Bulgaria is a net exporter of robots. Is there a future for the engineering profession in our country?

In 2022 – 2023, Bulgaria will be a net exporter of robots. This was stated by Kaloyan Georgiev, member of the board of the Professional Association of Robotics, Automation and Innovation (PARAi), during the Economic.bg ALL IN business forum, organized in partnership with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and BRAIT.

This means that Bulgarian companies sell and integrate robots outside the country rather than importing them," Georgiev said.

According to him, robotics exists in Bulgaria and there is fertile ground for it. "Some say that it doesn't exist (editor's note – robotics) and never will, but for me that means there is potential. It is not possible for countries such as Singapore, which are developing in industrial areas, to have, for example, 500 robots per 10,000 people, while in Bulgaria there are 50 robots per 10,000 people. There is potential, that's how I understand it (editor's note: these statistics)," commented Kaloyan Georgiev. He added:

We have an ecosystem, we have robotics, and we have Bulgarian companies that make robots and export them abroad."

The big problem

Despite the good development and potential, Georgiev outlined several challenges for the sector. One of them is hardly unfamiliar to most companies in our country—the lack of trained personnel.

We are making efforts with the education system, there is room for development. Many years ago, mechanics, mathematics, physics, etc. were at a very high level. Then suddenly there was a gap, and then a software module appeared. In my opinion, we missed the boat with electronics," Georgiev commented.

"We are trying to partially fill the gap through education. Very few children now take physics or mathematics as a high school graduation exam or out of interest. The basic knowledge that is lacking cannot be filled because there are no clubs, only private lessons in Bulgarian," said the PARAi representative.

Kaloyan Georgiev explained that in other countries, such as Germany, France, and Hungary, robotics and automation are taught in the early grades, sparking interest not only in software but also in how things work physically. "In my opinion, this bridge is broken in Bulgaria – there is no connection between the mechanical part and the software. TikTok and other things are much more interesting," said Georgiev. That is why PARAi is trying to make this part of the system more interesting through clubs and events.

We see a sparkle in their eyes, there is hope," Georgiev summed up optimistically.

Teacher motivation

Teachers are actually a key factor in resolving the issue, as they are the main link between business and students who are interested in robotics, mechanics, and engineering.

These things exist as concepts, but they are difficult to explain not only to children but also to students, and the connection between business and these students is through teachers. There is dual education, rarely, but it exists. Teachers also need to see the point of the whole concept. The situation is similar at foreign universities, where we wait for something to happen, but after two or three years, a professor reaches retirement age and there is no one to replace him because he can program and earn a higher salary," explained Georgiev, commenting that this problem is more difficult to combat.

"Those in the middle—neither programmers nor mechanics—require an additional 2-5 years of investment, but then things pay off," Georgiev believes.

Separately, there is also the issue of rapid technological development. According to Kaloyan Georgiev from PARAi, over the last 2-3 years there has been open talk about STEM, classrooms have been created and teachers have been trained, but this is being done "the Bulgarian way – the room is made, then people are afraid to go in and use it because it's a European project." The teachers themselves, for a few hundred leva a month, are hardly inclined to "put their whole heart into it," but they have to "constantly upgrade themselves, learn new technologies."

What's next

"The path is already being paved, we are on the right track, but I want more from the state, education, companies, if possible more pressure to come for the promotion and beautification of the profession and engineering as a whole. Not just the buzzwords IoT and Cloud that we hear everywhere, because no one sees the engineer behind it, without whom this whole concept would collapse. We need to work on this part," Georgiev concluded.

Translated with DeepL.