Achievements
Awards
Pythagoras Award, Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC), for Contributions to Science
The Pythagoras Award in the category “Established scientist in the field of social sciences and humanities” was awarded to Prof. Pepka Boyadzhieva, PhD.
On 19 May 2023, at the annual Pythagoras Awards ceremony of the MEC in recognition of contributions to science, Dr. Pepka Boyadzhieva from the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology – BAS was awarded in the category of established scientist in the field of social sciences and humanities. The formal ceremony occurred at the University of National and Word Economy (UNWE).
Dr. Boyadjieva has been an emeritus professor of Sociology of Education at the University of Nottingham, UK, since 2011. Her main research interests are related to the theoretical development of the sociology of education, higher education and the university as an institution, social justice in education, and lifelong learning. Notable among her scientific contributions are the following: the enrichment of the theoretical foundations of the sociology of education by synthesizing ideas from other scientific approaches and disciplines; the definition of new research fields, such as the sociology of failure; the development of original sociological concepts — including higher education and adult education as public or common goods and spheres of recognition; the mission and functions of higher education as a complex interplay of instrumental, self-development, and transformative roles; lifelong learning as an educational paradigm of late-modern and postmodern societies; social justice as a multidimensional phenomenon and a mandatory perspective in the analysis of modern processes of massification of higher education; educational inequalities as a result of the complex interaction between factors upon entry into, studying in, and leaving educational institutions while reflecting both vertical and horizontal differentiation in education. The body of work authored by Dr. Pepka Boyadzhieva can be found in numerous publications by prestigious publishers in Bulgaria and abroad — 37 are included in SCOPUS, with 316 citations and an h-index of 9.
Another “Pythagorean” from the Institute for the Study of Societies and Knowledge (ISSK)
On 18 May 2017, the annual MES Pythagoras Awards presentation took place. The happy news for our Institute was that it had acquired another “Pythagorean”. Our colleague Chief Asst. Prof. Blagovesta Ilieva Nikolova, PhD, was bestowed with the Incentive Award for a young scientist in the field of humanities and social sciences. She received a certificate, a plaque, and a cash prize of two thousand BGN. Congratulations! She is the second scientist from the Institute to become a Pythagoras Prize winner in one of its different categories. This is also a great achievement for the Institute itself. There are few scientific institutes or university faculties that can boast more than one winner of this prestigious award. Let’s congratulate ourselves on such an achievement!
Dr. Nikolova has been honing her scientific activity in the field of political philosophy and futurology. She specialized in the Laboratory for Ethical Governance of Information Technologies (LEGIT) at the University of Namur, Belgium (2015–2016). Her work between 2014 and 2016 was mainly in the field of forecasting and the role of uncertainty, as well as the transformation of forecasting in knowledge-based societies, with 3 articles published in renowned global publications and 2 in specialized Bulgarian journals. She participated in 5 national and international projects, 3 of which were financed by the European Commission under Horizon 2020, the 7th Framework Programme, and Erasmus+. They concerned the future of migration, border control, and the European concept of responsible research and innovation. She presented 4 reports on them at international forums in Luxembourg, Austria, Germany, and Spain. Two of her publications during this period were in foreign journals with significant impact: 10 citations in authoritative publications, according to SCOPUS and Google Scholar. She was nominated for the BAS Ivan Evstatiev Geshov Award, honouring the youngest scientists. She has elaborated on issues relevant to our society, such as: how leading global forecasts interpret the essence and future of migration, what elements make up an adequate prognostic analysis of migration to and through the Balkans, what effects the increasing technologization of border control would have, and the upcoming implementation of the “Smart Borders” initiative of the EU, etc.
Prof. Veselin Petrov, PhD — First Pythagoras Science Award Laureate From the Institute for the Study of Societies and Knowledge (ISSK) at the BAS
In May 2016, for the first time, a scientist from the Institute for the Study of Societies and Knowledge at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences — Dr. Petrov — became the winner of the prestigious Pythagoras Award, given by the Ministry of Education and Science, in the category of established scientist in the field of humanities and social sciences.
