04.05.2026
The International Conference of Young Scientists, founded by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Grigorii Vazov, in his capacity as Dean of the Faculty of Finance and Accounting at the University of National and World Economy, held the 20th edition in November 2025. The Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” participated as a partner of the conference for the second time.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Atanas Georgiev took part in the Program Committee, while the Organizing Committee included Assoc. Prof. Dr. Radostin Vazov, a participant since the very beginning of the conference, and Prof. Dr. Nadya Velinova-Sokolova, who chaired a panel. Assoc. Prof. Vazov has participated in various roles in all previous editions of the conference. This year, he presented a paper titled “An Agent-Based Framework with Nonlinear Copula Graphs for Modeling Intergenerational Risk in Pension Systems”.
In addition, four PhD students, four undergraduate and graduate students, and two assistant lecturers presented papers covering a wide range of topics and employing methodological approaches that allow for replication.
PhD student Stefania Ilieva from the program “Finance, Financial Analysis and Financial Management” presented a paper titled “Corporate Tax Planning in the Context of Euro Adoption: Challenges and Opportunities”. The paper is notable for its systematic overview of the challenges associated with joining the euro area.
PhD student Konstantin Georgiev from the program “Applied Econometrics and Economic Modeling” presented “Hybrid Trading Models on the U.S. Stock Market in the Context of Business Development Companies”. The paper demonstrates that it is possible to develop a hybrid trading model that achieves higher returns with lower risk compared to a dividend reinvestment model.
PhD student Maria Lazarova from the “Business Administration” program, an entrepreneur and researcher, presented “The Creative Industry as a Mediator for Sustainable Development in Bulgaria and the European Union”. The paper argues that the creative industry acts as a link between the economy, society, and governance, and provides practical tools for sustainable policies and business practices.
PhD student Tsvetana Yaneva, in collaboration with Chief Assist. Prof. Dr. Kiril Velichkov, presented “The Learning Organization through the Lens of Organizational Agility and Organizational Learning”. The study finds that the effect of organizational learning is approximately 25% stronger than that of organizational agility in shaping respondents’ assessment of a learning organization.
Assistant James Osondu presented results from an empirical study among various stakeholder groups seeking to answer the question: “What are the prerequisites for the implementation of artificial intelligence in education (online learning)?”.
The Faculty of Economics and Business Administration aims to engage students in research-based learning and to motivate them to conduct research, participate in conferences, and publish their work. Two undergraduate and two graduate students also took part in the conference.
Konstantin Markov (3rd year, “Business Administration”) presented a topic derived from the activities of one of his companies: “Dynamics of Risky Imports in Bulgaria under the European Regulation on Deforestation Prevention”. He represents the so-called regtech entrepreneurship, which helps companies comply with regulations.
Deyan Yalamov (2nd year, “Business Administration”) presented “From Curiosity to Competitive Advantage: Attitudes and Practices in the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Bulgarian Enterprises”. The paper is notable for its use of the NEAR operator in the Web of Science search console, which is not available among the standard advanced search operators used in literature reviews. It finds that experimentation as a driver for AI adoption has intensified with the emergence of large language models, while efficiency and rationality remain statistically at similar levels. The study also identifies rapidly growing Bulgarian AI applications and provides examples based on in-depth interviews with managers in the country.
Nadya Denkova from the Master’s program “Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer” presents an analysis titled “Institutional Patent Applications by Academic Institutions in Bulgaria (1990–2025)”. The topic and its findings are of practical importance for the development of strategies and rules for the commercialization of research and development and technology transfer in universities, processes for which funding has been secured through the Fund of Funds. Ms. Denkova also assisted Prof. Nag from Rutgers University, USA, during his lectures at the Faculty in the 2024/2025 academic year.
Olga Leonova is a student in the MBA program with a focus on Human Resource Management. She presents an interesting study, “Ukrainian Entrepreneurship in Bulgaria (2020–2025)”. The paper finds that newly established Ukrainian companies now rank first among foreign businesses, surpassing traditional entrepreneurs from Turkey, Greece, and Italy. It analyzes the choice of location for company registration, notably using a comprehensive dataset of all newly registered firms.
The Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” expresses its gratitude to Prof. Dr. Silvia Trifonova, Chair of the Organizing Committee and Vice-Dean for Quality and International Cooperation at the Faculty of Finance and Accounting at the University of National and World Economy.
Congratulations to all participating students, PhD candidates, and faculty members!