Mariana Vekilska, Founder and Lead Trainer at VAcademy
What is the role of technology in education today, in your view?
One word — defining. The world is changing as rapidly as AI itself is developing — exponentially. And that is precisely why education without technology is doomed to remain in the past, or at least in a world different from the one we live in today. I don’t know whether humanity really divides into three groups — this is the thesis of Plamen Rusev, author of The Capital of Trust — a community that fully trusts technology, a community that completely rejects it, and a community that uses it while preserving the human element. But if I had to choose, I would want to belong to the third group — to achieve quality and speed, while remaining responsible for the content.
Young people are different from us — they are wired differently and think differently because they were born and are growing up in an entirely different environment from the one in which we grew up. It is inadequate to remain clinging to the past and try to apply scholastic methods, tools and concepts of education. We will achieve nothing. We will simply be left behind.
What skills and competencies do students develop thanks to technology?
Precisely that — the ability to concentrate on the content. To use different models while providing the human added value — the ability to learn how to learn.
Technology gives children access to an infinite amount of information, and that is precisely where the challenge lies — learning to filter it, distinguish reliable from unreliable information, and think critically. This is perhaps the most important competence of our time.
And I realize how much more difficult this is than what we were taught — to accept the teacher and the textbook as the sole sources of knowledge.
Children develop adaptability — they quickly become accustomed to new tools, new learning formats and new ways of communicating. Ideally, they also develop the ability to work independently — to set themselves a task, find a resource and reach a solution without someone simply handing them ready-made information.
There is also a downside, which we have to be honest about: skills such as deep and sustained concentration, perseverance when faced with effort, and patience for a slow process of understanding sometimes give way. That is why I believe the role of the teacher does not diminish with technology — it changes, but remains crucial precisely for maintaining this balance. The only issue is that teachers themselves need to be prepared for this as well.
Where does Bulgarian education stand in terms of technology?
Years ago, I interviewed a high-level expert from the Ministry of Education and, during an informal conversation, asked why we had been talking about reform for decades without it actually happening. His answer was: “This is a very conservative system. There is internal and external resistance to change. Genuine reform brings only negatives for those currently in power, while the positives are credited to their successors.”
I realize how right he was. And this puts us in a vicious circle.
But reform is happening anyway. Through the training I conduct for educational professionals — both at the National Center for Professional Development under the Ministry of Education and locally, in schools — I see how mindsets are changing with the change of generations. I see teachers who are fighting for change and are open to new perceptions, including technology and new ways of thinking. I also see the resistance.
And that is exactly where we are — halfway along the road, with an enormous amplitude. There are schools and teachers who experiment and meaningfully integrate tools rather than doing so merely as a formality. And there is the system as a whole, which is still moving more slowly than the reality in which students live.
Infrastructure has improved noticeably in recent years — STEM classrooms, interactive boards, devices, internet access. But infrastructure in itself is not education. The question is not whether there is a tablet in the classroom, but whether the teacher knows how to turn it into a pedagogical tool.
Much of the progress I see is happening thanks to the individual enthusiasm of particular teachers and school principals rather than as a result of a systematic, consistent strategy. And this is precisely the difference between countries that are genuinely advancing in EdTech and countries that invest in devices but not in methodology and in the people who are expected to use them.
What are the most common barriers to implementing technology in education and how can they be overcome?
Lack of familiarity with it. According to Professor Forsyth’s three-year study in secondary education, new technologies are used primarily to support old material and old approaches. This is a sufficiently telling fact about how closed the system is — it is like limiting the use of a computer to the level of a typewriter.
It is not enough for a teacher to know how to open a presentation — they need to know how to restructure their lesson around a new tool.
Resistance, born precisely from unfamiliarity with new technologies, is another enemy of change. The unknown is frightening and makes you cling to what is familiar, what you identify with. But accepting something new and changing yourself is not a sign of retreat or lack of principles. On the contrary — it is a sign of emotional intelligence.
The second barrier is the inertia of the system — the scholastic methods and concepts I mentioned earlier are deeply rooted, while change requires not one-off training but consistent, long-term work.
The third is the regulatory and administrative environment — sometimes well-intentioned measures create unexpected obstacles to innovative learning formats because they have not been designed with actual educational practice in mind and have not been sufficiently refined.
We have a very recent example: Article 114 of the State Budget Act, which prohibits activities outside the premises of all budget-funded organizations. The obvious goal is to achieve budget savings, but the measure also significantly affects the organization of training for educational teams outside the school environment.
It is a fact that public money was being misused for conferences, team-building events and training in exotic destinations. But the Stalinist principle does not lead to anything good — completely cutting off the possibility for school teams to spend two or three days outside the school environment, where they can undergo training while also changing their surroundings and getting some rest, demonstrates a lack of care for people.
At the moment, they are like people who have been scalded. The environment is already toxic — working with adolescents, constantly changing conditions, demanding parents, many of whom have completely abdicated their parental commitments and responsibilities, and on top of that — administrative burdens and new restrictions.
The fourth barrier to the implementation of technology is unequal access — between urban and rural schools and between well-funded and less well-funded institutions.
Overcoming these barriers requires systematic rather than one-off teacher training; a clear national strategy combined with flexibility at the school level; dialogue between the state and private EdTech organizations before new regulations are adopted; and funding directed not only toward hardware, but also toward methodology and people.
