderator: Assoc. Prof. Phd Dimitar Nikolov - TU Sofia, Coordinator of C3BG
11:50 - 12:10
Keynote - The Biotech Act & Start-Up Strategy
José Peres - National Associations & SME platform senior coordinator at EuropaBio
Porewerd by EuropaBio
12:10 - 12:30
Keynote - Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dimiter Prodanov - ERA Chair VIBraTE, Institute of Information and Communication Technologies (IICT) at BAS
12:30 - 13:00
Scaling Science to Market: EU Projects Boosting Spinoff Potential
ENACT – Advancing Biotech for Better Health, presented by Teresa Sixto Anello from iHUB – FEUGA.
Funded under Horizon Europe, ENACT brings together a pan-European consortium to develop innovative biotech solutions that enhance healthcare delivery and outcomes. With a strong focus on stakeholder collaboration and data-driven insights, the project aims to translate cutting-edge research into real-world health impact across diverse European regions.
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InnoMedCatalyst – Accelerating 5P Digital Health Innovation: - presented by Kristina Eskenazi from Health and Life Sciences Cluster
InnoMedCatalyst is an EU-funded initiative under the I3 Programme, uniting 13 partners from Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Greece, and Portugal. The project aims to enhance regional innovation capacity in 5P medicine—predictive, Preventive, Personalised, Participative, and precise — by supporting 36 startups and entrepreneurs through acceleration programs, mentorship, and open innovation platforms. By 2026, it seeks to develop over 20 investment-ready digital health projects, fostering collaboration between MedTech companies and healthcare providers across Europe.
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PRECISEU – Innovation Valley for Personalised Medicine: - presented by Kristina Eskenazi from Health and Life Sciences Cluster
The general objective of PRECISEU is to increase the efficiency of the regional innovation ecosystems through strengthened collaboration and shared resources on strategic areas of regional strength and specialisation, enabling the development and implementation of innovating initiatives, and facilitating the digital and sustainable transformation of the healthcare systems PRECISEU consortium has broken down this complex general objective (GO) into four core elements, representing the building blocks of the project.
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European Partnership OHAMR - presented by Kristina Eskenazi from Health and Life Sciences Cluster
The European Partnership One Health Antimicrobial Resistance (EUP OHAMR) aims to develop innovative solutions through interdisciplinary research to advance the management of antimicrobial resistance challenges. The first call for proposals for this joint research program between the European Commission and the member states will be launched in November 2025.
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VELES Excellence Hub - presented by Irena Pavlova from GATE INSTITUTE
On June 1, 2023, under the HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ACCESS-04 (Excellence Hubs) initiative, the VELES Excellence Hub was launched. The mission is to elevate innovation excellence in South-East Europe by establishing a sustainable place-based innovation ecosystem, powered by the Regional Smart Health Data Space.
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13:00 - 14:00
Lunch & Networking
14:00 - 14:30
Keynote: Artur Cyganek, VP of Distribution, Blackwall.
Level up your website traffic security- Web Security
14:30 - 15:30
Panel 3: Building a Stronger EU Innovation Ecosystem, organised by GATE Institute
Moderator: Ivan Draganov (Manager, Start-up Incubator and Accelerator, Institute GATE)
Speakers:
Till Lech (Director of Innovation, NorwAI Center for AI Innovation)
Nataly Veremeeva (Director, TechUkraine)
Paul Stefanut (Co-founder & President, Booster Labs)
Powered by Gate Institute
15:30 - 16:10
Panel 4: Funding the Future: Investor Insights into Spinoff Opportunities
Moderator:
Dr. Eng. Dochka Vasileva - Head of Project Planning and Institutional Cooperation Department, Fund of the Funds
Speakers:
Henk Joos - Founder & General Manager, Silver Arrow
Veneta Andonova - Associate Professor of Business Strategy and the Dean of Universidad de los Andes School of Management in Colombia.
