Research and Innovation Symposium for European Security and Defence 2026

(All times are in Eastern European Time)

To download in PDF file klick here.

Day 01
(15 Apr 2026)

Time

Title / Presenter / Organization

08:30 - 09:30

Registration
AFCEA / NVNA

09:30 - 09:45

Opening remarks
President AFCEA Sofia Chapter

09:45 - 10:00

Welcome address
Flotilla admiral, Professor Kalin Kalinov
Rector of NVNA

10:00 - 10:15

Welcome address
Mr. Yordan Bozhilov
Deputy minister of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Bulgaria

10:15 - 10:30

Welcome address
Dr. Borislav Bankov
Deputy minister of Ministry of Innovation and Growth of the Republic of Bulgaria

Session 01

Time

Title / Presenter / Organization

10:30 - 10:50

FARADAI: Frugal And Robust AI for Defence Advanced Intelligence
Natalia Giogiou
(CERTH)

10:50 - 11:10

PRESERVE: A European Shield Against Emerging Drone Threats
Eduardo Villamor
(ETRA)

11:10 - 11:30

TESTUDO Project Presentation
Konstantinos Gkountakos
(CERTH)

11:30 - 11:50

Coffee break / AFCEA

11:50 - 12:10

ACTING – A holistic view of the project
Nikolai Stoianov
(BDI)

12:10 - 12:30

CASSATA: Covert and Advanced multi-modal Sensor Systems for tArget acquisiTion and reconnaissance
Spyridon Athanasiadis
(ICCS)

12:30 - 12:50

TRITON – Generative Automation of Security
Gergana Vacheva
(TUS)

12:50 - 14:00

Lunch break / AFCEA

14:00 - 14:20

Enhancing Copernicus Security Services – EU governmental crisis management hub for forced population displacement
Elissavet Panagiotopoulou
(GEOSYSTEMS HELLAS)

14:20 - 14:40

BorderForce – Flexible system extending automated border surveillance by increased situational awareness adaptable to uncertain times with unforeseen events
Ines Burgstaller
(AIT)

14:40 - 15:00

CROSSMARE: Advanced Cross-Border and Multi Domain Interoperability Framework for Improved Collaborative Operational Efficiency for Secure Maritime Borders
Spyridon Athanasiadis
(ICCS)

15:00 - 15:30

Coffee break / AFCEA

15:30 - 15:50

Hidden Threat Detection – Organizational of a Technical Challenge
Maria Andersson
(FOI)

15:50 - 16:10

Identaria: enhancing the peace-building potential of European nationalism
Nikolay Pavlov
(Identaria)

16:10 - 17:00

Demonstrations / Networking
Exhibition area

19:00 - 21:30

Gala dinner / AFCEA

Day 02
(16 Apr 2026)

Time

Title / Presenter / Organization

08:30 - 09:30

Registration
AFCEA / NVNA

09:30 - 09:45

Recap from Day 01
President AFCEA Sofia Chapter

09:45 - 10:30

Key-note "Digital sovereignty – a shared foundation for governance and defense"
Mr. Yavor Papazov
Advisor to the Minister of Electronic Governance

10:30 - 11:00

Coffee break / AFCEA

Session 03 – Thematic Pitch Presentations

Time

Title / Presenter / Organization

11:00 - 11:10

FOI – Thematic Pitch Presentations
Hans Önnerud
(FOI)

11:10 - 11:20

Transfortec – Thematic Pitch Presentations
Kees Janssen
(Transfortec)

11:20 - 11:30

CERTH – Thematic Pitch Presentation
Konstantinos Gkountakos
(CERTH)

11:30 - 11:40

K3Y – Thematic Pitch Presentation
Panagiotis Radoglou-Grammatikis
(K3Y)

11:40 - 11:50

CERTH – Thematic Pitch Presentation
Natalia Giogiou
(CERTH)

11:50 - 12:00

Identaria – Thematic Pitch Presentation
Nikolay Pavlov
(Identaria)

12:00 - 12:30

NVNA – Thematic Pitch Presentation
Yordan Sivkov
(NVNA)

12:30 - 13:30

Lunch break / AFCEA

13:30 - 13:40

WISER – Thematic Pitch Presentation
Georgi Damyanov
(WISER)

13:40 - 13:50

ICCS – Thematic Pitch Presentation
Spyridon Athanasiadis
(ICCS)

13:50 - 14:00

TechnoLogica – Thematic Pitch Presentation
Mario Mandjukov
(TechnoLogica)

14:00 - 15:00

Demonstrations / Networking
Exhibition area

15:00 - 15:30

Coffee break / AFCEA

15:30 - 17:00

NVAN Technical tour
NVNA

17:00 - 17:15

Closing remarks / RISE-SD 2027 announcement
AFCEA