Address to the members of CSKC
On the occasion of the upcoming General Assembly
Dear colleagues
Clusters are a priority of the EU and are considered one of the most important and well-funded initiatives of the European Commission, making a significant contribution to the creation of a common innovation ecosystem, competitive with those in China, the USA and other developed regions of the world.
The cluster organisation Sofia Knowledge City has been nominated with a bronze label by the European Secretariat for Cluster Analysis (ESCA) for excellence in cluster management and striving for excellence. However, the validity period expired this year and we have yet to plan whether and when to renew it.
As most of you know, the cluster was created at the end of 2016 as an initiative of an organizing committee, with members the late Academician Stefan Vodenicharov, Chairman of the BAS, Prof. Yanko Yankov, Director of the Institute for Nuclear Knowledge Management in Vienna, Andreas Brandner, Chairman of the Board of the global network Knowledge 4 Development Partnership -, Vienna, Prof. Bogdan Ugarchinski - Executive Director of Velgraf Holding AD, Prof. Rumen Nikolov, Head of the Interfaculty UNESCO Chair at ULSIT, Batlo Dinev - Executive Director of David Holding, Veselin Todorov, Executive Director of CIELA Norma and Dimitar Hristov, Chairman of the Club for Knowledge, Innovations and Strategies Management Club.
A total of 27 legal entities joined the initiators as founders and registered in January 2017 an association, which is the legal form of our cluster organization at the moment. Currently, the regular and associate members of the cluster are a total of 55 companies, universities, schools and non-governmental organizations (members) registered or operating in the city of Sofia, with the exception of a few members that are not registered in Sofia, but operate in the territory and in the capital (Lemi Trafo, ADD, etc.).
As can be seen from the founding documents, the information on the participation in projects and conferences, the distributed initiatives and the created partnerships, the cluster aims to contribute to a more efficient use of the knowledge infrastructure incl. that of the Bulgarian Academy of Science and the universities for the development of the city of Sofia, for stimulating the process of attracting talents for the benefit of the city, for the practical use of knowledge and innovative approaches in the management of the city and for stimulating the creation of a real market for high technologies, innovations, business models and products aimed at increasing the competitiveness of the city in a regional and European aspect.
As can be seen from the published documents and the real activity of the cluster organisation, the strategic goal was to build its own model for the development of a "knowledge city" (according to the terminology of Francisco Javier Carrillo), incl. smart city, creating prerequisites for this to happen by attracting investments and human resources, business initiatives and projects for the benefit of the entire innovation ecosystem of the city.
For the last few years, the cluster has managed to organize several national and international conferences and exhibitions, including under the auspices of the city mayor, and to join and/or lead 10 international projects incl. under the Competitiveness and Innovation Program, Horizon 2021, COSME, Erasmus. Thanks to these projects, more than 20 useful results have been developed in the form of manuals, methodological guides and platforms in the field of vocational training and certification of new professions, social entrepreneurship, the fight against climate change, international cooperation for smart cities and high technologies, for the development of startups in the media and creative industries, etc.
A commendable achievement of the cluster is the creation of a wide international network and concluded cooperation agreements with organizations and leading companies and technological institutes not only from Europe and Great Britain, but also from Singapore, Taiwan, the USA and Canada, which were respectively visited and with who have established good personal contacts. Good examples are Smart City Tech Partnership, Industrial Technology Research Institute in Taiwan, INNOVA-RIA Португалия, Knowledge 4 Development Partnership - Vienna, etc.The cluster has signed similar agreements with Bulgarian partners, including with Sofia Tech Park, Sofia Investment Agency, BICA, Council for Investments at BCCI, EMIC Cluster.
From the presentation of the organization, as well as from the available published results, it is visible that the cluster is a tool for building local partnerships, R&D at the international level and a marketing channel for positioning the role of universities and science in creating and attracting talent for the city. Membership in the cluster can definitely expand the opportunities for each of us to attract talent, improve the distribution of our products and services incl. and those created by scientific organizations related to specific technologies applicable to the development of the city and to bring our interests closer to those of the city administration.
In this regard, taking into account the set goals and our development program, I propose to the General Assembly that the association decide to continue its activities, approve the plan for 2025 and elect new governing bodies, on the condition that each member of the cluster will show - great interest in the activity and there will be a greater contribution to the budget of the cluster organization, and the new members of the governing bodies will become vanguard to achieve our common goals. Without such prerequisites, the successful and sustainable development of the cluster will be questioned every year.
Dimitar Hristov
Chairman of the Management Board
Sofia, 02.10.2024 г.
