GATE Project was presented
The Cluster member Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics at Sofia University (FMI - Sofia University) presented its project GATE in the auditorium of Sofia University on October 7, 2019. FMI is a member of the Cluster Sofia Knowledge City since 2018.
According to Mrs. Maria Gabriel, EC Commissioner, this project will show the potential and traditions of Bulgaria in this field and will be pushing that this potential is transformed into concrete results and opportunities.
"Only by working together we can achieve results and GATE is just that". Prof. Anastas Gerdjikov, the University Rector gave a compass to the managers of the project so that the new center could find the right direction and the best path to applying artificial intelligence and big data for the benefit of the economy and society.
What is GATE?
GATE is a Big Data for the Smart Society project. It will receive 7-year funding from the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 program WIDESPREAD-01-2018-2019 Teaming Phase 2 and will be co-financed by the Bulgarian government as well as industry. The total funding will be 30 million, incl. 50% of the EU. This large strategic project has been rated for financing among the serious competition with over 200 other projects across Europe and is one of the 14 projects that have succeeded.
The initiator and coordinating organization of the project is FMI, and Prof. Silvia Ilieva, who represents the faculty and the university at the General Assembly of the Cluster, is its main coordinator. The implementation of the project has begun, and the Center for Excellence in Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, which was established by a decree of the Council of Ministers, started in early 2019. The project will deepen and strengthen the research capacity of Sofia University and will bring many additional benefits for the economy and society.
Project partners are:
- FMI - Sofia University Kliment Ohridski - Coordinator
- Chalmers University, Sweden
- Chalmers Industrial Technology, Sweden
It is the only such center in Eastern Europe that will be the liaison with the network of 55 Big Data Centers in Western Europe and will play a strategic role in expanding that network and in disseminating best practices and innovative models not only nationally. both regionally and at the European level. The aim of GATE is to develop research capacity and innovative potential and to form a new generation of young scientists capable of applying science to the benefit of society. GATE's research focuses on four areas of significant social importance - future cities, smart government, smart industry, and digital health. These are also the directions that are among the priorities of Cluster Sofia Knowledge City. The center created by the project includes three modern technology laboratories, the first of which is embedded in our cluster strategy:
- modeling of processes in an urban environment (City Living Lab),
- Interdisciplinary Collaboration with Industry (Digital Twin Lab)
- virtual reality and Big Visualization (Open Visualization Lab).
Laboratories will be at the heart of a vibrant ecosystem where innovative ideas will be generated, developed in projects and promoted in effective collaboration with government, industry, academia and community organizations. Through multidisciplinary educational programs at European and world level, GATE will train excellent researchers and professionals in the field of artificial intelligence and big data. An educational lab will support the implementation of new methods for personalized and interactive learning.
