On February 21, Sofia Tech Park, the first scientific and technological park in Bulgaria, officially opened coworking and meetings in its incubator building – Space Grownding and Club House. The main objectives indicated for new spaces are the creation of synergies between research institutions and entrepreneurs as well as the development and marketing of applied scientific projects.
The Club House will house a number of initial technological clubs – for those interested or involved in SpaceTech, drones, robotics, artificial intelligence or science -based entrepreneurship. At the same time, Gromorkking has 35 available work stations, which will target small start -up teams as well as entrepreneurs and students in terms of the idea. Prices vary from 57 to 170 euros per month.
Sofia Tech Park shares that users of Growth space will have the opportunity to discuss ideas and projects with the eleven teams working in high -tech laboratories of the complex. Groworking Space also promises to provide a set of services such as mentor sessions, commercial advice and the incubation technology transfer program. It is still not clear if the teams that use space will also have access to laboratories.
Community power
“The goal of the Space Club is to bring together all those who care about the development of the space industry in Bulgaria. We want to help projects to go from the idea stage to specific R&D proposals and to startups ready for the market. Another important objective of the club is to present the details of the space industry in front of a wider audience. There are not many events and places practically focused on the subject, so I hope that we can be a point of development that will act as a catalyst so that things are starting to happen, “explains Zdravko Dimitrov, initiator of the Space Club and director of commercial development at Sat-1.
At the same time, the Bulgarian Robotics and Automation Association, Para, begins a club focused on the triggering of young people’s interest in deep technology.
“With the opening of our robotics club, we focus on attracting young people to the Bulgarian manufacturing industry. To develop its full potential, we will focus on innovation in robotics and all its aspects – companies, techniques and operational people. We continue to work on the connection of startups, NGOs, research institutions and established companies, therefore Club House gives us physical space to organize many initiatives ”, shares Kristiyan Mihaylov, co-founder of Para.
Sofia Tech Park: head for her initial idea
Sofia Tech Park officially opened doors about five years ago with the promise to bring together entrepreneurs, science and mature companies and facilitate the exchange of know-how and ideas. It is the first scientific and technological park in Bulgaria and the only state center aimed at supporting the startup movement. The facilities were built by the government and operated in an institutional style for a few years.
THE Sofia Tech ParkIn which so far, nearly 50 million euros have been invested, has been officially launched in 2015 and is made up of three modules – a complex of 11 high -tech laboratories, an incubator for startups and an event center. During the first three years, the conference center was the only fully functional component in the technological park, where many smaller and larger international events occurred. Since 2019, however, the technological park has developed by adding more residents in its buildings, opening more and more to the startup community and its various initiatives.
Last year, the Multinational Bosch technology company also joined Sofia Tech Park by opening a new engineering center, currently employing around 200 people. Software engineers work on automated driving systems: for example, so that monitoring and assessing driver’s behavior in vehicles or processing incoming data, making decisions and launching driving actions to prevent road accidents.
“Our long-term objective is to become the Hotspot of entrepreneurship and technology transfer based on science in southeast Europe and to attract global, regional and national researchers, scientists and innovative companies,” said Natanail Stefanov, vice-president of the Sofia Tech Executive Council, told Trending Topics in a previous interview.
Almost from the start, office spaces have been provided for young companies but never a fully functional coworking and community space. And, Groworking is like the next step towards management objectives.