30 thousand BGN prize for a project with impact under the 'Entrepreneurs in Science' program

09.07.2021



This year, the pre-accelerator program of the Carol Knowledge Foundation "Entrepreneurs in Science" focuses on Impact Investing. Students, doctoral students, and young scientists who are developing scientific projects with social and ecological impact are invited to participate. The prize fund is 30,000 BGN and will be awarded to the winner during the program's final on December 15 of this year. The program will be held online this year and is already open for
application. The training takes place every Wednesday from 10:00 to 12:00 during the period from 29 September to 8 December 2021. The deadline for submitting applications is 6 September. Impact Investing is a rapidly growing industry, driven by investors who seek not just returns, but a targeted positive impact on society and the environment. Entrepreneurs who focus on this type of investment strive to generate measurable, beneficial social or environmental impact by solving important societal and environmental problems. The Carol Knowledge Foundation will encourage and support scientists who conduct impactful research and wish to realize their ideas as business projects. Ambitious scientists who want to create green startups with innovative ecological and energy solutions applying the principles of the circular economy are welcome. Talented students with an entrepreneurial spirit who want to start companies based on scientific developments with social or environmental impact are welcome. Students, PhD students, and young scientists who share the Carol Knowledge Foundation's cause for impactful science and want to take their own real, concrete steps towards the sustainable development of the knowledge-based Bulgarian economy are welcome. The Pre-accelerator Program "Entrepreneurs in Science" has been running since 2018 and provides training aimed at PhD students and young scientists, helping them acquire knowledge and skills to develop their own ideas, prototypes, new materials, and technologies; to develop their research projects into business plans; to work with mentors; to present to investors; and to meet with funding organizations. Speakers: The speakers will present from Sofia, London, Frankfurt, Milan, and Barcelona. Among them is a member and advisor of the APPG AI network, which advises and conducts research for the British Parliament on the economic, social, and ethical implications of the use of artificial intelligence. The same speaker is also a researcher at the University of Cambridge and develops an Impact investing AI tool that provides an almost real-time assessment of how "green"/ethical certain companies are. Another speaker is a Social Impact Consultant who began his career with an internship in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in the team of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank. Past winners This year's award recipient is Dr. Rosen Ivanov, Assistant Professor at the University of Mining and Geology "St. Ivan Rilski," who developed a technology for wastewater treatment with parallel energy recovery. Last year, two awards were presented. One went to Nedislav Veselinov, a PhD student from the Faculty of Physics of Sofia University, which led to the registration of the first startup inspired entirely by the Entrepreneurs in Science program – Experimental Design Office Photonics. The company is currently building the "Andromeda" planetarium and has the ambition to build planetariums across the country using this model. The other recipient of the Entrepreneur in Science 2020 award developed an ecological Magnesium-Air battery, and the brand under which the product will be sold – Oxymet – has already been registered. In June, the ecological battery was presented at the Eleventh International Conference on Lead Accumulators - LABAT`2021, organized by the Institute of Electrochemistry and Energy Systems "Eugene Budewski" (IEES-BAS). The first awarded project was "Mechanically Electronically Controlled Pill" by Dr. Ivan Loutakov, a gastroenterologist at UMBAL "Tsaritsa Yoanna – ISUL," who was still a PhD student in gastroenterology at the Medical University-Sofia in 2018. He already has a prototype of the innovative product, which is now seeking funding for the animal testing phase. Institutional partners of the Entrepreneurs in Science program are Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski," Technical University – Sofia, University of National and World Economy, and the University of Mining and Geology "St. Ivan Rilski." Each of them will award a student, PhD student, or team participating in the program to develop and enhance their development. Among the mentors this year will be representatives of the Institute of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer. 

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Karieri.bg, 09.07.2021