This is a great achievement both for himself and for the entire Institute.
Prof. Veselin Petrov, PhD Philosophical Sciences, is the Executive Director of the Board of the International Organization for Procedural Philosophy and co-founder of the European Organization for Procedural Philosophy. He serves on the editorial boards of 2 foreign scientific journals. For the previous three years, Dr. Petrov’s main achievements had been in the field of modern procedural ontology and its applications. His publications from 2013 to 2015 represent the first comprehensive study of procedural ontology in Bulgarian philosophical literature and were among the first monographic studies in the specific field of applied procedural ontology. His research is focused on developing the theory of dynamic and process-relational ontologies, in the philosophical sense of the concept, as well as on the application of these ontologies within philosophy itself and in various other scientific fields.
OTHER PRIZES
Great commendation for Dr. Pepka Boyadzhieva on the Day of the National Enlighteners
Dr. Pepka Boyadzhieva from the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology was awarded the highest distinction of the BAS — the Marin Drinov medal of honour — for her high scientific achievements in the field of sociology of education! The award was presented to her by the Chairman of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Academician Julian Revalski, at a celebratory gathering on the occasion of the Day of the National Enlighteners on 1 November 2023.
On behalf of all our colleagues, we congratulate Dr. Boyadzhieva for the=is well-deserved award!
More information about this news can be found on the website of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
Cyril O. Houle Award Comes to the IPS
Professor Pepka Boyadjieva and Associate Professor Petya Ilieva-Trichkova from the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, were the 2022 recipients of the Cyril O. Houle Award for Outstanding Literature in Adult Education for their book: Adult Education as Empowerment: Re- imagining Lifelong Learning through the Capability Approach, Recognition Theory and Common Goods Perspective, published by Palgrave Macmillan, Adult Education as Empowerment.
The Cyril O. Houle Award was established in 1981 to honour the scholarship and memory of Cyril O. Houle, Professor of Adult Education at the University of Chicago. It is given annually by the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE).
The award was presented at a ceremony during the AAACE Annual Conference on 10 December 2022 in Milwaukee, USA.
This book was prepared as part of their work on the project “Dynamics of inequalities in participation in higher and adult education: A comparative social justice perspective” (JustEdu), funded by the Bulgarian National Science Fund within the National Science Programme VIHREN, contract number KP -06-DV-2/16.12.2019.
Chief Asst. Prof. Veselina Kachakova, PhD, Named Young Scientist of 2021
Chief Asst. Prof. Veselina Kachakova, PhD, Named Young Scientist of 2021
Deserved Honorary Title
On December 8, 2021, the International Institute for Hermeneutics awarded Prof. Ivanka Raynova the honorary title of Professor Honoris Causa “for outstanding intellectual acuity and the promotion of a culture of thinking, inventiveness and originality.” The official diploma further states, “In recognition of your outstanding contributions to an interpretive approach to our being-in-the-world and being-with-others, we welcome you to Agora Hermeneutica, a distinguished circle of world-class scholars in philosophy, theology, literature, architecture, education, law, and medicine.” These world-renowned scholars include Charles Taylor, Gianni Vattimo, Jean-Luc Marion, Martha Nussbaum, Judith Butler, and others. In addition to an honorary title, Rainova was awarded the Hermes Prize for the best book of the year in phenomenological hermeneutics for her monograph Sein, Sinn und Werte: Phänomenologische und hermeneutische Perspektiven des europäischen Denkens (Frankfurt a.M.: Peter Lang, 2017).
The Executive Committee of the Balkan Sociological Forum honoured prof. Svetla Koleva with the BSF Award
Congratulations to her for the award!
