On April 24, 2026, the Ministry of Innovation and Growth hosted a working meeting dedicated to NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) programme. The forum was organized by the Ministry of Innovation and Growth to foster collaboration between Sofia Tech Park, in its future role as a DIANA Regional Accelerator, and Bulgaria’s Centers of Excellence and Centers of Competence working in the field of dual-use technologies.
The meeting brought together representatives of Bulgaria’s Centers of Excellence and Centers of Competence that had expressed their willingness to join the DIANA ecosystem as partners, providing mentoring support and access to research infrastructure. Among the participants were representatives of Sofia Tech Park, the Center of Excellence UNITe, the Center of Competence QUASAR, the Center of Competence HITMOBIL, the National Center of Excellence in Mechatronics and Clean Technologies, the Center of Competence Blue Crystal, the Center of Competence MIRACle, and the Center of Competence Leonardo da Vinci.
The meeting was opened by Deputy Minister of Innovation and Growth Borislav Bankov, who presented the development of the NATO DIANA initiative in Bulgaria and the role of the country’s research centers in building the national innovation ecosystem. This was followed by a presentation of Sofia Tech Park’s vision for its future role as a Regional Accelerator within the DIANA programme.
The Center of Excellence UNITe was represented by Prof. Krassen Stefanov, who introduced the participants to the Center’s scientific research infrastructure and catalog of services. During the presentations, representatives of the participating organizations showcased their expertise, scientific developments, technological solutions, and accumulated experience in the field of dual-use technologies. Among the main topics of discussion were innovations in defense, the potential of dual-use technologies, and opportunities for building horizontal links between research centers in the context of security and defense.
One of the main outcomes of the initiative was the development and presentation of a comprehensive “Catalog of Expertise and Laboratory Capacity for Dual-Use Technologies,” which brings together information on the available scientific expertise, laboratory infrastructure, and services offered by the participating organizations. The catalog paves the way for more effective cooperation between scientific organizations, the business community, and the defense sector, as well as for the more active integration of Bulgarian research centers into the NATO DIANA ecosystem.