Another stage: RTIT project meeting in Sofia

Reports from the regions and focus on further transnational cooperation

16.12.2025

The EU Interreg project RTIT met in Sofia to evaluate the ongoing pilot activities, strengthen cross-border cooperation and plan the next steps for the duration of the project. The project is thus entering the home straight just 6 months before the end of the project.

The most recent project meeting of the RTIT consortium took place in Sofia and resulted in significant progress for the transfer of research, technology and innovation. The focus was on the validation of central tools and the professional exchange with regional innovation stakeholders.

An initial focus was on the further development and validation of project-related tools. These include instruments for research, technology and innovation transfer, design management and the establishment of sustainable knowledge networks. The participants worked together to optimize these tools in order to further improve their applicability in the partner institutions.
Another important part of the program was the professional exchange on the promotion of STEM skills. During a visit to the interactive science center Museico, the project partners were able to experience innovative approaches to science education and discuss how such formats can be adapted for different target groups.

The meeting was rounded off with a visit to Sofia Tech Park, one of Bulgaria's central innovation hubs. There, the participants gained insights into current developments in the local innovation ecosystem and held discussions with experts from research and industry. A particular highlight was the visit to the European high-performance computer "Discoverer", which impressively demonstrated the importance of modern supercomputing infrastructure for research and development. Following a comprehensive upgrade, the "Discoverer+" now has a powerful combination of petascale HPC and modern AI systems. The system combines thousands of CPU cores, large high-speed memory capacities and newly integrated GPU-based AI infrastructure, which is specially designed for computationally intensive analysis, modeling, simulation and training of complex AI models. This makes Discoverer+ one of the central European hubs for data-driven research and high-performance computing. Thanks to the upgrade, Discoverer+ is not only a hub for academic research, but also a strategic tool for industry, start-ups and the public sector. With the expanded AI focus, the system becomes a driving force for innovation - especially in the areas of AI, simulation and data-driven research. Discoverer+ is also an important component of the planned BRAIN++ AI center at Sofia Tech Park: The project envisages a further expansion of the supercomputer to "Discoverer++" as well as the establishment of a center that provides AI usage, training and consulting for business and public administration.

With the meeting in Sofia, the RTIT project has taken another important step towards a more effective European innovation and transfer landscape. The knowledge gained will flow directly into the next and final phase of the project.

Find out what the implementation looks like through individual activities - on the RTIT project website or LinkedIn RTIT