The Minister of Innovation and Growth Milena Stoycheva and representatives of IMEC discussed yesterday concrete steps for cooperation to encourage and support the ecosystem in Bulgaria at a workshop at the leading research center in Leuven, Belgium. The Deputy Minister of Innovation and Growth, Prof. George Angelov, also participated in the meeting with the head of the Government Relations Department, Christoph Lux, the Chief Digital Security Officer, Jo de Bock, and the Manager of Public Funding and Academic Relations, Valentina Terzieva. Among the topics discussed was the creation of a Competence Center for Microelectronics in Bulgaria. Minister Stoycheva was in Brussels, where she participated in the 16th European Space Conference.
“The Microelectronics sector has a high added value and is directly based on research and development. The Ministry of Innovation recognizes it as strategic and of great importance for increasing the competitiveness of the country,” Minister Stoycheva said during the meeting. She presented the priority sectors in the work of the Ministry of Innovation and Growth – information and communication technologies, mechatronics and microelectronics, artificial intelligence, bioeconomy and biotechnology, space technologies, circular economy.
The Minister of Innovation and Growth said that Bulgaria is already in the process of administrative inclusion in the Chips Joint Undertaking, and the government has designated the Ministry as a single national body in the field of microelectronics. “This will enable Bulgarian specialists, including scientists, to participate in the supply chain of the semiconductor industry, as well as in joint projects. In this way, Bulgaria will come forward in the development of modern technologies”, stated the Minister of Innovation and Growth Milena Stoycheva.
For his part, Deputy Minister Angelov noted that Bulgaria has long-standing traditions in the field of microelectronics – a strong scientific base and innovative enterprises. “The partnership with IMEC will strengthen the capacity of the ecosystem in Bulgaria and help establish it as an investment destination in the field of integrated circuits,” said Prof. Angelov.
