The International Business Conference on Science and Business For Smart Future, organized by the Faculty of International Economics and Administration, was held at Varna Free University on 22 and 23 June 2018.

In the presence of dozens of representatives of business and scientific circles, students and guests, the start was given by the Vice–Rector for Scientific Research of Varna Free University, Prof. Pavel Pavlov, PhD.

He welcomed the participants in the conference on behalf of Prof. Anna Nedyalkova, D.Sc. - President of  VFU and on his own behalf presented the latest projects of the University in the field of circular economy, the new master’s degree programme in entrepreneurship, which is implemented jointly with Silicon Valley mentors, as well as the forthcoming participation of the university in the summit meeting between the government leaders of China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (16 + 1). "Today's conference is only part of a series of events that launches the university into a new orbit," Prof. Pavlov said.

The conference on Science and Business for SMART Future aims to stimulate cooperation between academic and scientific circles on the one hand and the business on the other, which would help increase trust between them and the application of research and scientific achievements in practice. Some of the topics presented at the conference were related to the latest trends in data science, data analysis, artificial intelligence, natural user interfaces, semantic technologies, modern marketing and neuromarketing. Other highlights are the existing good practices and joint projects implemented thanks to the effective interaction between the business and the representatives of science.

The first day of the conference, with a focus on Data Science for Business, was organized in four main discussion panels: Partnerships between Universities and Business, Data Science to Support Business, Data Science in the Maritime Industry and Necessary Skills for Professional Realization in the Field of Data Science.

Henrik Nordmark, head of the Data Scientists team at the English company Profusion, a company that is the real link between the highlights of the two days of the conference, showing possible dynamic "destructive" business changes, namely how a digital marketing firm is transforming into data analysis company and at the same time how it continues to develop in both directions. During the first panel on the connection between university and business, the successful dual system between business and universities in Hungary were presented by Marta Seebauer (Obuda, Hungary), the practices of successful partnerships of ADASTRA within ADASTRA ACADEMY in Bulgaria by Zahari Barbov; Prof. Rositsa Marinova presented the specifics of the interaction of Concordia University of Edmonton with research funds in Canada. The Dean of the Faculty of International Economics and Administration, Assoc. Prof. Eleonora Tankova,  presented the key new partnership of VFU with the Bulgarian Entrepreneurship Center (BEC) and the Interculture Foundation for the implementation of a master's degree programme in Entrepreneurship at VFU, where 30 scholarships will be provided with the support of Larry Biehl, owner of Interculture Foundation. The panel moderator Assoc. Prof. Ralitsa Zhekova (Director of RAPIV - Regional Agency for Entrepreneurship and Innovation) presented an international project for women entrepreneurship, which will be implemented in the coming months. One of the women entrepreneurship centres under the project will start functioning in the autumn of 2018 at Varna Free University.

During the Data Science for Business panel, personal practices were shared by Dr Arthur Kordon (Kordon Consulting) about optimization of Dow Chemicals (USA), Mariana Damova, PhD (Mozaika) - about using semantic technology to extract business information, Ilan Fridman (Profusion Media, Essex University ) about marketing purposes, Valentin Mihov (Santiment) - in the field of of FinTech providing services to investors, Aleksander Georgiev (SmartSoft) using machine learning for object recognition in images, Yavor Arnaudov (Compac) about unrealized opportunities from maritime businesses in Bulgaria and Vasil Yordanov (Hansa, master’s degree programme in Data Science at VFU) about  the experience in digitalization in the field of ship design, comparing Bulgaria, Germany and Singapore.

The participants in the panel believe that the engine of digitization and innovation is competition within the industry. The participants in the conference were able to get acquainted with representatives of different communities in Varna (ICT Cluster - Varna, JCI BG, Innovator) who jointly create and develop IT and entrepreneurial ecosystem in the region. They themselves develop innovative ideas in the fields of technology, data mining and analysis, digital marketing, etc.

This is a photo of the attendees who manage and represent the digital and entrepreneurial communities in the region of Varna (Marten Demirev (Innovator), Galin Dinkov (CryptoVarna), Galina Momcheva (ICT Cluster - Varna), Yavor Arnaudov (JCI Bulgaria) and Aleksandar Georgiev (IT ++ Student Club , TU-Varna).

The participants on the first day of the conference met virtually with the representatives of Data Science Society, which was holding at the same time a summer camp in Rila.

The work of the conference was organized in discussion panels with accompanying poster session, cocktail party and master classes. On the two days of the forum, over 150 participants from Bulgaria, USA, UK, Hungary, Lebanon took part. The participants were students of Digital Marketing and Web Design, Web Design, Software Engineering and Management, Data Science, IT managers, HR companies and digital marketing experts. The conference was attended and supported by experts and managers working for the following companies: eInsurance Technology, Kordon Consulting, Profusion Media, ADASTRA,  411 Marketing, Fantastic Services, Quanterall, ICard, Information Services - Varna, Biovoda, Innovative Technologies Bulgaria, Compac, Santiment, TEMPUS2000 , BULPROS,  Titangate,  Sutherland Bulgaria, JFD Brokers, SAP Labs, JCI Bulgaria, Flat Rock Technology, , Mozaika, Konica Minolta, MARTINELI, LeuPay, Netit, SEO Presence, Memofy, State Port Infrastructure - Varna, Civil Engineering Organization: ETH Zurich, Teachforbulgaria, teachers, lecturers, PhD students and secondary students from Vocational School of Economics "Dr Ivan Bogorov", School of Mathematics "Dr. P. Beron", Medical University Varna University of Economics, Technical University - Varna, Plovdiv University, Sofia University, Institute for Oceanology - BAS, Bulgarian Institute of NeoReichian Analytical Psychotherapy, Concordia University of Edmonton (Canada), University of Essex (UK), OBUDA University (Hungary).

