Bulgaria has opened a new National STEM Center at Sofia Tech Park, built with money from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. President Rumen Radev spoke at the opening ceremony.
Students showed guests what they do in robotics, artificial intelligence, natural sciences, design, 3D prototyping and digital technology.
The center will teach students, train Bulgaria's olympiad teams and give teachers extra training. It will host hands-on classes, competitions and other education programs.
"Opening the National STEM Center is a big moment not just for Bulgarian education but for the whole country," Radev said. He called it an investment not in buildings and equipment, but in modern education, knowledge, a modern economy and the country's future.
Technology changes the world every day, the president added, and any country that wants to stay competitive must give young people both knowledge and the skills to use it. He said the new center is just the start — talented children will experiment here, ask questions and look for answers.
Radev recalled that a week earlier he had given awards to more than 100 children who came home from international math and science olympiads. "These children deserve a building, a place, that matches their talent," he said.
He said the center will bring together students, teachers, universities and experts to push forward education and the economy — including the industries of the future.
Radev also called the center a symbol of continuity in Bulgarian politics. He explained that the idea to include it in the Recovery and Resilience Plan dates back to the caretaker government of Stefan Yanev, which he himself appointed. At the time, Nikolai Denkov was caretaker education minister, and the idea also came from the presidency.
Radev said he hopes every future government will keep putting education first. He believes that is how Bulgaria can become a prosperous, democratic and European country.