National Prize "Student of the Year"

Hristian Daskalov from SF – "PhD Student of the Year" 2017

Hristian Daskalov is a PhD student in the Department of "Economics, Industrial Engineering and Management" at the Faculty of Economics. He works on stakeholder management issues in open source projects under the scientific supervision of Prof. Ognyan Andreev, head of the department. For the leadership of the research project Open Source University, he won (19.12.) the "PhD Student of the Year" 2017 award at the 11th edition of the National Prize "Student of the Year", organized by the National Representation of Student Councils. The initiative is held under the patronage of the Minister of Education and Science Krasimir Valkov in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Culture, National Student Home, Foundation "Together in Class", universities and companies.

The Open Source University project aims to create the world's first open academic platform for searching, organizing and verifying educational content and professional skills, based on blockchain technology. The platform will allow autonomous validation and transfer of information related to the knowledge and skills of learners on a global scale, regardless of institutional and national boundaries. The project led by the Bulgarian academic community ranks among global innovators in the field of educational technology such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Open University (UK).

"Undoubtedly, our team, consisting of over 30 teachers, entrepreneurs and technology experts, can boast of the spirit that is necessary for Bulgarian education and science to realize their ambitions on the international stage. We are working on a solution that will create new opportunities in education and career development for millions around the world and the award is confirmation that we are on the right track," Hristian said at the ceremony at the Ivan Vazov National Theatre, receiving the award from Minister Krasimir Valkov.