Meet the Team

Roumen is CEO of Virtech and Co-CEO of Innova Living, a professor and former UNESCO Chairholder. His expertise spans the Internet of Things, Smart City applications, AI, Big Dataand the use of Living Labs methodologies and tools for creating innovative products and services. He has trained in the USA, UK, the Netherlands, among other countries. Roumen is a member of the Management Board of ACTIVAGE.ORG and part of AIOTI, where he serves as Co-Chair of the Health Working Group. He has contributed to over 100 EU Framework Programme, including ENACT, HealthyW8, WE-TRANSFORM, AI4EU and ACTIVAGE. He is author or co-author of more than 100 publications.

Full Professor in Computer Sciences specializing in Educational Technologies, Digital Libraries, and Human-Computer Interaction. Managing Director of Centre of Excellence “UNITe” at Sofia University. Head of IT Department with expertise in Technology Enhanced Learning and Semantic Knowledge Systems. 15+ EC RTD projects experience.

Executive Director managing operations and coordinating international project activities, including R&D projects administration and financial management. Proficient in EU funded projects management. Former head of unit at the National Statistical Institute with specialization from ISPC/Washington DC.

Alex is CTO of Virtech with 30+ years of experience in software industry. He has led many industrial projects related to development large enterprise systems operating with databases containing over 100 millions of records, several projects for mobile technology systems, a system for audiovisual digital rights protection, expertise in development of platforms for data acquisition from remote sensing devices, interactive TV, etc. He has been involved also in several European RTD Projects, such as: including ENACT, HealthyW8, WE-TRANSFORM, AI4EU and ACTIVAGE.

Alex is an eminent scholar in the fields of AI/ML, Smart Systems, Signal Processing, and Emotion Recognition. He is affiliated to: Institute of Mathematics and Informatics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences; Center of Excellence in Informatics and ICT; University, SRH Berlin University as an Academic Head of Big Data and AI; University of California Berkeley as a Lead Lecturer; University of Miami; and University of Wisconsin Stevens Point. Alex has an extensive business background as well. He is a Co-Founder of Innovatia Valley, a Digital Innovation Hub. In the past, he was a Product Manager for Gracenote, Emeryville California, a consultant for Labcyte, San Jose, California, and Stealth Media Labs, Chicago, Illinois, etc. Dr. Iliev has been involved in a number of projects of Virtech, such as: Horizon Europe HealthyW8, H2020 BOWI; H2020 ACTIVAGE, H2020 Cross4Health, EIT Climate KIC TRANSFORM H2020 WE-TRANSFORM, and others.

Boris is a seasoned expert in applied mathematics and modeling with wide international and domestic experience. He has served as CEO of ALIENO Hypercar and KIBERTRON. Today, he is Chief Operational & Social Innovation Manager at the Post-Covid-19 Association and leads Social Innovation in the Horizon Europe projects HealthyW8 and ENACT, as well as co-leading Innova Living (products: Active@Home, NutriWell). Boris is also a leader in INNOBIZ Academy, developing the “Love Social Cell” methodology to integrate academia, business, and community through innovative infrastructures and user-centered services, piloting holistic approaches to Post-Covid and non-communicable diseases. He’s also developed frameworks to attract public-private and fintech/blockchain investment into digital social innovation and smart energy communities.

Chavdar is a Bulgarian hematologist and public health advocate, known for his expertise in immune response, vaccine science, and post-COVID recovery issues. He has spoken on the necessity of mucosal vaccines that stimulate IgA antibodies and T lymphocytes to better counter the evolving strains of COVID-19. Dr. Botev contributes to health policy discussions and media outreach, helping bridge scientific insights and public understanding. He combines clinical practicing experience with involvement in scientific research and public health dialogue, with a focus on designing strategies that meet the ongoing challenges of COVID-19 and long-term immunity.

Hristo is an eminent scholar in the fields of Quantum Computing, AI/ML, Quantum computing: quantum annealing, problem embedding, scalability, performance tuning; Combinatorial algorithms: graph algorithms, discrete optimization, graph partitioning; Machine learning: unsupervised learning, tensor networks, nonnegative tensor factorization; Bioinformatics: protein structure prediction, protein classification, computational genomics. He is also affiliated to: Institute of Information and Communication Technologies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences; Center of Excellence in Informatics and ICT. Hristo Djidjev received the M.Sc. degree in applied mathematics and the Ph.D. degree in computer science from Sofia University, Bulgaria. He used to be a lead researcher with the Information Sciences (CCS-3) Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Before joining LANL as a Scientist, he worked as an Assistant Professor at Rice University and as a Senior Lecturer at The University of Warwick. He is also currently a Research Adjunct Professor at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.

Miglena is the Founder & CEO of LawMindedAI, a deep-tech venture dedicated to bridging law and technology for trustworthy, compliant AI. She is a seasoned corporate, IP & regulatory lawyer and mediator since 2005, with dual backgrounds in competition and innovation law. She obtained her law degree from the University of National and World Economy, Sofia, and an LL.M. in European Law from the University of Hamburg. Over two decades she’s advised startups, scale-ups, SMEs, and large companies—including in digital, media, financial services & tech—on regulatory compliance, IP/IT law, M&A, and competition law. Her current focus is on EU AI regulation, RegTech & building audit-ready frameworks that help organizations embed trust, accountability and governance into innovation.

Pavlina is the chairwoman and co-founder of the association “Convalescent Plasma for Treatment of COVID-19”, registered at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 for public benefit. She has been at the forefront of advocating for and organizing national campaigns to promote convalescent plasma treatment, which has been already recognized as a first-line method in pandemics caused by new and unknown pathogens. She manages all the activities of the association and is a co-author of the Protocol for the domestic treatment of COVID-19 and the Approach to diagnosis and treatment of long COVID. Dr. Michailova is a journalist, MS in environmental protection, the author of 4 books of prose and poetry, and a scriptwriter of documentaries.

Rosalia is the Founder and Developer of the iNNOBIZ1 Ecosystem and Partner Support Network and a Permanent Member of the Secretariat of the iNNOBIZ1 Economic & Social Impact Investment Forum. With an MSc in Innovation and Digital Transformation of the Agribusiness and a strong engineering background, she combines academic knowledge and technical expertise to build sustainable, future-oriented solutions. Dedicated to innovation, sustainable growth, and international collaboration between Bulgaria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein, she has shaped iNNOBIZ1 into a global platform connecting inventors, start-ups, and investors. Under her leadership, the ecosystem is expanding with its flagship solution, the iNNOHub-in-Cube, designed to drive innovative investment projects in healthcare, agribusiness, and sport through transformative innovation and long-term partnerships.