The Institute „Big Data for Smart Society“ (GATE) and NATO’s Crisis Management and Disaster Response Centre of Excellence (CMDR CoE) signed a Framework Collaboration Agreement to strengthen their partnership to promote, facilitate, and cooperate in the fields of emergency and crisis management, resilience, disaster response and security and defence innovation.
In 2022, the GATE Institute was selected as a NATO Test Centre in the area of big data and artificial intelligence as a part of NATO’s Defense Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA). DIANA will source future capabilities from dual-use innovators and create a pipeline that grows and strengthens the transatlantic innovation ecosystem. CMDR CoE’s expertise and projects will provide GATE with invaluable insights into NATO’s latest priorities in the emerging and disruptive technology area and will strengthen GATE’s position as a DIANA Test Centre and in other areas.
The Framework Agreement was signed by the director of GATE Institute – Prof. Sylvia Ilieva and the director of CMDR CoE, Colonel Orlin Nikolov.
Prof. Ilieva highlighted the importance of the collaboration between GATE and CMDR CoE. The Institute’s mission to be a bridge between science, industry and society fits into the larger NATO approach to emerging and disruptive technologies, including CMDR CoE’s work.
GATE’s partnership with CMDR CoE has the potential to contribute to our national priorities, such as bridging the gap in the technological pace of development between individual allies in the Alliance.
Prof. Ilieva highlighted the experience and expertise of the Institute, matching the priority areas of DIANA and CMDR CoE. Among them are the secure exchange of information and the resilience of critical infrastructure. GATE is the initiator of a number of initiatives such as the first Bulgarian data space. It also heads a regional hub to fight disinformation and, as part of its applied research area “Future Cities”, develops innovations to help the effective planning and sustainability of urban infrastructure to improve the quality of life of citizens.