Assoc. Prof. Ivan Angelov, Ph.D. - Faculty of Economics and Business Administration of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”
Francesco Maria Senatore - Bio4Dreams Business Development Manager
Georgi Kaludov - Co-Founder & Program Lead of IBM Sofia Accelerator
Powered by Venrize
16:10 - 16:20
Best Student-Led Spinoff
Sophia Nikolova, Alexandra Klianeva, Viktoria Koleva, Nelina Stankova – BioBliss
For leading a student initiative that turns bio-waste into sustainable battery materials, bridging environmental science and circular economy principles.
Povered by Venrize
16:20 - 17:20
Pitchings: SEE Champions in Medtech
Moderators: Kristina Eskenazi & Christian Kaynarov
1. Victor Prodanov – Rep2b.com
Victor is the founder of Rep2b Pharma CRM, an innovative and expert-driven platform tailored for medical representatives and managers in the pharmaceutical industry. The solution enhances sales operations, reporting, and engagement with healthcare professionals.
📎 Website: https://www.rep2b.com/
2. Dimitar Dimitrov – Mitopia
Radoslav introduces us to Mitochondria, an emerging innovation rooted in next-generation bio-health applications. Today, he’ll share how his vision aims to impact mitochondrial health and precision therapeutics.
3. Ivo Petrov – Shemha Health
Representing Shemha Health, Ivo introduces PrOPA 360° AI, a transformative decision-support platform for oncology. It integrates real-time clinical evidence, multidisciplinary workflow tools, and AI to reduce diagnostic delays and improve cancer outcomes.
📎 Website: propa.health
4. Alexander Kolev – UTRO SOCIAL TECH
Alexander presents UTRO SOCIAL TECH, a digital ERP system designed to manage out-of-hospital social care. Designed for municipalities and NGOs, it streamlines workflows, improves compliance, and enhances care delivery for vulnerable citizens.
📎 Website: utrobg.com
5. Bilyana Nikolaeva – NX-Xtreme Ltd / HoloMA
Bilyana introduces HoloMA, a mixed-reality platform for remote surgeries and surgical training. It tackles access issues in remote areas and supports immersive training for medical students and professionals.
📎 Website: holoma.info
6. Evdokiya Hikova – CheckPest (BioSensors)
Evdokiya presents CheckPest, a portable biosensor platform for detecting pesticides, viruses, and bacteria, bridging healthcare and food safety with affordable and fast diagnostics.
📎 Website: biosensors-bg.com
7. Mustafa Ahmedov – Thermo-i
Mustafa’s Thermo-i is an innovative wearable device for continuous, contactless monitoring of core body temperature. It's designed to replace invasive methods in hospitals and clinical trials, while also supporting the management of chronic diseases at home.
📎 Website: thermo-i.com
8. Desislava Mihaylova & Silvia Koumanova – Somenso PLC
Somenso, Desislava, and Silvia showcase a preventive health platform for early detection of chronic stress, using AI and behavioural tracking to support mental health before clinical symptoms arise.
📎 Website: somenso.com
9. Maria Aleksandrova – Analyse This Ltd
Maria presents Analyse Yourself, a platform that empowers social researchers to generate immediate impact by delivering participants personalized, science-based feedback while supporting large-scale psychological studies.
📎 Website: analyse-yourself.com
10. Victor Penev – Edamam
Victor is the founder of Edamam, a global leader in food and health data. He’s passionate about how personalized nutrition powered by structured data can influence long-term health and longevity.
📎 Website: edamam.com
11. Prof. Jana Tchekalarova – Spinoff, University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy
Prof. Jana Tchekalarova represents a university spinoff focused on scientific innovation in the field of health and life sciences, based at the University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy. Today, she introduces their applied research journey and entrepreneurial vision.
Powered by: HTIS25 /
Health and Life Sciences Bulgaria /
Venrize
17:20 - 17:40
Pitching: Champions of Clean Tech, AI, Microelectronics & Cybersecurity
1. Nikolay Dobrev – Data Powered Therapeutics
Nikolay is a relentless explorer on the frontier of protein design, lab automation, and therapeutics. His venture, DPTx, uses cutting-edge computational approaches to accelerate drug discovery.
