Peter Horrocks CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) is a television executive and former Vice-Chancellor (Chief Executive) of The Open University. He has had a distinguished 33-year career at the BBC, culminating in five years as Director of the BBC World Service. His other roles at the BBC include Editor of the flagship programmes Newsnight and Panorama , Head of Multimedia, Head of Television News and Head of BBC Current Affairs. Horrocks is currently a member of the Content Board of Ofcom , the UK communications regulator, and the Editorial Board of N1 , the leading independent news provider in Serbia and other Western Balkan countries. He is Chairman of One World Media , a London-based non-governmental organisation for media development.

She has been part of the bTV team for more than 17 years. During her career, she has been a reporter, radio reporter, radio host, correspondent, host of special television studios and host of the evening news.

She has covered domestic and foreign policy topics, current events, the activities of the parliament, the government and the presidency. She has conducted extraordinary thematic television studios and interviews on hot news of the day.

She has a master’s degree in philosophy, law, political science, as well as qualifications in journalism and history, and a master’s degree in microbiology.

Victoria Petrova’s classes at Smart Scroll Academy will provide knowledge about the meaning of critical thinking, the path to creating reliable information, how to recognize it and why journalism is more important today than ever.

Mimi Shishkova-Petrova is a public figure with a mission to create content on social networks that encourages critical thinking. Mimi is able to speak in a clear and reasoned way in the language of young people, in order to give direction to the understanding that information should be understood not directly, but according to the context.
‍ She
is also a publisher, lawyer and co-author of the board game “Cards against Bulgarianness”, which helps us to look critically at the superficial understanding of national belonging.
‍ In
2024, Mimi Shishkova received the “Digital Awakener” award in the “Person of the Year” initiative of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee for her active work in promoting democratic values ​​and freedom of speech.
‍ Classes
at Smart Scroll Academy will be dedicated to critical thinking, tools for collecting context and direction for appropriate sources of information on social networks.

Boyko Kazakov is the head of the department for software solutions for electric bicycles at Bosch. The team he leads develops innovative technologies and integrates software into the future of mobility.

Thanks to Boyko Kazakov, students at Smart Scroll Academy will participate in the process from the creation to the testing of electric bicycles. And because of his passion for science fiction and Star Wars, they will experiment with new technologies – constructing lightsabers inspired by the films, as well as building droids and robots.

Boril Obreshkov is the founder and manager of the makerspace “Sofia Creation Station” in Sofia Tech Park , where he is responsible for the development, management and daily operation of the space, ensuring accessibility and the necessary equipment for all members. His work requires experience in electronics, 3D printing, modeling and hardware prototyping to support clients and their projects. He has practical experience in teaching a course in 3D printing and modeling , which allows him to follow the latest trends and technologies in the field. In addition to his management role, Boril Obreshkov participates as a lecturer at scientific and educational events and has been a mentor in various programs , supporting the development of students. He is one of the co-founders of the Balkan Engineering, Tech & Makers Association (BETMA) – an organization aimed at promoting engineering in the Balkan region by creating educational, technological and business opportunities . He believes that social empowerment is the key to a better future and actively works for positive change in the community .

Mina Nesheva is a communications and public relations professional with extensive experience in media relations, stakeholder engagement and campaign management in the government, private and non-governmental sectors. She has held key positions as Communications and Media Relations Officer at the British Embassy in Sofia, where she led communication strategies, organised high-profile events and coordinated ministerial visits. Mina has also managed EU-funded projects for Automotive Cluster Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Association of Employers in Innovative Technologies (BARIT).

Her experience spans strategic communications, crisis management, policy development and international cooperation. Mina is a graduate of King’s College London with a degree in International Relations with a specialization in EU policies, economics and external relations.

Mina Nesheva’s classes at Smart Scroll Academy will be dedicated to the global knowledge that young people need to have in order to have their own critical view of international relations and knowledge of the role of each young person in the global world.

Ruben Lazarev doesn’t just love books – he creates cultural spaces and inspires people to see the world differently. Creator of the iconic “Elephant Bookstore” , he is a man with an unconventional view on communication, self-understanding and the art of communication.

In his classes we will talk about the “elephant in the room” – everything we often don’t notice while we replace reading with scrolling. With Ruben we will discover how to find our calling, how to be authentic in communication and how to develop our teamwork skills.

As a team training specialist, he will teach us how to understand ourselves and others , how to work effectively with the people around us and how to set and achieve common goals .

Expect inspiring meetings, new perspectives and a lot of practical knowledge!

Boyana Avdzhieva is the first Bulgarian actress to win a scholarship to the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in Los Angeles after participating in the first-of-its-kind acting workshop organized by the Institute in Sofia.
‍ Smart
Scroll Academy will be the stage where Boyana will open the door to the meaning of making efforts to make the most daring dreams come true, will provide knowledge on how to communicate live in the age of digital communication to be convincing and emotional.