How does VAcademy contribute to improving education and implementing technology in education in Bulgaria?
I believe that VAcademy and my own methodology are among the drivers of what is new. We work in an area that I believe is becoming increasingly important: the intersection between technology and human skills.
Technology in itself does not improve education. This happens when teachers and students know how to use it consciously, critically and with a clear purpose.
We work with school principals, teachers, educational professionals, students and parents. We develop skills in effective communication, public speaking, managing tension, authentic presence and teamwork.
We are increasingly incorporating the topic of communication in the age of artificial intelligence — how to use AI as a tool without delegating our own thinking, responsibility and voice to it.
At the heart of my methodology is the principle “State before content”: long before a single word is spoken, communication is already taking place — presence and trust are already being built.
The method connects body, voice, thought and awareness. In a digital environment, this connection is particularly necessary because technology can accelerate the process, but it cannot replace trust, empathy and genuine human contact.
VAcademy is one of the members of EdTech Bulgaria. Why did you decide to join EdTech Bulgaria?
We joined because the future of education cannot be created by individual organizations working in isolation. What is needed is a community in which educational experts, technology companies, educators, institutions and training organizations exchange experience and create workable solutions.
For VAcademy, membership is an opportunity to bring the human perspective into the conversation about technology.
For us, the important question is not only what platforms and tools we will use, but how they change attention, thinking, communication and relationships in schools.
We want to be part of an environment that does not mechanically follow technological trends, but actively participates in creating meaningful standards for their use.
What does EdTech Bulgaria offer organizations, users and Bulgarian education?
I believe EdTech Bulgaria can serve as a bridge between innovation and the real needs of Bulgarian education.
For organizations, it provides a community, partnerships and opportunities for knowledge exchange. This is important because in education there is rarely one universal solution — different competencies are needed: pedagogical, technological, communication and management skills.
For users — schools, teachers, parents and students — such an association can provide better guidance and greater trust. The market offers many products, but not every technological product delivers genuine educational value. Quality, transparency and proven applicability are needed.
For Bulgarian education, EdTech Bulgaria can provide a stronger collective voice — including in dialogue with institutions. This way, good solutions do not remain isolated pilot projects but can be implemented sustainably and on a larger scale.
What does the Bulgarian EdTech ecosystem need most today?
Most of all, it needs a connection with the classroom.
We have good ideas and talented people, but sometimes solutions are created without sufficient involvement from teachers, principals and students who will ultimately have to use them — I see this through my direct communication with them.
We also need more thorough preliminary diagnosis: What problem are we solving? Who are we solving it for? And how will we measure the result?
Digitizing an old and inefficient process does not automatically turn it into an innovation.
What we need most is investment not only in technology, but also in preparing people. Without a confident and motivated teacher, even the best tool remains unused.
What support is missing for EdTech companies in Bulgaria?
There is a lack of mechanisms through which good solutions can find real and large-scale application.
Many companies can develop a product, but struggle to gain access to enough schools where they can test, improve and validate it.
We need unobstructed partnerships with educational institutions, more funding opportunities and longer-term programs.
Access to pedagogical expertise is also important, because good technology does not always mean a good educational product.
There is also a lack of support for measuring impact. EdTech companies should be able to demonstrate not simply how many users they have, but what has actually improved — knowledge, skills, motivation, inclusion or the effectiveness of teachers’ work.
What advice would you give to startups in the education sector?
The fundamental market principles apply here as well.
They should start not from the technology, but from a clearly defined human and educational problem.
Not from the question “What can we create with AI?”, but from the question “What does the teacher, student or parent actually need?”
I would advise them to draw information from the real educational environment.
Teachers and students should not be merely end users, but partners in creating and testing the product.
And companies should not underestimate simplicity — in schools, a solution that requires complex setup, additional time and constant technical support is difficult to turn into everyday practice. At least for now.
Can Bulgaria become a leader in EdTech, and in which areas?
Bulgaria can become a leader, although probably not on the scale or with the financial resources of the world’s largest companies.
Our advantage could lie in intelligent, specialized and adaptive solutions.
We have a strong technology sector, good specialists and an educational tradition.
We could be particularly successful in tools for personalized learning, teacher training, and the development of communication and social-emotional skills.
I also see potential in creating solutions that preserve human presence in education.
If we combine technological expertise with pedagogy, psychology and an understanding of human behavior, Bulgaria can offer not simply software, but comprehensive and applicable educational models.
How do you envision the future of education in Bulgaria and what will the role of technology be?
I envision education that is more personalized, more flexible and more connected to real life.
Technology and artificial intelligence will take over some routine activities, provide rapid feedback and allow educational content to adapt to the pace and needs of each student.
However, this will not make the teacher less important. On the contrary — the teacher will be the person who creates meaning, recognizes the child’s needs, builds trust, guides the group and teaches students to think critically.
This is a pivotal role.
In a world where anyone can generate text, an image or an answer within seconds, the ability to ask the right questions, verify information, make one’s own judgment and communicate convincingly and responsibly will be valuable.
That is why teachers and technology cannot be pitted against each other — a prepared teacher will be supported by the right technology.
Because artificial intelligence can generate content, but education must continue to build people.