Important Recognition for the Institute
Dear colleagues,
We would like to inform you about the significant achievement of the Institute, which was awarded a special Certificate for the Most Active Institute of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences under the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme at a special ceremony at the Ministry of Education and Science on 25 March in the presence of a number of representatives from other scientific organizations and universities, as well as central media. This is an important recognition of the achievements of our Institute in recent years related to work on several projects under this Framework Programme. These projects, and the colleagues who have contributed to their outstanding success, are:
NEGOTIATE: Overcoming early job-insecurity in Europe, “Negotiating the possibilities for overcoming insecurity in early work careers and exclusion from the labor market in Europe”, head of the Bulgarian team Prof. Rumyana Stoilova and participants Prof. Pepka Boyadzhieva, Chief Assistant Dr. Veneta Krasteva, Chief Assistant Professor Gabriela Yordanova, Assistant Professor Dr. Petya Ilieva-Trichkova. Partners in the project are academic organizations from 10 European countries. It is funded by the European Commission under the Europe 2020 Framework Program. Project period: 2015-2018.
EXCEPT: Social Exclusion of Youth in Europe: Cumulative Disadvantage, Coping Strategies, Effective Policies and Transfer, “Social exclusion of young people in Europe: Accumulating obstacles, coping strategies, effective policies and transfer”, head of the Bulgarian team Assoc. Dr. Maria Zhelyazkova and participants Ch. Assistant Dr. Veneta Krasteva, Dr. Atanas Stoilov and Ch. Assistant Dr. Dragomir Draganov. Partners in the project are scientific institutions from 9 European countries. It is funded by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 Framework Program. Project period: 2015-2018.
ENLIVEN: Encouraging Lifelong Learning for an Inclusive and Vibrant Europe, “Encouraging Lifelong Learning for Building an Inclusive and Socially Sensitive Europe”, head of the Bulgarian team Prof. Pepka Boyadzhieva and participants Prof. Rumyana Stoilova, Dr. Vasil Kirov, chief assistant Dr. Petya Irieva-Trichkova. Project period: 2016-2019. It is funded by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 Framework Program.
LIAISON: Better Rural Innovation: Linking Actors, Instruments and Policies through Networks, “Better Rural Innovations”, head of the Bulgarian team, Chief Assoc. Dr. Donna Pickard and participants in the Bulgarian team, Assoc. Dr. Mariana Draganova, ch. assistant Dr. Galina Koleva, ch. Assistant Dr. Svetla Stoeva, Associate Professor Dr. Petya Slavova. Project period: 2018-2021. It is funded by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 Framework Program.
The projects should be added to them:
SHARE: Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe, which was not funded for Bulgaria under Horizon 2020, but was funded by the European Commission and was included in the National Roadmap for Research Infrastructures in 2018. Head of the Bulgarian team ch. assistant professor Ekaterina Markova and participants in the Bulgarian team ch. Assistant Dr. Gabriela Yordanova, Assoc. Dr. Vasil Kirov and Diana Nenkova.
BEYOND 4.0: Inclusive Futures for Europe BEYOND the impacts of Industrie 4.0 and Digital Disruption “An inclusive future for Europe. Beyond the impact of Industry 4.0 and digital change”. Head of the Bulgarian team Assoc. Dr. Vasil Kirov and participants in the Bulgarian team: Prof. D.Sc. Pepka Boyadzhieva, Ch. Assistant Professor Ekaterina Markova, Ph.D. assistant professor Gabriela Yordanova, doctoral student Bagryan Malamin and Diana Nenkova. Project period: 2019-2022. It is funded by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 Framework Program.
Let us congratulate ourselves on this well-deserved award, which places us at the forefront in this regard among BAS institutes, while at the same time thanking the participants in these projects and wishing each other further success. Another goal that is completely within the Institute’s power is to become a coordinator in a European consortium.
From the Management of the IIOZ
ТОП 5 БГ НАУЧНИ ОРГАНИЗАЦИИ ПРИВЛЕКЛИ НАЙ-МНОГО СРЕДСТВА ПО РП „ХОРИЗОНТ 2020“
- “Applied Research and Communications” Foundation – 913 thousand euros, with participation in nine project consortia.