📎 dptx.ai
2. Kuzo (Jr.) Donchev – 3dopendesign
Kuzo presents 3Dopendesign, a startup that fuses advanced 3D design and manufacturing for high-precision applications across the clean tech, biotech, and engineering industries.
📎 3dopendesign.com
3. Kalin Kraev – BioElect
Kalin brings us BioElect, a concept for bio-electric green batteries, offering a sustainable alternative for energy storage with significant applications in remote areas and low-impact infrastructure.
4. Iva Marinova – TUES School Spinoff
Representing the next generation of deep tech talent, Iva showcases a student-led innovation from TUES that tackles real-world challenges with creativity, skill, and an engineering mindset.
5. Nadia Kaloyanova - TechnologyValley
Technology Valley is specialising in making computer vision and conversational AI technologies accessible to businesses through its low-code software platform, Obzerver. TechnologyValley is recognised for its expertise in digitisation, custom software development, and technical auditing, supporting startups and enterprises from concept to market positioning.
📎 https://technology-valley.com
Povered by Venrize
17:40 - 18:00
Spinoff of the Year Awards Ceremony
Povered by Venrize
18:00 - 22:00
Spinoff EUROPA Party & Networking (dinner, wineand good vibe)
Venue: Garden at Gate Institute building
Agenda: Day 1 / 19 June 2025
Agenda: Day 1 / 19 June 2025
SIDE EVENTS
SIDE EVENTS
11:30 - 13:00
Women4Cyber Bulgaria Chapter (WORKSHOP)
capacity ~ 20-25 participants
Description:
As part of the Spinoff EUROPA Conference 2025, Women4Cyber Bulgaria will host an interactive workshop aimed at increasing the engagement of women in cybersecurity and empowering the next generation of young cyber ambassadors. Participants will be introduced to the mission and activities of Women4Cyber both in Bulgaria and across Europe, explore career paths in cybersecurity, and exchange ideas for future initiatives.
Session Highlights:
• Introduction to Women4Cyber and its mission to bring more women into cyberspace
• Personal stories and inspiration from women working in the cybersecurity field
• Girls from the "Young Ambassador" program will share their vision and ideas
• Open discussion and networking session with all participants
Who is it for:
The workshop is open to all women interested in cybersecurity – including students, early-career professionals, and anyone who supports the goal of increasing female representation in the tech sector.
Spinoff Workshop Room, fl.2
14:00 - 15:30
360-Degree Lab for Clean Tech (WORKSHOP) with Yordan Zdravkov – project manager at Cleantech Bulgaria
ENCOM HUB: First Steps Toward Energy Communities in Bulgaria
A territorial forum to explore pathways for community-driven energy in Bulgaria
Short Description:
This session acts as a Territorial Energy Community Stakeholders Forum under the ENCOM HUB project, aiming to explore how pilot insights from Spain, France, and Italy can be adapted to Bulgaria. Together with our stakeholders we have the chance to outline possible legislative, financial, and operational pathways for establishing energy communities in Bulgaria.
Spinoff Workshop Room, fl.2
11:30 - 16:00
Triple AI Zone – A dedicated space for fun and intuitive AI prompt learning, experiment with AI-generated content, and explore real-world AI applications
Lobby, fl. 2
11:30 - 16:30
Cybersecurity for SpinOff / CyberTech Zone
Lobby, fl. 2
11:30 - 16:00
B2B Matchmaking & Collaboration Spaces
B2B Room, Fl. 2
16:30 - 18:00
16:30 - 18:00
Financial Engineering: Hristian Daskalov, Cyber4AllSTAR EDIH, Chair of the Management Board of DIH Trakia
Online Workshop: Постигане на кибер устойчивост в CRA ерата cъс CONFIRMATE
Webinar
Webinar
17:30 - 18:30
GATE Institute Labs Visit
GATE Lab Complex
Speakers
Speakers
Stefan Dobrev
Stefan Dobrev is Chairman of the Governing Board at the European Institute of Innovation and Technology. C-Level executive, entrepreneur and board member who believes that collaborative innovation is at the core of every good strategy. An economist by background with around 25 years’ experience in innovation, strategy development, investment planning and venture finance from senior roles in consulting, innovation and operations, he focuses on business performance enabled by advances in science and technology.