The second day of the conference was dedicated to modern marketing, neuromarketing, the role of GDPR on digital marketing, requirements for digital marketing specialists and master classes in  Content Marketing and SEO Optimization. The participants, mostly Digital Marketing and Web Design students, PhD students, business representatives and universities, took part in several discussion panels.

In the context of the branding of the region of Varna, Prof. Galya Gercheva, D.Sc. - Rector of Varna Free University "Chernorizets Hrabar" awarded the certificates to the scholarship holders of the VFU scholarship programme I will Study and I will Succeed In Bulgaria.  Representatives of the Student Council wished the scholarship holders informally to be among the panelists of our next conferences.

During the first discussion panel Digital Marketing in Favour of the City, with moderator Ivaylo Georgiev, Ivan Dimitrov - co-founder of App Lighthouse took part. The company develops the Lighthouse application that uses beacon technology and enables residents and visitors of Varna to get acquainted with more than 250 tourist sites by getting information directly into their mobile device while passing near them.

Silvia Nikolova, Director of Customer Services at 411 Marketing, shared practices to promote small and medium-size businesses by creating, optimizing and managing corporate websites in the United States.

Velina Velinova, representative of the Municipality of Varna, presented the successful participation of the municipality in the URBACT III project Interactive Cities. The project has ended with the creation of a marketing strategy for popularizing the city of Varna through digital and social media, containing specific guidelines for improving communication management in the city through the development of interactive platforms and the use of user-generated content.

Antoaneta Petkova presented the experience of the digital marketing team at the Department of Informatics and Economics in the studies under the URBACT project on the positioning of Varna in the social networks (2017-2018), positioning of municipalities (regional brands), as well as studies on topics, related to open city data provided by ICT Cluster - Varnato the mayor of Varna to create an open data portal of Varna (March 2018).

Strong interest aroused the presentation of Assoc. Prof. Galina Momcheva on Neuromarketing and its application as a guideline for the development of user interfaces and improvement of consumer experience. At the conference, 25 participants expressed their willingness to attend an additional Neuroscience course, which will be held every Saturday in July, 2018 at VFU. The discussion was also attended by M. Zhelezov, a PhD student of the Medical University who will be the main lecturer in the course. After the panel, Yavor Arnaudov (Compac Ltd) offered to provide the hardware needed to implement the course.

Veselina Spasova, PhD drew attention with presentation on the influence of GDPR on business. She outlined examples of the application of GDPR requirements in digital marketing in relation to the European legislation on the protection of personal data and the use of electronic services data. Upcoming and ongoing trainings on the subject can be accessed via gdpr.vfu.bg. 

In the discussion panel Skills in the Field of Digital Marketing, representatives of some of the most famous companies providing digital services in Varna - Fantastic Services, 411 Marketing, Sutherland, Serpact and FlatRock Technology - took part.

Veselina Spasova, PhD presented the training opportunities provided by the two related master’s degree programmes in Web Design and Digital Marketing and Web Design - the similarities and the differences between them, the reasons for the existence of the two, seemingly overlapping specialties, as well as the different directions for career opportunities which the programmes provide for the graduates.

Dimi Ilieva (Marketing Director,Fantastic Services) and Yoanna Dimova ( HR Supervisor, Fantastic Services),  revealed Fantastic Services's vision of what they expect from the digital business development and what requirements the candidates who have decided to pursue a career in this field have to meet .

Milen Sotirov (Training Manager of 411 Marketing, who has graduated in the first class of the master’s degree programme in Web Design at VFU) talked about for which positions the companies employ specialists, as well as the requirements for each of them. He presented the practice of the company to work with universities and schools, as well as the opportunities for internship.

HR specialists from Sutherland (Iva Chestimenova) and FlatRock Technology (Penka Toteva) presented the opportunities that the companies offer for career development from the lowest to the highest stage of professional realization and the qualities they are looking for in the job candidates.

Digital marketing companies have agreed on the idea that they are already employing specialists for virtual work in their companies and they think there is nothing to prevent them from hiring students for virtual internships. All participants in the panels believe in the importance of education in their respective spheres, but they also value the desire for self-improvement and development, offering innovative ideas, teamwork and continuous learning.

The conference attendees welcomed the master classes in digital marketing with a great interest.

Inspiring was the story of Nikola Minkov (creator and manager of Serpact) for his development as a SEO specialist from a beginner enthusiast to the owner of a successful digital marketing company and his participation as a lecturer at European and world conferences. The Technical SEO master class gave an up-to-date look and guidance on how to position the website in digital space, taking into account the constantly changing algorithms for ranking search engine results.

The attending experts from Serpact and from the Department of Informatics and Economics at VFU in the area of ​​digital marketing discussed partnerships both in creating conditions and supporting the practical skills of students from the master's degree programme in Digital Marketing and Web Design, as well as on research topics.

The participants discussed and communicated formally and informally in all panels on both days of the forum. To report on the outcome of the business conference, students have created key success indicators in the form of a BI solution project.

During the cocktail party, the winners of the poster session were announced, namely: Neli Chakarova (master’s degree programme in Data Science), second place Memofy (first also at the StartUp Weekend Varna 2018) and third place for Mohamed Fakredin who is from Lebanon (PhD student of VFU). 

Models of the FASHION CREATIVE GAMES co-production made by students of Informatics and Computer Science (Boris Georgiev, Georgi Evlogiev) and students of Fashion Design (Evelina Doychinova) were presented during the cocktail party. They are already definitely the Smart Clothes core, which Varna Free University is ready to develop in combination with eHealth.

Sylvia Boncheva from Quanterall joined the second edition of FASHION CREATIVE GAMES with e-jewelry models.