The GATE Institute at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” is among the co-organizers of the fifth edition of the Spinoff EUROPA Conference 2026, which will take place on June 11–12 at the Technical University of Sofia under the motto “Building Europe’s Innovation Powerhouse.”
The conference is one of Europe’s leading forums for scientific entrepreneurship, technology transfer, and deep-tech innovation, bringing together more than 400 participants from over 20 countries, including researchers, innovators, spin-off companies, investors, representatives of European institutions, industry, and the public sector.
As a strategic partner of the Spinoff Initiative and an active contributor to the development of the European innovation ecosystem, the GATE Institute will showcase its expertise in data management, artificial intelligence, and the development of high-impact solutions for healthcare, sustainable cities, intelligent governance, and industry.
GATE’s participation begins on the first day of the conference with the presentation “DataTwin Project – EU Best Practices to Turn Data into Strategic Business Value” by Radoslav Rizov, European Projects Manager. The session will demonstrate how European organizations and companies are transforming data into a strategic asset through the implementation of digital twins, modern data infrastructures, and innovative decision-making approaches.
Later that day, Radoslav Rizov and Dr. Iva Krasteva will present “Healthcare Data Spaces – Unlocking the Potential of Health Data,” focusing on the development of health data spaces and their role in advancing personalized medicine and digital healthcare. As a practical example, they will demonstrate the added value of the VELES project, an international initiative coordinated by GATE that develops solutions for the secure exchange and effective use of health data in alignment with European policies and initiatives, including the European Health Data Space (EHDS).
Through these presentations, the GATE Institute will demonstrate how modern data management and analytics technologies can accelerate scientific discoveries, improve the quality of healthcare services, and create new opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship.
On June 12, Ivan Draganov from GATE’s Business Development team will take the stage at Spinoff EUROPA Conference 2026 with the presentation “Work After Agents: What Changes When AI Stops Waiting for Instructions,” dedicated to the next stage in the evolution of artificial intelligence-agentic AI systems.
Ivan Draganov will explore how organizations in Bulgaria and around the world are integrating AI agents into real business processes, the practical outcomes of their implementation, and why high-quality, accessible data is becoming a strategic resource for every organization. Particular emphasis will be placed on the changes that agentic AI brings to workflows, organizational structures, and the role of people in environments where software systems are increasingly capable of independently performing tasks and making decisions. In this context, he will also present the services GATE offers to support businesses in their digital transformation and data-driven decision-making processes.
The participation of the GATE Institute in Spinoff EUROPA Conference 2026 is a natural extension of the institute’s mission to connect scientific research with real-world applications, facilitate technology transfer, and foster the development of innovative solutions with societal impact.
As part of European initiatives and projects in the fields of big data, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation, GATE actively contributes to building a competitive and sustainable European innovation ecosystem in which scientific achievements are transformed into solutions with tangible impact on society and the economy.
Spinoff EUROPA Conference 2026 provides exactly such a platform – a place where science, technology, entrepreneurship, and investment come together to shape the future of European innovation.