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TEENS IN AI – BULGARIA:

By AI & ML, Audience, Bulgaria, For children, In education, INSPIRATION: Good practices, International good practice initiative, Public, TechnologyNo Comments
TEENS IN AI - BULGARIA

31.03.2023 |

The Teens In AI initiative, launched at the AI for Good Global Summit at the UN in May 2018, exists to inspire the next generation of ethical AI researchers, entrepreneurs, and leaders who will shape the world of tomorrow.

 

Main activities, outreach, and mission

 

Through a combination of hackathons, accelerators, and bootcamps together with expert mentoring, talks, company tours, and networking opportunities, the programme creates a platform for young people aged 12-18 to explore AI, machine learning, and data science.

Since its start in 2015, Teens in AI has reached over 9.000 young people in over 140 cities worldwide.

Organized twice a year, global AI hackathons for teenagers are one of the main activities of the initiative. During those campaigns, locations from across the globe participate in local events where teams develop and pitch technological solutions tackling a UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) to determine the winner.

Being on the mission to attract more people to new technologies, achieve more efficient use of digital potential, and support the development of the ICT sector in Bulgaria by encouraging young people to pursue computing and technology, the Digital National Alliance in Bulgaria is the lead organizer of the event for Bulgaria two times in a row – in October 2021 and in March 2022.

During the Bulgarian editions, within 5 days students aged 12-18 developed innovative solutions using AI  to support the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

See three of the projects developed:

Christina de Bruin, who is a UNICEF Representative to the Republic of Bulgaria, shared this in her speech for the opening of the first Teens In AI hackathon in Bulgaria:

The initiative aims to democratise AI and create opportunities for underrepresented talent and give young people and especially girls early exposure to AI which is being developed and deployed for social good.

“We cannot allow half of the world’s talent – girls to be excluded from the spheres of artificial intelligence and technological solutions which are extremely important nowadays. Greetings to the organisers of the initiative!”

Why is this a good practice?

 

During strict pandemic restrictions due to COVID-19, DNA managed to successfully conduct two consecutive Teens in AI hackathons in an online format. This allowed the engaging a wider range of children from all over Bulgaria, including representatives of minority groups.

As a result of the events, over 100 children from different backgrounds, with zero technical skills and with extensive experience in programming as well, developed nearly 20 innovative AI-based projects, the best of which were evaluated by the international jury of Tees in AI.

“I took part in the hackathon because I think it is important to keep abreast of global problems and look for solutions to them. Artificial intelligence has great potential and I believe that it can help us create a better world for everyone”.

– Elena,16 years old, who took part in both of the Bulgarian hackathons.

Another participant in the latest Bulgarian edition of Teens in AI echoed this positive feedback, stating that the initiative is:

“A hackathon, where you don’t need to miss school and yet you’re developing a project, where you not only code, but develop an entrepreneurial plan with target groups, income sources, partners and so on.”

The Teens in AI initiative spreads more and more all over the world, being launched in around 25 countries.

If you would like to connect with and inspire the next generation of tech and AI thinkers, co-host a hackathon, or support the initiative, read more here.

Details

Target audience

Digital skills for all

Digital skills in education

Digital technology

Artificial Intelligence

Level

Basic

Intermediate

Advanced

Expert

Funding of the good practice

Public

Type of initiative of the good practice

International initiative

Country providing the good practice

Bulgaria

Organisation providing the good practice

Digital National Alliance

OPPORTUNITIES FOR FUNDING EDUCATION ABROAD THROUGH THE “ERASMUS+” PROGRAM

By 5G & WiFi, AI & ML, AR & VR, Audience, Basic digital skills, Big data, Blockchain, Computing, Country suitable for the funding, Cybersecurity, Digital marketing, EU Institutional initiative, Form of the funding, Grant, In education, IoT, Media literacy, Microelectronics, Mobile apps, OPPORTUNITIES, OPPORTUNITIES: Funding, Other, Robotics, Software engineering, Technology, Telecommunications, Type of funding initiative, Web developmentNo Comments
Opportunities for funding education abroad through the "Erasmus+" program

10.03.2023 |

 For more than three decades, the European Union has been funding the “Erasmus” program, which has enabled over 3 million European students to spend part of their education at another higher education institution or organization in Europe. Years of experience in developing the program have shown that studying abroad has a positive effect on future employment prospects, as well as significantly improving students’ language skills.

The “Erasmus+” program helps to organize student and doctoral exchanges between countries participating in the program. These opportunities are available to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as doctoral students.

