The American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria (AmCham) in partnership with the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration (FEBA) at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" and Technical University - Sofia are organizing the AmCham Hackathon 2024.

The initiative has several goals: contribution of the business association through the expertise of its members to bring the knowledge obtained in higher schools closer to the practical features and needs of business; engaging students in solving specific business cases; display of good practices from established companies operating in Bulgaria; retention of students in the country and the possibility of subsequent engagement with the programs of the universities, as well as the possibility of finding professional development in the companies participating in the Hackathon.

The project was initiated, conceptualized, and organized by AmCham member companies, which for years have been among the most active in the Human Capital and Education Committee, with a leading role: IBM Bulgaria, Kamenitza AD, HR Consulting Partners, Adecco Bulgaria, Jobtiger, Moto-Phoe, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners.

AmCham Hackathon 2024

AmCham Hackathon 2024 started on 19/01/2024. Until 04/02/2024, students from both universities will be able to register for inclusion in teams.

The official opening will be on 12/02/2024 at the Center for Excellence of the Technical University of Sofia. Students will be assigned to teams to work on specific case studies for three weeks. During all this time, they will be able to count on the support of their mentor from AmCham member companies, professors from both universities, as well as resources with information and knowledge.

The student teams will present their case solutions to a jury on 27-28.02.2024, and the Final award ceremony will take place on 29.02.2024, hosted by the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration of SU "St. Kliment Ohridski".

The target group of the Hackathon are students from the 3rd and 4th year and students from the master's programs at Technical University and the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at SU. For Technical University the focus is on students in the programs "Engineering", "Software Engineering", "Telecommunications", "Artificial Intelligence", "Cyber Security", "Informatics”, "Data Processing", "Automotive Electronics", "Green Energy and RES". For the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, students are targeted in the bachelor's programs "Economics and Finance", "Accounting, Finance and Digital Applications", "Business Administration", and the master's programs "Economics and Finance", "Digital Marketing", "Management and Entrepreneurship", “Artificial Intelligence for Business and Finance”, “Gamification”, the AMBA-accredited MBA program, and other master's programs.

Students can register for the Hackathon by this registration form.

All about AmCham Hackathon 2024 can be found here.

Messages from the leaders of the initiative

"With this initiative, we are building on and continuing the AmCham Education Program, which we held in 2022 at the NBU and the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration of SU "St. Kliment Ohridski". We believe that through this hackathon and the specific case studies that the students will work on, we will successfully weave what we have learned into practice, new solutions will be generated for the participating companies, and the mentors from the companies will share and exchange their knowledge and experience with the students. Both sides - the students participating in the Hackathon and the mentors from the companies will challenge; both sides will learn from the other; both sides will take a few steps closer to the other. We believe that this symbiosis will be an interesting and engaging way of interaction between businesses, universities, and students. All countries will enrich themselves, accumulate and create knowledge that will be extremely useful for their development. I am happy that this initiative was proposed and implemented by members of the American Chamber of Commerce, and I am grateful for the partnership with the two higher schools", shared Zlatina Kushkieva, Co-chair of the Human Capital and Education Committee at AmCham.

"For Technical University - Sofia, it is an extraordinary honor and privilege to be part of this hackathon, which will give students a very interesting and attractive way to learn. TU-Sofia has traditions in working together with business and the entire team of teachers is very happy to partner with the American Chamber of Commerce and the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration of Sofia University. We hope that this is only the beginning of a wonderful collaboration, and dreams and possibilities have no limits!" - commented the colleagues from Technical University - Sofia.

"The partnership between the academy and business is in the DNA of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration from the very beginning - in the early 90s. We work with foreign and Bulgarian companies - they give lectures, provide case studies, and solve problems. With AmCham, we deepen our partnership in the field of human capital management and the use of new technologies. I hope that connecting our students with those from the Technical University - Sofia within the framework of the Hackathon will lead not only to more interesting solutions but also to real new companies", shared Assoc. Prof. Todor Yalamov, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration of SU "St. Kliment Ohridski".

The American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria (AmCham Bulgaria) has been the voice of the Transatlantic Economy in Bulgaria for over 29 years. It unites over 330 American, multinational and Bulgarian companies with a proven reputation.

The Chamber is a member of the Association of American Chambers of Commerce in Europe, and is a partner of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington. Supports the Three Seas Initiative since 2019.