127 applications from 88 individuals, companies and institutions will take part in the BAIT Awards for 2017. The deadline for submitting a registration for participation in the competition was January 15, 2018. The organizer of the initiative, which is held for the seventh time, is BAIT and Sofia Tech Park is its partner.

The event is under the patronage of Bulgarian President Rumen Radev. This edition of the competition is also under the auspices of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Most applications have been submitted for recognition in the category “Educational Program” – 24. The new category “Successful Bulgarian ICT Product”, where companies present their own successful products, also provoked interest and will compete in 21 nominations. 14 are the registrations for “Youth Prize”. This year, the competition also marks a new record for the smallest participant – Sonia Genova, 10, applied for a mobile application developed by her.

The new categories, which emphasize the popularization of Bulgaria as a digital hub of the region, also register serious interest. The “Company with the biggest contribution to the promotion of the image of the Bulgarian ICT industry in the world” has 12 participants who actively work abroad. The “Innovative Company in the Use of Advanced ICT Solutions”, which for the first time regulates the participation of companies outside the ICT sector in the competition, presents various ICT projects in other spheres of the economy – from telemedicine, through the introduction of artificial intelligence to service, rooms of mysteries, BAIT announced.

There will be an evaluation of the submitted projects by the jury, after which nominations will be announced in the different categories.

Also in this edition, the Special Contribution Award is awarded by a jury decision through internal nominations, and candidates are not accepted for this category, the organizers said.

The winners of the 11 awards will be announced at an official ceremony in late February.