- Institute of Mechanics – BAS – 912 thousand euros, with participation in five consortia
- Institute for the Study of Societies and Knowledge – BAS – 906 thousand euros, with participation in five consortia.
- Center for the Study of Democracy – 863 thousand euros, with participation in five consortia
- Institute of ICT – BAS – 839 thousand euros, with participation in eight consortia.
IFS AWARDS
At its meeting on 21.03.2023. The Scientific Council of the IFU decided to award Prof. Dr. Veselin Petrov with the honorary title of IFU Professor Emeritus
Professor Veselin Petrov has been working at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences since the beginning of 1980: initially at the then Institute of Philosophy, and now at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology – for more than 43 years without interruption, following step by step the academic path of advancement from PhD student to professor, Director of the IFS and Chairman of the Scientific Council of the IFS. His area of scientific interest is in the field of philosophy and more precisely ontology, metaphysics, process philosophy, applied philosophy, philosophy of science, contemporary philosophical doctrines. He was awarded the annual Pythagoras Prize of the Ministry of Education in the category of Distinguished Scholar in the Humanities and Social Sciences for 2016 – the only one from the Institute so far. Twice (for 2016 and 2022) publications of prof. Petrov have been named the best scientific and theoretical achievement of the Institute. By awarding Prof. Dr. Veselin Petrov with the honorary title “Professor Emeritus” of the IFS-BAS, our institution commemorates his contribution to the national and global development of philosophy.
The ceremony of the official awarding of the title of Professor Emeritus to Prof. Ph. Vesselin Petrov took place on 27 April 2023
On April 27, 2023, in Hall 207 of the Central Administration of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, a Solemn Meeting of the Scientific Council of the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology – BAS was held. At the ceremony prof. Prof. Veselin Petrov was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus in the presence of relatives and colleagues. After the Director of the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Prof. Emilia Chengelova, Ph.D., officially presented the honorary sign and diploma, Prof. Em. Prof. Veselin Petrov delivered a public lecture on “The Future of Education: the Responsibility of Philosophy in Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence”.
At its meeting on 17.10.2021 the SC of the IFS-BAS decided to award Gencho Donchev with the “Ribbon of Honour” for his invaluable contribution to the development of Bulgarian philosophy.
On 11. 12. 2021, was awarded the Honorary Ribbon of the Institute of Dr. Gencho Donchev
Award of the Honorary Badge of the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology to Prof. Dr. Pepka Boyadjieva
Award of the Honorary Badge of the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology to Prof. Dr. Pepka BoyadjievaAt the General Assembly of the ISS scientists held on 28.01.2020 the award “Honorary Mark of the ISS” was presented to Prof. Dr. Pepka Boyadjieva for her scientific achievements in the field of sociology and in connection with her jubilee.
Proposal to the Board of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences to award Prof. Dr. Pepka Boyadjieva with a prize of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences for her merits in the development of sociology and in connection with her 65th anniversary.
Presentation of the “Badge of Honour with Ribbon” to Archimandrite Emilian Botsanovki
On February 12, 2019, a solemn meeting of the Scientific Council was held for the awarding of the “Ribbon of Honor” of the Institute of Scientific Research to Archimandrite Emilian Botsanovki, who was awarded this prize by the decision of the Scientific Council of December 18, 2018. Archimandrite Botsanovsky gave a lecture on social issues after the official presentation of the award. The invited dignitaries were present.
Presentation of the “Badge of Honour with Ribbon” to Monsignor Strahil Kavalenov
On November 6, 2019, the award “Honorary Mark with Ribbon” of the IFS (former Institute for the Study of Societies and Knowledge) was presented to Monsignor Strahil Kavalenov, Vicar General of the Nikopol Diocese.
Monsignor Kavalenov gave an academic lecture on “Possibilities for the spiritual development of modern man”. Discussants were Dr. Tony Nikolov, Editor-in-Chief of the Portal “Culture” and prof. Prof. Nina Dimitrova, IIOZ-BAS