Inspiration

On 20 and 21 April 2024 on the territory of Sofia Tech Park in Innovation Forum John Atanasov was held TUES Fest – the traditional event “Open Doors” of the School of Technology “Electronic Systems” (TUES), associated with the Technical University of Sofia, which brings together current and future students, teachers, alumni, and IT businesses. More than 150 projects (a record number) competed for the jury’s vote and it was impressive to see so many talents willing to create innovative IT products and solutions. 

The event was organised by a great ambitious team of Grade 11 students who once again produced:

• A special exhibition area with over 100 technology youth projects;
• interesting lectures, which you will be able to visit on the spot in the John Atanasoff Hall of the Park or watch live online;
• meetings with current and alumni of TUES, from whom you will hear success stories and learn about the school’s educational model, the specialties and subjects that are studied, the community, as well as the school’s relationship with the IT business;
• Battle Bots competition between robots created by students from all classes with the help of the TUES Alumni Association, faculty, and mentors.

DXC Technology Bulgaria as the main sponsor provided jury members who judged the participants in the Software and Networks categories. They also gave event guests the opportunity to chat at their career booth where they discussed how important it is for their company to support students during their education. At the grand finale of this celebration of talent, we awarded five individual projects – each of which represented a unique blend of hard work and creativity.

The winner in the computer networking category is Ransom 2.0! The project simulates the actions of Ransomware-type malicious codes. The goal is to allow the end user to test how their defenses would fare against an attack of this type. This project was Developed by Angel Nikolov – 12 B class at TUES, and the award was presented by Prof. Dr. of Sciences Eng. Ivan Kralov.

The winner in the category of robotics and embedded microcomputer systems is Cable = Undefined! It revolutionizes embedded projects by eliminating the problems with complex wiring. With two interconnected breadboards, both beginners and more advanced can easily create connections without the need for cables. Their website is accessible and has built-in AI features that further streamline the process by suggesting ways to connect and generate custom code. The award was presented by Prof. Dr. of Science Eng. Ivan Kralov.

The winner in the Systems Programming category is Quark. Quark is a compiled programming language. It is written in C, flex, bison, x86 assembly and LLVM assembly. Its main purpose is to serve as a “kernel” for future programming languages to more easily build on top of it. Because of this, its compiler is entirely modular, allowing for quick and efficient changes and additions to the language. The award was presented by Prof. Dr. of Science Eng. Ivan Kralov.

Here are some examples of the projects:

• “LensLend” is a web application developed by a 12th grade student that connects people looking for or offering filming and audio equipment, as well as filming locations, to facilitate the process of creating digital content for the web. It was awarded by DXC and Nemetscheck.
• Second place in the Computer Networking category went to the project “Progressive (not depressive) delivery”, developed by Emilia Chukaleva from 12th grade. It is a system for introducing new features and services to all employees or users, allowing them to be rolled out gradually – to subgroups of employees/users. It was awarded by DXC and ITGix.
• “Diagnosify” is an innovative medical system developed to facilitate doctors in the diagnosis process by providing a second opinion. This development by 10th graders was selected as a socially significant project and awarded by as many as 5 companies supporting TUES Fest 2024 – SAP, Trading 212, Haemimont, Nettera, Tumba Solutions.
• “Snack Buddy” is an automatic pet feeder that is operated through a mobile app. It was developed by a Grade 12 student and was awarded by Telelink Business Services.
• The “Value Buoy” is an innovative system of smart buoys placed in strategic areas of the sea. The project was developed by Grade 11 students and was awarded by Telelink Business Services.
• “StereoMath” is a mobile app developed by tenth graders that visualizes stereometry problems and shows step by step how to solve the problem. Trading 212, Chaos and IBM chose to award this project.
• The winner in the Systems Programming category, Quark, is a compiled programming language developed by 10th grader Darius Topuzov. In addition to first place, he received awards from Trading 212 and Ocado Technology.
• Tupal car is a trolley that you can ask questions and it answers them. It is controlled with gestures. It was developed by tenth graders and was awarded by Yettel.
• “DishEat” is an app for generating recipes and diets. Yettel and Telebid Pro awarded the 11th grade students who developed the project.
• “Polluted” is a 3D computer game made with the Unity Game Engine. The eighth graders’ work was rewarded by Chaos and StamSoft.
• “PowerPath” is an electric car app for Android automatically optimizes the route including charging stations and provides features to save locations and find nearby stations. The project was developed by a 12th grade class and received one of Nettera’s awards.
• “Chalcedony” is an interpreter of a statically typed scripting language developed as a 12th grade student’s thesis project. The project won one of the Strypes Group awards.
• “The curious painter” is a video game created by a 12th grade graduate student where you walk around the world coloring everything and trying to defeat all the enemies. It was honored by the Strypes Group.
• “MC-Jscript” is a technology for loading mods (plugins) written in JavaScript into Minecraft and was developed by a student in 11th grade. Not only did it win the runner-up prize in the Software category, it was also awarded by TelebidPro.
• “Diahelper” is a mobile app for diabetic self-management, developed by a 12th grade graduate. It managed to take the first prize of Nemetscheck Bulgaria.
• “PURPLE” is a system for increasing energy production from photovoltaic panels, made by a 12th grade student. They took one of the Nemetscheck Bulgaria awards.
• “Rocket engine test station” is a project developed by two boys in 11th grade, the goal is to make a station to measure the power of rocket(etc.) engine. The station was awarded by Nemetscheck Bulgaria.
• “Teamplayer” is a platform developed by 8th grade students to better and more reliably find teammates for different video games. They were awarded by Ocado technology. – from BTV news 

FISSION is an international science fair organised by students for students.

The main aim is to challenge students to take their knowledge beyond the classroom. They have to express their creativity while exploring the practical applications of theoretical science. Students are also to connect with their sets from different countries and with different scientific interests and create a community of aspiring young scientists. The online format this year will allow participants from all over the world to participate, and there will be direct communication between participants and the jury.

The festival is open to students in grades 5 – 12, and they can create a project in categories ranging from biomedicine, biology and chemistry to ecology and environmental science, computer science, mathematics, physics, and engineering. 

The ninth edition of the FISSION International Festival of Natural Sciences was held on April 12-13, 2024 at the ACS campus. The festival brought together participants from around the world to present their projects as well as the opportunity to engage in discussions with like-minded individuals. In this way, they were able to unleash their imaginations and were also rewarded for their commitment and hard work. 

FISSION began on 12 April 2024 when participants arrived in the afternoon to set up their projects at the venue and register. The festival continued on 13 April with the opening ceremony, project presentations and awards ceremony. Workshops and lectures were also included during the Saturday day, offering valuable networking opportunities. 

More than 65 projects were seen at the Festival and many questions were put to their creators, more than 160 students from Sofia, the country, and abroad.