Big Data Value Meetup Sofia was held 14-16 of May 2018 at Inter Expo Center, Sofia. It was organized by BDVe project, BDVA and Mozaika. During three days the European elite in Big data, representatives and leaders of 25 Horizon 2020 projects in Big data from all over Europe gathered to discuss the advances in their activities, future projects and to network. Representatives of the European Commission presented highlights of the priorities for funding on research and innovation in the next programming period. The event was endorsed by the presence of the Bulgarian Ministry of Eudcation and Ministry of Transport, IT and Communication, the Representation of the European Commission in Bulgaria, and a video address from Commissioner Maria Gabriel. About 70% of the participants visited Sofia and Bulgaria for the first time and expressed interest and excitement to return to the country soon. Mozaika, the local organizer, received plenty of positive feedback. This event was first of a series of events to be held throughout Europe with the purpose to create a pan-European ecosystem of Big Data Value practitioners and stakeholders. In this sense it was pioneering. Two days of expert workshops were followed by an open event in which Bulgarian data professionals and stakeholders met with their European colleagues to discuss topics ranging from digital transformation through capacity building in achieving the data economy and principles and practices in data sharing.
The event pictures can be seen here Commissionner Mariya Gabriel’s address can be seen here
