INNOVISION AWARDS 2026 is a national competition that supports the visionaries, projects, and innovations shaping the future across technology, cybersecurity, sustainability, healthcare, education, startups, human capital, and student innovation. Schwarz Digits Bulgaria — the Sofia-based digital and IT arm of Schwarz Group — is organizing INNOVISION for the second year in a row.
The competition is open for applications in eight categories and welcomes entries from companies, startups, educational and scientific organisations, NGOs, as well as individual participants and student teams. The application deadline is 10 May 2026, while the official awards ceremony will take place on 28 May 2026 at Planet Schwarz Tech Theater. Projects submitted must be implemented or in a pilot phase completed by January 2026.
Ahead of the awards ceremony, The Recursive spoke with Mihail Petrov, Chief Executive Officer of Schwarz Digits Bulgaria and chair of the board of the INNOVISION jury about the founding logic of the competition, what it is really looking for, and what recognition at this level can actually mean for a team.
He reflects on why Bulgaria needs to recognise not only promising ideas, but also solutions that are already delivering real impact on business and society. He also shares why INNOVISION aspires to become a mark of trust, visibility, and lasting value within the innovation ecosystem.
INNOVISION AWARDS is launching as a new tradition in appreciating innovation in Bulgaria. What was the founding vision behind this initiative, and what does it mean for the broader tech and innovation ecosystem locally?
The founding vision behind INNOVISION is relatively straightforward, but quite purposeful, shifting the focus from ideas to execution. We see many initiatives celebrating concepts, but far fewer that recognise applied innovation – solutions that are already operational, being tested, or creating measurable impact. INNOVISION is designed to fill that gap. The competition is not about potential alone, but about practical inputs, to businesses, society, and sustainability. For the broader ecosystem in Bulgaria, this matters a lot because maturity comes when innovation is not just being discussed, but implemented. Our ambition is to build a platform that sets a higher standard that rewards creativity, discipline, implementation and long-term thinking.
This year, INNOVISION covers eight distinct categories. Can you walk us through them and what kind of projects or teams each one is designed for — what you’re actually asking participants to bring to the table as they apply?
The eight categories are structured around where innovation actually happens today – across technology, society and systems. We have core categories like Technology & Cybersecurity accentuating solutions that transform processes or protect digital infrastructure. Sustainability addresses environmental and resource efficiency challenges. Healthcare & Longevity focuses on improving quality and length of life through applied innovation. Then there is Human Innovision, which looks at people – talent, skills, inclusion and work environments. Education targets new learning models and real connection between education and practice. Start Up Ecosystem is specifically for those building the infrastructure around innovation – accelerators, platforms, investment models. And Student INNOVISION creates space for emerging ideas with real-world potential. Across all categories, the expectation is consistent: applicants must bring a clearly defined problem, a working or piloted solution, and evidence of impact. Purely conceptual ideas are intentionally excluded.
The contest is open to everyone from students to corporations. What kind of projects are you most excited to see come through the door this year?
What we are most interested in are projects that demonstrate a clear understanding of a real problem and the discipline to solve it in a practical way. This can come from anywhere. A student team, a startup, or a large corporation. The differentiator is not scale, but clarity and execution. Personally, I would highlight three types of projects: solutions that are already being used and showing measurable results; innovations that connect different sectors. For example, technology and healthcare, or education and business; and also projects that address systemic challenges, not just isolated use cases. In short – we are looking for substance, not presentation.
You’ve assembled a remarkably diverse jury – from cybersecurity commissioners to university rectors to banking executives. What does that cross-sector perspective bring to the evaluation process?
Innovation today is inherently cross-disciplinary. A purely technological evaluation is no longer sufficient. By bringing together experts from different sectors, we ensure that each project is assessed from multiple perspectives – technical feasibility, business viability, societal impact, ethical considerations. This significantly reduces bias and increases the quality of the evaluation. It also aligns with our criteria of innovation, impact, execution and sustainability, which cannot be properly judged within a single domain. Ultimately, this approach reflects how innovation actually works in reality and at the intersection of different systems.
For a team or founder who has never entered a competition like this before, what would you say to convince them that now is the right moment to apply?
If you are waiting for the “perfect moment,” you will most likely never apply. Innovation is not a finished product in a glass display case. It is more like a construction site – there is noise, dust, and sometimes things do not work as expected. And that is exactly what interests us. INNOVISION is not a competition for the most polished presentation, but for the most honest answer to a simple question: “Did you solve a real problem, or are you still describing it in slides?” In practice, I have seen dozens of projects that look impressive on a slide, but cannot survive first contact with reality. And the opposite – solutions that do not look “wow,” but work every day and create real value. If your project is the second type – this is your place.
What does winning an INNOVISION award actually open up for a project or a team?
The award itself does not change your business. It is not a magic button. But it is something far more valuable – a signal. In practice, when an investor, partner, or client looks at a project, the first question is always the same: “Who else believes in this?” Innovision is one possible answer. It is like walking into a room full of strangers and someone has already said: “These people are worth your time.”
That is where the three real effects come from. First – trust. Recognition from an independent expert jury carries weight, especially when it is based not on an idea, but on real results. Second – visibility. The project moves beyond its own bubble and reaches an audience that matters – business, technology, institutions. Third – positioning. Winning sends a clear message: this is not just an “interesting project,” but a solution with real potential to grow and scale.
There is also something that is often underestimated – the internal effect. The award is a test for the team. Does what you have built stand up to critical external scrutiny? If it does, you are no longer talking about an idea, but about something real. In that sense, the value is not in the trophy. It is in someone independent telling you: “This works. Keep going.”
If INNOVISION becomes the institution you’re envisioning, what does the Bulgarian innovation landscape look like five years from now — and what role will this awards programme have played in getting there?
The goal of INNOVISION is to be a platform that brings together the best working solutions – those that are truly transforming business and the way we live in Bulgaria. We want to build a community. To connect bold and innovative minds. To give visibility to a potential that exists, but is still not talked about enough. Because Bulgaria does have that potential. The real challenge is to start showing it through real examples, not just ambition. If in five years we have built a strong community of people and projects that are actively changing the environment and everyday life – then we have succeeded. And if by then people start saying to themselves, “This is not ready for INNOVISION yet,” even before they have finished it – then we will know we’ve had an impact. At that point, it is no longer just a competition. It becomes a standard. If the programme becomes an institution, its role will be to set expectations – and to make those expectations visible.
The INNOVISION Awards ceremony takes place on 28 May 2026 at Planet Schwarz Tech Theater, Sofia. Applications are open now via the official online form. There is no limit to the number of projects a team or organisation can submit.
Apply at www.innovision.bg