Dr. Georgi Sharkov is a leading expert in cybersecurity, cyber resilience and software engineering , head of the Cyber ​​Security Laboratory at Sofia Tech Park and director of the European Software Institute – Center Eastern Europe . With over 30 years of experience in managing international software projects and teams , he is an active lecturer in cybersecurity and software process quality at three leading universities in Bulgaria. He was the national cybersecurity coordinator and advisor to the Minister of Defense, and is the main author of the national strategy “Cyber ​​Resilient Bulgaria 2020” . Dr. Sharkov is also among the founders of BASCOM (Bulgarian Association of Software Companies) and has made a significant contribution to the development of information security and digital resilience in Bulgaria and the region.

Victoria Behar is an experienced television producer and news director with a proven track record in the media industry. She has extensive experience as Editor-in-Chief and Executive Producer of bTV Media Group; Strategic Development Manager of Nova Broadcasting Group; Communications Director of the Ministry for the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU 2018; News Director of Bulgaria On Air; Television Producer for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015.

Victoria has a long list of professional qualifications: Journalism in Electronic Media, School of Journalism and Electronic Media, Knoxville TN; Professional Development Program for Media Managers, WBUR Group, Boston MA; CNN International Professional Program, CNN; Marshall Memorial Fellows Program, German Marshall Fund; DesignThinking academy

Vyara Deyanova is an experienced journalist and media entrepreneur with a proven track record in the media industry. She specializes in screenwriting, storytelling, news and feature writing, and communication.
With 20 years of journalistic experience, Vyara has authored numerous interviews, documentaries, and shows for the Bulgarian National Television, Pro.BG, and bTV.

In 2019, Vyara founded “The Brave Stories” – the first Bulgarian platform for short documentaries aimed at social media audiences. “The Brave Stories” received the special “True Stories” award from the largest online portal dir.bg in the “Pure Journalism” competition in 2020.

Vyara holds a HarvardX certificate for “Rhetoric: The Art of Persuasive Writing and Public Speaking”

Denislav Mladenov is a DevOps engineer at the Discoverer petascale supercomputer . He graduated from the National Vocational High School of Computer Technologies and Systems in Pravets with a degree in Systems Programming . He is currently completing his bachelor’s degree in Computer Systems and Networks at the New Bulgarian University . His professional experience is focused on the management, maintenance, configuration and monitoring of large-scale computing environments , cloud infrastructure and data storage systems .

Antoinette Nikolova is a veteran journalist with over 20 years of experience in international journalism. She began her career as a foreign correspondent in Italy and has since worked with leading international news organizations, including Deutsche Welle , News Corp ’s television networks bTV and Sky Italia , RAI , Bulgaria’s NOVA TV and Euractiv . As a long-time EU special envoy and correspondent, Antoinette has covered major political and social events across Europe. She has also served on the board of the Foreign Press Association in Italy, where she has been an active advocate for journalistic integrity and media freedom.

Simeon Karpuzov is a researcher in the Digital Health team at GATE Institute, honored in the Science, Technology and Healthcare category of Forbes 2024’s 30 Under 30. He is the only scientist among the young minds revolutionizing the future with an already registered patent for an innovative scientific discovery for the benefit of people and their health care.

He worked as an engineer at GlobalFoundries – the third largest company in the world for the production of microchips and semiconductor devices. He is part of the GATE team that patented a method and system for monitoring patients through video surveillance.

The invention supports the early detection and prevention of complications due to epileptic seizures. Simeon is also working on a system for real-time detection and response to epileptic seizures, which is being tested on five patients in an epilepsy clinic in the Netherlands, as well as on the study of brain networks in a project related to the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.

Senior Assoc. Prof. Dr. Slavil Peykov is a lecturer at the Department of Genetics at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” and a researcher at the Bioinfotech Laboratory of Sofia Tech Park. After completing his PhD at Heidelberg University in Germany, he gained significant experience in the field of genetic engineering and synthetic biology. Currently, his research is focused on bacterial genomics and mechanisms of antibiotic resistance. In addition to his academic activities, Dr. Peykov is the head of the Bulgarian team in synthetic biology – iGEM Bulgaria.

Radoslav Milchev is an associate professor at the Technical University of Sofia and deputy dean of the Faculty of Industrial Technologies. He is one of the key people behind the development of the new specialty “Intelligent Systems and Artificial Intelligence”, which is offered in both Bulgarian and English.

Over the past two years, he has led the development of this specialty, as well as other innovative areas, such as “Digital Industrial Technologies”, “Industrial Robotics” and “3D Technologies”. In addition, he is responsible for the certification center at the faculty under the Pearson Vue system, which provides internationally recognized certificates.

Radoslav Milchev heads the “Artificial Intelligence and CAD Systems” laboratory, which is located in Sofia Tech Park – the first digital innovation hub in Bulgaria. There, he and his team work on research and development projects related to new technologies.

He is a co-founder and member of the board of directors of the Bulgarian Association for the Development of Knowledge for Information and Communication Technologies.

With over 150 scientific publications and participation in more than 30 national and international projects, Radoslav Milchev is an active researcher and lecturer. Under his guidance, many students and young scientists have successfully defended their diploma theses and doctoral dissertations.

He is a person who not only teaches, but also actively participates in building the future of technology and artificial intelligence in Bulgaria.