GATE Institute is one of the 12 partners in the European project “European Citiverses Uniting for Inclusiveness”, funded under the Digital Europe Programme.

GATE’s participation is through its “Cities of the Future” research direction, which is developing the Digital Twin of Sofia in collaboration with Sofia Municipality. At the core of the development is the modeling and analysis of urban data from a wide range of sources — geospatial, demographic, transport, environmental, energy, and infrastructure data. A broad spectrum of technologies based on big data, artificial intelligence, and physics-based simulations is used to conduct analyses supporting informed decision-making related to urban environmental quality (air and noise), climate change (urban heat island effect and heat risk), mobility and walkability, energy efficiency, urban planning, and more.

On April 27, 2026, the final event of DisInfoHack 2026 took place at the GATE Institute at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. The initiative is a research hackathon dedicated to information resilience and countering disinformation. The event brought together 46 students who, over the course of one month, developed and presented analytical projects addressing real-world cases from today’s information environment.

DisInfoHack is being held for the third consecutive year and is part of the activities of the research project CoDE, which focuses on analysing the information environment in Bulgaria and developing sustainable approaches to tackling disinformation. The format of the so-called “slow hackathon” provides opportunities for in-depth team collaboration, mentorship, and the application of scientific methods in the study of communication processes.

The GATE Institute at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” hosted Next Gen Entrepreneurs Day—an event that brought together representatives of European institutions, the investment community, academia, and startups. The forum is part of the “Best Youth Startup in Bulgaria” initiative, organized by the Fund of Funds in partnership with GATE and with the support of InvestEU, the European Commission, and the European Investment Bank.

On April 22, the event “AI-Driven Growth: Scaling Business Internationally in the AI Era” took place at Sofia Tech Park, bringing together experts and organizations to explore the impact of artificial intelligence on global business expansion. Among the co-organizers was the GATE Institute, reinforcing its role as a key driver of innovation in Bulgaria.

During the forum, the Institute’s Director, Prof. Sylvia Ilieva, presented GATE’s vision for the future of smart cities, highlighting the importance of digital twins as a tool for more intelligent and adaptive urban management.

Between 15–17 April, Sofia hosted the Living-in.EU Digital Assembly 2026 and Eurocities Digital Forum 2026, organised by the Sofia Municipality.

On March 25, Ivo Emanuilov, Head of the Experimental Regulation Lab at GATE Institute, presented the first results from the institute’s work with companies in its sandbox environment during the Legal Lab: “From Cookbook to Practice: Designing & Joining AI Regulatory Sandboxes” in Leuven.

The forum, organized by imec and KU Leuven, brought together representatives from the European Commission, industry, and regulatory institutions from across Europe.

The GATE Institute has signed an Agreement for scientific and technological cooperation and innovation in the field of security and defence. The initiative, led by the Ministry of Innovation and Growth, brings together also Sofia Tech Park, the Defence Institute “Prof. Tsvetan Lazarov”, the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy in Varna, and the Association for Research and Development.

On 11 March 2026, the GATE Institute hosted a founding forum for the establishment of the National Cancer Mission Hub in Bulgaria (NCMH)—an initiative supported by the European Commission under the Horizon Europe programme and aligned with the EU Cancer Mission and the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan.

The GATE Institute at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” and the Centre for IT & IP Law (CiTiP) at KU Leuven are strengthening their collaboration in the field of responsible artificial intelligence.

During the visit of Prof. Jan De Bruyne to Sofia, a seminar was held focusing on the question of who bears responsibility in the use of AI systems and in cases of potential harm caused by them. The discussion brought together legal experts, AI researchers, and engineers.

GATE Institute at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” is hosting the three-day NATO Allied Command Transformation (ACT) Innovation Continuum – SPARK Phase 2026 (IC26) from 24 to 26 February 2026 in Sofia.