“Erasmus+” offers a great opportunity for those who wish to improve or develop their digital skills in the field of new technologies at a foreign university.

To study abroad through “Erasmus+”, you must be registered at a higher education institution and enrolled in a program leading to a recognized educational degree or other higher education qualification. Your sending institution (the current university where you study) and your receiving institution (the foreign university you wish to attend) must have signed an inter-institutional agreement between them so that you can study at the respective institution under “Erasmus+”. It is important to keep in mind that the period of study abroad must be in line with your needs related to your specialty and personal development and must be part of the study program you are following.

You can receive non-repayable funds under “Erasmus+” to cover part of your travel and daily expenses. The amounts may vary according to differences in the standard of living in your country and the receiving country, the number of applicants for funding, the distance between countries, and the availability of other financial assistance. If you are moving between countries under the program, check with your national agency and the sending higher education institution to see what rates apply. Additional support is also available for students going on internships, for students in disadvantaged situations, and for students from the most remote countries or regions under the program. The levels of non-repayable funds and the fixed amounts of funds for exchanges between program countries and partner countries are published in the “Erasmus+” program guide.

Details

Target audience

Digital skills in education

Digital technology 

artificial intelligence
cybersecurity
Internet of Things
big data
blockchain
robotics
augmented reality
virtual reality
high performance computing
machine learning
cloud computing
5G
telecommunications
WiFi
quantum computing
software
mobile application development
web development
microelectronics
digital skills

Form of the funding

Country suitable for the funding

EU members

Financial intermediate 

Erasmus+

Benefitials 

Natural persons

Requirements

IT HIRING SLOWING DOWN?

By 5G & WiFi, AI & ML, AR & VR, Audience, Basic digital skills, Big data, Blockchain, Computing, Cybersecurity, Digital marketing, For all, For ICT professionals, For the workforce, IoT, Media literacy, Microelectronics, Mobile apps, NEWS, Robotics, Software engineering, Technology, Telecommunications, Web developmentNo Comments
IT Hiring Slowing down?

28.01.2023 |

 After years of global economic growth led by the technology sector, the first signs of a slowdown in the rise of IT companies appeared in 2022. Post-COVID syndromes related to digitalization of businesses and work from home created new opportunities for technology corporations, leading to a significant increase in demand for specialists. Now that economic growth has slowed significantly and inflation has not yet been tamed, the management of most IT companies are cautious about cost management, and this approach extends to the hiring of new personnel, as seen from the new and higher requirements for employees.

A number of international companies, including Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, have cut a significant portion of their staff at the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023 due to the changed economic and business environment. After the COVID measures were lifted, many employers approached their home office policies more strictly and asked their employees to return to the office. This led to an inevitable decline in demand for some software solutions and services offered by technology giants. Additionally, it is important to note that inflationary levels have firmly tied the pockets of ordinary consumers, further contributing to the decline in IT sector revenues. These factors have led to the need to reduce costs in corporations, with the realization that there is no longer a need for all of the employees hired during the rapid growth of recent years.

Against the backdrop of the global threat of economic downturn and subsequent layoffs in the tech sector in Bulgaria, HR experts have not observed unusual layoffs. However, hiring in the technology sphere is visibly changing, with various studies showing that new jobs have decreased at double-digit rates in recent months. The data indicates that the hiring decline is mainly for lower-level positions requiring less work experience. It is also noted that more companies are looking to hire people on a project basis, without wanting to commit to permanent employment contracts, driven by the desire to limit their expenses.

According to Nikolay Nikolov from the Bulgarian Association for People Management and the Bulgarian Confederation of Employers, who is also a partner at “Horizons Bulgaria”, by spring it will be clear what the effect will be for the country – whether the labor market in the IT sector here will follow that in the USA and Western Europe or, on the contrary, Western companies will prefer to rely on even lower costs in Bulgaria. We cannot ignore the fact that salaries in Bulgaria are still below the levels in Western Europe and the USA, which could be interpreted as good news for the labor market here. Expectations are also positive from Nadezhda Vasileva, Managing Director of “Adecco Bulgaria”, as reported by Capital newsletter. According to her, there is always a delay in hiring at the beginning of the year, but with its lower costs, Bulgaria remains attractive and is more likely to attract foreign businesses than to lose them. Whatever the mid-term forecast for the development of the IT sector and hiring new employees in our country may be, one thing is certain – to continue our sustainable development in technology companies, we need to constantly invest in knowledge and quickly retrain to keep up with the dynamic changes in the technological world.

Details

Website

Target audience

Digital skills for the workforce

Digital skills for ICT professionals

 

Digital technology