Yana Avramova, Community & Organization Manager, Social Innovators Bulgaria
What is the role of technology in education today, in your opinion?
The role of technology is not simply to digitalize the learning process, but to expand the possibilities for learning. It opens space for more flexible approaches and different pathways to knowledge, providing access, personalization, and connectivity. At the same time, technology should never become an end in itself. It is a tool that helps us achieve educational goals. Without purpose, methodology, and human presence, technology remains merely a means without real value.
What skills or competencies do students develop through technology?
Technology supports the development of a wide range of essential skills and competencies. It fosters analytical and critical thinking through working with large volumes of information and digital sources. With the rise of artificial intelligence, the ability to formulate questions, evaluate answers, and make informed decisions is becoming increasingly important.
At the same time, technology stimulates creativity by providing new tools for creation and expression. Interestingly, it also highlights the growing need for distinctly human skills such as empathy, emotional intelligence, and effective communication.
Where is Bulgaria, and Bulgarian education in general, when it comes to technology?
In my opinion, Bulgaria is currently in an interesting transitional phase regarding technology in education. On one hand, access to digital tools and examples of innovative practices are increasing. On the other hand, implementation is often uneven and remains focused on the use of tools rather than on methodology and meaningful support for teachers.
At the same time, the fact that Bulgaria is still catching up with Western Europe can actually be an advantage. It gives us the opportunity to learn from existing experience and avoid certain mistakes. We already see countries like Finland returning to fundamental skills such as reading and writing on paper after periods of strong digitalization.
This demonstrates that the key is not in the technologies themselves, but in their balanced and meaningful use. And this is precisely where Bulgaria has significant potential — to develop its educational system in a more conscious and balanced way.
What are the main barriers to implementing technology in education, and how can they be overcome?
The barriers are mainly human. They are connected to fear of change, lack of confidence, and most importantly, the limited time teachers have while being overwhelmed not only with teaching responsibilities but also with administrative tasks.
There are also systemic limitations — rigid curricula with limited flexibility, insufficient time for preparation and experimentation, and a lack of clear communication about the actual benefits of digitalization for teachers.
In my opinion, the solution is not simply introducing more technology, but providing targeted training, real support, and an environment — both in terms of time and resources — that encourages experimentation and the gradual adoption of new practices.
How does Social Innovators Bugaria contribute to improving education and implementing technology in Bulgaria?
Social Innovators Bulgaria’s mission is to support people in helping professions, with a primary focus on teachers, educators, trainers, and everyone working in the field of education.
We create training programs, methodologies, and spaces where technology is used more consciously and with clear purpose. We also participate in international educational projects aimed at supporting the people shaping the future of education, because we believe this is the foundation of a better society.
We contribute by encouraging a broader conversation about the role of technology. We focus not only on its benefits, but also on the responsibilities it brings and the questions it raises. For us, technology has value only when it is used meaningfully, ethically, and in service of the real needs of people and education.
“Social Innovators” is one of the members of “EdTech Bulgaria.” Why did you decide to join?
Because we deeply believe in collaboration. EdTech Bulgaria creates an environment for exchange, partnerships, and the shared development of the ecosystem — something that cannot happen individually.
What does “EdTech Bulgaria” provide to organizations, users, and Bulgarian education as a whole?
EdTech Bulgaria provides community, visibility, and connectivity. It creates a space where different stakeholders — institutions, organizations, companies, and experts — can meet, exchange experience, and work together.
It also contributes to greater awareness of the sector itself as a natural intersection between education and technology, between the human and the digital. This helps create a deeper understanding both of the role of technology in education and of the need to use it meaningfully.
What does the Bulgarian EdTech ecosystem need most today?
Today, the Bulgarian EdTech ecosystem needs stronger connections between practice, business, and policy, as well as greater trust among stakeholders.
There is also a need for spaces where ideas can be tested and where mistakes are seen as part of the learning process rather than as failure.
What kind of support is currently missing for EdTech companies in Bulgaria?
Perhaps what is missing most is a clear strategic framework, along with real opportunities for testing solutions in educational environments.
Funding is important, but access to schools and the ability to build sustainable partnerships are even more critical. Without them, even the best solutions struggle to achieve practical implementation and real impact.
What advice would you give to startups in the education sector?
Start with the real problem, not with the technology. Work directly with school principals, teachers, parents, and students in order to better understand real needs and contexts. Follow design thinking principles by creating small prototypes and testing them with real participants early on, without waiting for everything to be perfect. Think long-term, because education requires consistency and sustainability. And be brave — ready to be misunderstood or rejected at first, but determined not to give up and to believe that the right partners and support will eventually come in order to create meaningful positive change in education.
Can Bulgaria become a leader in EdTech, and in what direction?
I would very much like to say that Bulgaria will become a leader in EdTech. I believe this is possible — though perhaps not necessarily through scale or speed of technological development, but through something more valuable: balance and meaningful implementation in education.
Not simply through creating new tools, but through integrating them in ways that genuinely support learning and human development. Through solutions that support teachers rather than replace them, and through learning models that are more flexible, practical, and connected to real life.
There is also strong potential in the conscious and ethical use of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. It is precisely in this combination of technological development and deep understanding of education that Bulgaria can find its strongest position.
How do you imagine the future of education in Bulgaria, and what role will technology play?
The future of education will be more personalized, more practical, and much more connected to real life. Learning will extend beyond the classroom and take place in different contexts, with more opportunities for choice and individualized learning paths.
Technology will be everywhere and increasingly accessible, but its true value will not come from its mere presence. It will come from the way we use it — consciously, purposefully, and in support of learning.
In this process, the role of the teacher will become even more important. Teachers will no longer be simply sources of knowledge, but facilitators who guide, support, and help students make sense of information, develop their thinking, and navigate an increasingly complex world.
Ultimately, it is the human presence, meaning, and connection that make education truly valuable.