NO!Course on Innovation and Entrepreneurship” has launched at Sofia Medical University

Over 220 students from the Faculty of Medicine at Sofia Medical University participated in the first NE!Lecture of the NE!Course on Innovation and Entrepreneurship at MU-Sofia. The NE!Lecture was titled “Why is it important for doctors to learn innovation and entrepreneurship?” The event marked the beginning of the new semester for the educational program on innovation and entrepreneurship at MU-Sofia, which is being held for the second consecutive year. In an unconventional format, entirely online, the lecture highlighted the importance of topics such as innovation, digitalization, and entrepreneurship in medicine, and their role in the education of future doctors.

Dr. Rosen Dimitrov, Public Relations and Institutional Affairs Manager at Novartis Bulgaria and Vice Chairman of the Bulgarian Cluster for Digital Solutions and Innovations in Healthcare, emphasized the need for introducing training in innovation and entrepreneurship. He presented leading studies and data on tackling challenges in medicine through digitalization and the development of core skills such as critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving, and communication.

Milena Stoycheva, Executive Director of Junior Achievement Bulgaria and Chairwoman of the Bulgarian Cluster for Digital Solutions and Innovations in Healthcare, inspired young professionals to challenge themselves and introduced the practical part of the NE!Course, namely the inclusion in the pre-accelerator Beyond.

The topics to be covered in the coming months will include the introduction of digitalization in medicine and the work of doctors, creating innovations in healthcare, developing entrepreneurship and initiative as a mindset for working in large hospitals and institutions, effective communication with patients, innovative hospital systems, and more. All NE!Lectures will be open for questions and discussions on topics of interest to the YES!students, with guest lecturers from business and practice who will share their experience and knowledge. In addition to the NE!Lectures, students will have the opportunity to work with mentors and develop their innovative ideas in practice. The next NE!Lecture will focus on “MYTHS in MEDICINE (or the basics of critical thinking)” with our special guest lecturer Dr. Alexander Simidchiev.

The event is organized by JA Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Cluster for Digital Solutions and Innovations in Healthcare, with the support of Novartis. The organizers are hopeful about the emerging opportunities for creating innovations in medicine in Bulgaria, with the first step being to address these topics in medical education.