2 July 2025, Sofia, Bulgaria. The Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Technology (INSAIT) at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” is launching a joint program (insait.ai/mit/) with the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA. The partnership was announced today at a special ceremony attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Innovation and Growth Tomislav Donchev, Minister of Education and Science Krasimir Valchev and his deputy, Academician Nikolay Vitanov, Vice-Rector of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” Corr. Member Prof. DSc Toni Spassov, and Acting U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria H. Martin McDowell.
Prof. Armando Solar-Lezama, Director of MIT CSAIL, came to Bulgaria for the event. Together with Prof. Martin Vechev, Scientific Director and founder of INSAIT, they provided more information about the parameters of the joint program.
The research exchange program between the two organizations has a budget of USD 1 million and aims to promote international scientific collaboration and enable high-quality research in the fields of artificial intelligence and computer science. It will offer INSAIT researchers the opportunity to spend one year at MIT CSAIL, where they will collaborate with MIT scientists on leading research projects. Participants will retain their employment at INSAIT during their stay at MIT, ensuring institutional continuity and support after the exchange.
The program aims to establish a sustainable framework for long-term cooperation between the two institutions, focusing on topics with the potential for significant scientific and technological impact. Participant selection will be based on the scientific value and strategic importance of their research for both parties.
“We are very excited to start this program, to be able to collaborate with all the talented researchers at INSAIT. We hope that this program can enable many long term research collaborations.” said Prof. Armando Solar-Lezama, Director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (MIT CSAIL).
“The collaboration with MIT CSAIL is an important step toward establishing INSAIT as a leading research institute of international relevance and another step in positioning Bulgaria as a global center for science and innovation in artificial intelligence and computer science,” said Prof. Martin Vechev, Scientific Director of INSAIT. He added that this initiative has been in development for a year and will give INSAIT researchers the opportunity to spend up to one year at one of the most competitive and elite institutions in the world in the field of artificial intelligence.
The program is being implemented with the support of the “America for Bulgaria” Foundation and the “Lead by Example” Foundation, established by the leadership of SiteGround. Both organizations have a long-term commitment to the development of education, scientific research, and innovation in Bulgaria and are providing the funding for the exchange between the two institutions.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) consistently ranks first in global rankings for engineering and technology, including No. 1 in the QS World University Rankings for computer science and technology. The Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) is MIT’s largest research laboratory in computer science and is behind landmark achievements such as RSA cryptography, the first autonomous robots, and many foundations of modern machine learning. Today, CSAIL develops innovative projects with U.S. government agencies and leading global companies that shape the future of artificial intelligence and computer science.
All details about the program here: https://insait.ai/mit/