Till Christopher Lech
Till Christopher Lech is Innovation Director at the NorwAI Research Center for AI Innovation and leads the Smart Data Research Group at SINTEF Digital. With a background in the software industry, he has built a career at the crossroads of technology, business, and policy. Before joining SINTEF in 2016, Till worked at the Research Council of Norway, contributing to the national ICT strategy and representing Norway in key EU forums on digital innovation and research policy. He has extensive experience in managing complex, multi-stakeholder innovation projects across Europe. At NorwAI, he drives the center’s innovation strategy, working closely with industry partners to translate cutting-edge AI research into real-world applications. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Big Data Value Association (BDVA), helping shape Europe’s data and AI agenda.
Professor Sylvia Ilieva
As a Director at GATE Institute I identify, promote and contribute resources to developing the Institutes research strengths and broader research portfolio. This includes identifying and supporting opportunities for research and programme developments internally and sometimes with multi-disciplinary collaboration
Henk Joos
After a PhD in genetics in the laboratory of Van Montagu and Schell, I very quickly settled in between life science and end users in society using life science based products and services. I have interacted with farmers, with corporate players, with doctors and patients, with hospitals and with investors. Every time I have tried to explain complex science in words adapted to the day to day needs of these end users. But being a ‘life science translator’ is in these times of fake news, probably one of the most rewarding roles to play. I am proud for this contribution and hopefully impact in society.
Francesco Maria Senatore
More than 30 years of experience in the biotech/pharma & med tech industry covering mainly International Marketing & Sales positions but including project Planning & Management, Public Relations, Communication and Business Development. Currently Business Development Manager at Bio4Dreams and member of the Executive Board of InnoUp.
Multidisciplinar competences and knowledge acquired in many years of consultancy and support to start-up and International marketing activities. Involved in Precision Medicine development programs and part of a large network of experts in Science Parks and Innovation process management.
Prof. Veneta Andonova
Prof. Veneta Andonova is Associate Professor of Business Strategy and the Dean of Universidad de los Andes School of Management in Colombia. She obtained her doctoral degree in management from Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain and has thought for some of the top business schools in Latin America. She is an accomplished educator, entrepreneurial mentor and researcher. Her scientific contributions have been published in high-ranked international journals in economics and management and she is a co-author of two successful books: Multilatinas: Strategies for internationalization (2017) and Entrepreneurial ecosystems in unexpected places (2019).
Georgi Kaludov
Georgi is currently the Technical Development Manager of the largest technical support organization at IBM and is responsible for the strategy for the development of skills in the organization, as well as for the development of the highest technical profiles such as IBM Fellows and Distinguished Engineers. Since the beginning of his career at IBM, he has been a member of the academic program, where he has the opportunity to present lectures at universities, high schools, schools and STEM events. In 2022, he became the first Bulgarian member of the international IBM Academy of Technology (now IBM Open Innovation Community), and in 2023 he also became a co-founder of the IBM Sofia Accelerator – a 12-week program to support technology startups.
José Peres
José Peres
José is a Communications and Public Affairs professional with experience in European and global health, sustainability, environmental and industrial policies. Before joining EuropaBio, he was a consultant and advisor for pharmaceutical companies, European institutions, and non-governmental organisations.
He holds a PharmD from the University of Coimbra and several certificates in European Business Law, Market Access and Economics. He is a Portuguese native, fluent in English and Spanish. He has an intermediate knowledge of French and is learning German.
