2024-09-10 03:42:44
In three years, Vivacom has donated nearly BGN 140,000 to the natural sciences teams, who managed to win 90 medals in 2023 alone
Bulgaria won three gold, one silver and three bronze medals at the Olympics in Paris this summer. And it became a reason for pride that our country is still an Olympic power.
But there are also some other Bulgarian Olympians who traditionally always occupy the top places. These are the boys and girls who participate in international science competitions and Olympiads. And them every year glorify our country around the world and become a source of national pride.
However, in order to get the medals of honor, a long and difficult path of study, hundreds of solved tasks and thousands of hours of preparation must be completed. Because it takes a lot of work and support from parents, teachers and professors to become an Olympic champion. Of course, financial support is also necessary, because a large part of the international Olympiads are held in distant countries such as Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Egypt.
Companies such as Vivacom also help with the preparation and travel. Telecom has been supporting the Olympians for the third year now, having donated nearly BGN 140,000 for their preparation and participation in international competitions and Olympics. The funds were used for the preparation and participation of the young Bulgarian Olympians from the eight teams in biology, mathematics, astronomy, informatics, linguistics, physics, chemistry and artificial intelligence in international competitions and Olympiads. The Association of Olympic Teams in Natural Sciences (SOOPN) also plays a key role. The organization supports young talents by providing them with the necessary conditions for preparation and participation in the Olympics.
The road from the student’s bench to the gold medals passes conditionally through several stage – from the expression of interest in the relevant field, through deepening of knowledge and participation in national competitions to the overall preparation and international Olympiads.
It all starts with the curiosity children show about the world around them at an early age. The important role here is that of their parents and teachers, who with support and attention can encourage curiosity to become a serious interest.
Then comes the discovery of the particular sphere. This usually happens after 6th grade, when chemistry, biology and physics distinguish as separate subjects.
Then there are inspiring teachers who manage to ignite the passion and interest of children, inspire them with courage and confidence and provoke them to think, search and try. This is the time to participate in the municipal, regional and national rounds of the Olympiads.
And as the French say – appetite comes with eating, the thirst of young talents for new knowledge takes them beyond the classroom. It provokes them to visit specialized schools, to look for additional materials, to organize themselves in groups and even to prepare themselves.
In order to become part of the extended national team in a given science, the student participates in the national round of the Olympiad for several years, and for the most prestigious international competitions, the young people who ranked first in the national round in the 10th, 11th and 12th grade. Once they took their place, the young talents participate in intense selection, prepared by the team leaders. Among them are university professors, professors from BAS institutes, some of the best natural science teachers in the country.
Then come final exams to get to be part of the national teams in Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Mathematics, Informatics, Astronomy, Linguistics and Artificial Intelligence.
According to Nikolay Andreev, the investment in the development of young talents is an investment in the future, because these are the next scientists, doctors and teachers. That’s why Vivacom has been supporting natural science teams for the third year now.
Therefore, every time you hear that a Bulgarian student has won a medal at the International Science Olympiad, you should know that it is no accident. He, together with his teachers and supervisors, for five to ten years worked for this result.
“Talented Bulgarian students are traditionally one of the best in the whole world and proudly represent Bulgaria at international competitions and Olympiads. We believe that the investment in the development of their talents is an investment in the future because these are the next scientists, doctors and teachers. That’s why we at Vivacom have been supporting natural science teams for the third year now,” commented Nikolay Andreev – CEO of Vivacom.
For the year 2023 alone, the Bulgarian science Olympians have won a total of 90 medals – 17 gold, 32 silver and 41 bronze. They are from world, European and Balkan Olympiads. It is important to note that 42 of them are among the most prestigious international Olympiads in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, linguistics, informatics, astrophysics and astronomy. This summer was also filled with numerous participations in prestigious international Olympiads in countries such as Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Egypt.
“Bulgarian Olympians are citizens of the world. They create healthy friendships within their teams, but also beyond – with competitors from all continents, with whom they compete, but also discuss and solve tasks together, have fun. They are creating a smarter, better, more peaceful future, proudly waving the Bulgarian flag. It remains for us to support their cause – on behalf of the Association of Olympic Teams in Natural Sciences, I thank Vivacom for the long-term partnership and I hope it will continue in the future”, says Elena Marinova, vice-president of the management board of the association.
Bulgaria hosted the first international artificial intelligence competition
Our country won two team bronze medals and a gold award
Bulgarian students won two team bronze medals and a gold award at the first International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence (IOAI), which was held in Burgas from August 9 to 15. It brought together a record number of participants – about 200 students from nearly 40 countries around the world, who worked on innovative projects and solutions for 6 days.
The event is realized with the main support of Vivacom. The telecom provided unlimited Internet connectivity at maximum speed to ensure the necessary capacity and connection stability to hold a competition of this magnitude. The students relied on the largest 5G network in Bulgaria to create, use and improve artificial intelligence technologies.
Vivacom also provided financial support in the amount of BGN 10,000, as well as provided special prizes for the best performing students who got the latest NothingEar 1 wireless headphones. Among them are the members of the two Bulgarian teams who distinguished themselves with their knowledge and skills in the field of artificial intelligence and won two team bronze medals from the scientific part of the competition and a gold distinction from the practical part, where they ranked in absolute first place.
The first round of the Olympiad was devoted to machine learning, natural language processing and computer vision. Students developed new AI models and solved problems that mimic real scientific research. In it, the gold medals were won by the two teams of Singapore, Poland and Letovo.
In the practical round of the Olympiad, the most successful vocal artist of the modern Bulgarian scene took part – Maria Ilieva, who created a special remix of one of her latest hits “Love”. Based on it, the contestants generated visuals using a set of tools using artificial intelligence and created a cover and a video for the Bulgarian pop star’s single. In this stage, the teams of Bulgaria, Poland, Australia and the USA performed best, winning gold medals.
The host of the next International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence will be Beijing, and its founder remains the LERAI Foundation, behind which are five Bulgarians – Lora Dineva, Elena Marinova, Rositsa Dekova, Alexander Velinov and Iva Gumnishka, who continue the national tradition in the field of international scientific competitions. In Bulgaria, the International Olympiad in Informatics was founded in 1989, the International Olympiad in Linguistics in 2003. and the 2017 European Youth Informatics Olympiad.
Biology team again among the best in the world
Bulgarian biology Olympians are once again among the best in the world. The young talents won a full set of medals – gold, silver and bronze, as well as a certificate of honor, from the 35th International Biology Olympiad – the most prestigious tournament in the discipline in the world.
Viktor Lilov (SMG) won gold medals and ranked in the top 10 in the world. Momchil Petkov (NPMG) grabbed the silver, Viktor-Alexander Radanov (SMG) – bronze, and Yavor Banov (PPMG Burgas) received an honorary diploma.
The youngsters won the medals after competing against the top 320 biology competitors from 80 countries around the world. Their supervisors in Kazakhstan were Prof. Dr. Albena Yordanova (Faculty of Medicine, SU), chief assistant Dr. Radoslav Alexandrov (Institute of Molecular Biology, BAS) and PhD student Teodor Trifonov (Institute of Biodiversity, BAS).
