Skills for Innovation in Education

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“Skills for Innovation in Education”

is a leading national conference organized by the Center for Creative Training, together with the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy and BRAIN++ (Bulgaria’s national and European AI factory). Every year, the event at Inter Expo Center in Sofia brings together more than 700 participants:

Teachers and school principals from across the country: the professionals who modernize the learning process and transform the educational environment every day.
Higher education faculty and leadership: the colleagues who prepare the specialists of tomorrow.
Bulgarian and international experts: visionaries and thought leaders who help us navigate the new digital world.
Institutions with a shared mission: the Ministry of Education and Science (MES), Regional Departments of Education, municipalities, universities, and research institutes.
Businesses, NGOs, and media: like-minded partners who invest time, resources, and genuine belief in our children’s future.

We look forward to seeing you on November 6 and 7 at Inter Expo Center, Sofia!

Key topics of the event:

Continuity in education: The link and transition between kindergarten, school, and university.
Career development: Preparing school and university students for the professions of the future.
Critical thinking and media literacy: Building analytical thinking skills and the ability to deal with disinformation.
A safe environment: Preventing and stopping aggression in educational institutions.
Technology skills and AI: Artificial intelligence and modern technologies as a tool for a better future.

Special guests

At the “Skills for Innovation in Education 2026” conference, we welcome special guest speakers who connect science, technology and humanity in the search for answers about the future of learning.

Dr. Joan Paul Pozuelos

Neuroscientist at the University of Granada and creator of the Neuromindset programme

The world after AI: Will we forget how to think?
When technology delivers ready-made answers in seconds, critical thinking and creativity become key to the survival of the mind. Dr. Pozuelos will reveal how AI is changing our cognitive skills, how to build lasting attention in students, and how to turn them from passive consumers into active creators.

Adelina Radeva

Journalist at Bulgarian National Television (BNT)

How do we stay human in a world of algorithms?
A conversation about technological progress, digital distance and the place of empathy in the classroom. Adelina Radeva raises the question of humanity in education: how, among quick answers and algorithms, we can keep alive the conversation about goodness, values, dealing with aggression, and the connection between mind and heart.

Prof. Sugata Mitra

Education researcher, TED Prize winner, and creator of the SOLE (Self-Organized Learning Environments) concept

The Question Is the New Answer: How Should We Learn in the Age of Artificial Intelligence? (video lecture)
Will AI make teachers redundant? Or is even the smartest machine powerless without a teacher? Can teachers manage today without AI? And what happens to children when they are left alone with technology that doesn’t understand human needs?
In his keynote, Prof. Sugata Mitra shares insights from his many years of experiments and answers the question on every teacher’s mind: what is the teacher’s role in the classroom of the future?

MAIN HIGHLIGHTS IN 2026

Artificial intelligence is here. Now it is our turn to be creators.

In 2026 we no longer ask “Will AI enter the school?”. It is already there. The big challenge today is how to stay human in the digital world and how to teach children authentic creativity, critical thinking, and resilience.

According to the large-scale national study by BASSCOM and the Ministry of Education and Science (MES) (conducted among more than 10,000 students and 1,700 teachers)

AI is outpacing the rules: Generative AI is entering schools faster than official frameworks, and students are experimenting entirely on their own.
From consumers to digital leaders: The goal is no longer just hardware but student readiness – children as active creators, not passive consumers of algorithms.
Human creativity as a luxury: The more alike AI answers become, the more valuable brainstorming, thinking and turning ideas into physical form become.

SOURCE: ai-report.basscom.org

94.7%

of students in Bulgaria use AI for learning purposes

Nearly half of them (47.6%) do so intensively – every day or several times a week. The technology is already a fully normalised part of their daily lives.

56%

of students learned to use AI entirely on their own

School is the main source of AI literacy for only 6.5% of children. It is time for the school to become a navigator, not a passive observer.

0.58

points is the gap between theory and practice among teachers

On a scale of 1 to 5, their theoretical literacy is rated 4.20, while actual methodological application in class is 3.62. Teachers know what AI is, but they need more practical training.

Conference hosts

Marina Tsekova

Journalist

Marina Tsekova will host the conference for the third year in a row. With more than 10 years of experience in television journalism, she is known to viewers as a host of “Събуди се” (“Wake Up”) on NOVA and as the author of a number of documentaries. This autumn she will once again bring her professionalism and charm to the big stage.

Zlatimir Yochev

Journalist

Zlatimir Yochev also returns as conference host for the second year in a row. A journalist with more than 15 years of media experience and a well-loved face on bTV, he will once again stand side by side with Marina Tsekova. As well as hosting the event, Zlatimir will moderate the key discussions with the guests.

Technology and AI

Google AI Education & Gemini Notebook:

Demonstrations of the latest AI tools. Learn how to use Gemini Notebook to put together detailed lesson plans, interactive presentations, tests and quizzes in no time.

Canva AI Education:

The art of visual content. How teachers and students can collaborate through intelligent design.

LEGO® Education:

Learning through experience – STEM, robotics and building that develop children’s team spirit and creativity. We present the newest AI building sets.

The Intel® Skills for Innovation programme:

A practical focus on quality content and on how to successfully develop the digital skills of tomorrow.

STEAM and AI Lab:

We will look at how AI is used to brainstorm ideas that children then turn into real, physical objects.

Leadership and life skills

School leadership and media literacy:

Special sessions for principals and teachers focused on modern school management and change management. We will also give serious attention to critical thinking in the age of AI – how to develop media literacy in children and protect them from disinformation.

Psychology and overcoming aggression:

Practical approaches and team methods for work in the classroom. The sessions focus on developing emotional intelligence, improving the school climate and dealing with aggression through shared causes and cooperation.

Life skills and first aid:

Vital practical simulations for responding to critical situations at school – because safety, health and saving a human life come before any algorithm.