Dario Zoric
Regional Digitisation Lead at the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Odysseas Spyroglou
R&I Projects Lead, International Development Ireland
Viktor Goussev
R&I Projects Lead, International Development Ireland
Viktor Goussev holds a Master's degree in European Management from the University of Applied Sciences Wildau, Berlin, Germany.
Mr. Gusev held the position of "Financial Analyst" in a French international information technology company for 5 years. Currently, he holds the position of Head of Investment and Business Development at Sofia Investment Agency, part of the general administration of Sofia Municipality.
Leena Pishe Thomas
Director and Principal Consultant at Global Business Inroads, Regional Director - Bengaluru at European Business and Technology Centre - An EU Program,.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dimiter Prodanov
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dimiter Prodanov - ERA Chair VIBraTE, Institute of Information and Communication Technologies (IICT) at BAS
Dr. Eng. Dochka Vasileva
Head of Project Planning and Institutional Cooperation Department, Fund of the Funds
Artur Cyganek
VP of Distribution, Blackwall.
Assoc. Prof. Phd Dimitar Nikolov
TU Sofia, Coordinator of C3BG
Roumiana Atanassova
Roumiana Atanassova holds a PhD in International Economics from the University of National and World Economy and an MA from Birmingham University. She leads the work package for partnerships of the @European Digital Innovation Hub Trakia, Cyber4AllSTAR EDIH. As Director for Academic Outreach for the Project Management Institute Finland Chapter, she has worked for cooperation with universities in Finland. She represented Grannenfeld Finance as investor delegate at SLUSH 2022 and supported universities for research-to-business transition and companies for grant funding. She has also worked in technology transfer at the Vision For Science and Technology Growth Foundation.
Veneta Andonova
Veneta Andonova, PhD is the former Dean and an Associate Professor of Business Strategy and Entrepreneurship at Universidad de los Andes School of Management, Colombia. She obtained her doctoral degree in management from Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain. Her research has been published in top-ranked international journals in economics and management with focus on emerging and developing economies such as Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Development Studies, Journal of Business Research, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Telecommunications Policy, Management Research, among others. Her newest book on the topic of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial ecosystems and new business models is titled Entrepreneurial ecosystems in unexpected places (2019) by Palgrave Macmillan. She is an entrepreneurship mentor and promoter of university-based entrepreneurship.
Miglen Evlogiev
Chairman of MB of Bulgarian Cybersecurity association
Irena Pavlova
Gate Institute: EU Programmes Manager
Alexander Kolev
UTRO SOCIAL TECH
Mustafa Ahmedov
CEO, thermo-i
Nikolay Dobrev
CEO, Data-powered Therapeutics
Agenda
Agenda
09:00 – 09:30 Registration
09:30 - 17:00 Program
17:00 - 17:30 Spinoff of the Year Ceremony
18:00 - 22:00 Spinoff Party
09:00 – 09:30 Registration
09:30 - 17:00 Program
17:00 - 17:10 Closing Remarks
Please note that the agenda may change!
Organisers
Organisers
Co-Organisers
Co-Organisers
Founder of the Spinoff Europa Initiative
Founder of the Spinoff Europa Initiative
Water Parners
Water Parners
Venue: 4th edition Spinoff Europa Conference 2025
Become a Partner!
✅ Brand Visibility – Position your organization as a leader in supporting cutting-edge startups.
✅ Exclusive Networking – Connect with high-potential spinoffs, entrepreneurs, and investors.
✅ Early Access to Innovation – Discover emerging technologies and disruptive business models.
✅ Thought Leadership – Showcase your expertise through speaking opportunities and panel discussions.
Be part of an ecosystem that fuels scientific breakthroughs and market success!
Save The Date
5th edition Spinoff Europa Conference 2026 / 18 - 19 June 2026
6th edition Spinoff Europa Conference 2027 / 17 - 18 June 2027
7th edition Spinoff Europa Conference 2028 / 15 - 16 June 2028
8th edition Spinoff Europa Conference 2029 / 21 - 22 June 2029
9th edition Spinoff Europa Conference 2030 / 20 - 21 June 2030
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