The Chief of Staff of NATO Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) Moritz Zimmermann arrives in Bulgaria on November 16, 2023. This is one of his first visits to this post. Zimmermann will visit the Institute “Big data for smart society” (GATE), which from 2022 is NATO’s test centre in the field of big data and artificial intelligence. He will familiarize himself with the high-tech structure of GATE, which the institute will use to provide a range of testing and verification services covering different levels of technological readiness against established European standards.
As part of the DIANA network (a network of test and analysis centres to help find solutions for transatlantic security-critical technologies based on collaboration between industry, start-up companies and academia), GATE will host innovators from across the Alliance to test their developments for evaluation, validation and verification purposes.
During his visit, Moritz Zimmermann will also hold a bilateral meeting with the director of GATE, Prof. Silvia Ilieva, and her team. The concrete steps GATE is taking to fulfil its mission of bridging science, industry and society, which fits with DIANA’s vision, will be discussed. Future plans will also be outlined for how GATE’s role as a NATO test centre will contribute to our national priorities, such as bridging the gap in the technological pace of development between individual Allies in the Alliance.
The program of Moritz Zimmermann’s visit to Bulgaria also includes his participation in the Conference on Innovations in the Defense Industry, organized on November 16, at 9:30 a.m., in the Military Club of the Defense Institute “Prof. Tsvetan Lazarov”, the other element of DIANA in Bulgaria.
The visits and the conference are an opportunity to present the benefits for companies, start-ups and entrepreneurs of participation in DIANA. In addition to raising the prestige of Bulgaria as a reliable ally, the establishment of a NATO test centre in the field of big data and artificial intelligence in the country has the potential to attract new investments and provide Bulgaria with access to the latest technologies throughout the Alliance. Bulgaria’s participation in DIANA also guarantees the freedom and security of Bulgarian citizens, as well as those in the other 30 NATO member states.