GATE is one year old now. Its goals have been achieved and some even exceeded.

The Institute has put in place its policies and operational procedures, has defined its research and innovation strategy, has increased research excellence, attractiveness and reputation of Sofia University. The GATE team published in conferences and journals with high impact established new links and collaborations and promoted a strong recruitment campaign to attract new researchers and reverse the brain drain. GATE has been also distinguished by Big Data Value Public-Private Partnership as one of the best cases of most successful application of Big Data at EU level, that is a recognition of the impact that GATE is making already in Europe.

GATE has significantly contributed to the increased capability to compete successfully for national, EU and internationally competitive research funding (92000 EUR secured and 9 competitive funding applications submitted in 2019-2020). It has also contributed to the SMART Specialisation Strategy of Bulgaria – in particular, new projects with high societal impact started in Future Cities and Digital Health, also contributing to fight the COVID-19 crisis, there have been many exchanges with actors in the national priority sectors (e.g., Industry, ICT) and participation in high-level working groups for defining scientific and innovation priorities of national programmes, including national AI strategy.

Over the last year, the project demonstrated huge potential for success, as proven by its excellent management, research results and impact on the national landscape attained to date.