National Doctoral School on Open Science 2026

📅 Date: 12 - 14 June 2026

🏁 Start: 14:00 h

📍 Location: 5, James Bourchier Blvd. 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria
     UNITe, Sofia University

🎯 Format: In-person

🧑‍🚀 Participants: PhDs and early-stage researchers

🎤 Working Language: Bulgarian/English

The event is organised within the framework of the Pilot Program for Capacity Building of Higher Education Institutions and Research Organizations for the Creation and Use of Research Data through the Principles of Open, Responsible and Citizen Science, funded by the Ministry of Education and Science and coordinated by the Institute of Mathematics and Informatics at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

Programme

12 June 2026 (Friday)

14:00 Welcome coffee and registration

14:30 – 15:00 Opening

Prof. Eng. Senya Terzieva-Zhelyazkova, PhD, Deputy Minister of Education and Science

Acad. Prof. Tony Spassov, Dr.
Vice-rector of Research and Project Development
Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski"

Prof. Maya Stoyanova, PhD, Dean of FMI, Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski"


Partners in the Pilot Programme:

  • Prof. Krasen Stefanov – UNITe Centre of Excellence
  • Assoc. Prof. Krasimira Ivanova – IMI-BAS
  • Vanya Grashkina – NACID
  • Teodora Gandova - NGO Links


Moderator: Prof. D.Sc. Ana Proykova

15:00 – 16:30 Session 1

15:00 – 15:15 Open and Responsible Science – key policies and priorities, Ministry of Education and Science

15:15 – 16:15 Core Principles of Open Science, Dr Jordan Iliev, NACID

16:30 – 18:30 Session 2

16:15 – 16:30 Coffee break

16:30 – 17:30 Self-assessment tool to understand and apply open science, Assist. Prof. Dr Albena Antonova, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” Discussion

17:30 – 18:30 Collaboration under the K-Trio Project, Assist. Prof. Dr Albena Antonova, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”

19:00 Dinner

13 June 2026 (Saturday)

09:00 – 11:15 Session 3 

09:00 – 10:00 FAIR Principles and the Data Lifecycle, Dr Nikola Tulechki, Data for Good

10:00 – 11:15 Open-source tools, scientific software and AI tools. What can I do with my data?, Prof. D.Sc. Peter Stanchev, IMI-BAS

11:15 – 11:30 Coffee break

11:30 – 13:15 Session 4

11:30 – 13:15 Artificial intelligence for search and research work in academic libraries, Dr Plamen Miltenov, Research Institute at the University of Economics – Varna

13:15 – 14:15 Lunch

14:15 – 16:15 Session 5

14:15 – 15:15 Preprints of scientific articles shared on specialised open platforms,

Dr Plamen Miltenov, Research Institute at the University of Economics – Varna

15:15 – 16:15 Open Access models and the legal framework for secondary publication, Dr Ana Lazarova, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”

16:15 – 16:30 Coffee break

16:30 – 19:30 Session 6

16:30 – 19:30 Collaboration under the BriGRETE project Bridging the Gap: Research Ethics Training and Education: Research ethics and integrity. Management, organisation, and sharing of research data. Policies of scientific journals on the use of AI in publishing activities, Assoc. Prof. Dr Valentina Kaneva, Faculty of Philosophy, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”; Assoc. Prof. Dr Temenuzhka Zafirova-Malcheva, Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”

19:30 – 20:30 Dinner

14 June 2026 (Sunday)

09:00 – 11:00 Session 7

09:00 – 10:00 Data Management Plans (DMP) – Horizon Europe requirements, practical tools, repositories and long-term preservation, Magdalena Szuflita-Żurawska, Gdańsk University of Technology, Poland

10:00 – 11:00 Reproducibility and Impact of Scientific Results, Assoc. Prof. Milena Dobreva, University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom

11:00 – 11:15 Coffee break

11:15 – 12:15 Session 8

11:15 – 12:15 Research Visibility, Alternative Bibliometric Databases and Platforms, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Valeriya Simeonova, Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, UNITe

12:15 – 13:15 Lunch

13:15 – 15:30 Session 9

13:15 – 15:00 Citizen Science. Open Science Communities: Networks, Partnerships and Career Development, Assoc. Prof. Dr Galina Momcheva, IMI-BAS

15:00 – 15:30 Discussion, Moderator: Teodora Gandova, NGO Links

15:30 – 15:45 Coffee break

15:45 – 18:00 Session 10

15:45 – 16:45 Science Communication, Petar Teodosiev, BG Science

16:45 – 18:00 Mentoring Programme