The Rector Was a Key Speaker at China - CEEC Conference on Innovation Cooperation

In the period 8-12 September 2026, a delegation from the UNWE, led by the Rector Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov, participated in China - CEEC Conference on Innovation Cooperation, held in the cities of Ningbo and Nanjing, China. The delegation included Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maria Vodenicharova, Vice-Rector for Research, Prof. Dr. Hristina Nikolova, Vice-Dean of the UNWE Economics of Infrastructure Faculty and Head of the UNWE Economics of Transport and Energy Department; and Prof. DSc. Georgy Chankov, Director of the UNWE Europe-China Research Centre. The Forum was held under the motto A Decade of Innovation, Building the Future Together and was dedicated to the development of scientific, technological, and innovation cooperation between China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov opened the second part of the Conference and was the keynote speaker at the session and roundtable entitled China - CEEC Innovation Cooperation Think Tank Roundtable. He presented UNWE’s position and role in the development of international academic and scientific cooperation, placing emphasis on the importance of partnerships between the universities and the research institutions from China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The Rector highlighted the role of our university as an active participant in the international academic dialogue and as an institution with the potential to contribute to the development of scientific, educational, and innovation cooperation between China and Europe.

The programme included discussions in the fields of AI and robotics with a major focus placed on the development of international partnerships, joint research, the transfer of knowledge and technology and building of sustainable innovation ecosystems. The Forum also addressed the interaction between the universities, research organizations and the business, as well as the necessity to develop joint research, technology transfer and the training of highly qualified professionals.

The participation of UNWE representatives in the plenary sessions and thematic discussions dedicated to the current trends and good practices in the fields of innovation, AI and robotics provided an opportunity not only to follow the current directions in the development of higher education, research and innovation, and to become acquainted with practices and models for interaction between the academic sector, public institutions and the business, but also to expand the international contacts, develop joint initiatives and projects, and deepen the academic and scientific cooperation with partners from China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

This year’s edition of the Forum marked ten years since the beginning of the China-Central and Eastern European Countries /CEEC/ innovation cooperation framework. More than 450 representatives of government institutions, diplomatic missions, universities, research organizations, representatives of the business sector and young specialists in science and technology from China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe participated in the Conference and a large number of cooperation agreements were signed.