Based on its experience during the presidency of the council, the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Research (MES) identified possible venues for the main event, as well as the events from the cultural programme and potential hotels for participants, jury, alumni and journalists. The venues were communicated with DG RTD and the best in terms of logistics were picked. The venue of the contest was InterExpoCenter in Sofia, which allowed for partnership with one of the biggest youth events in the city, ComicCon.
Travel was arranged for all participants from countries, part of the Horizon 2020 programme. The rest of the participants were offered logistical help, but were responsible for covering their own travel and accommodation.
The Institute of Mathematics and Informatics of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IMI-BAS) joined as a linked third party and focused its experience in organisation of youth research and education events on the schedule and the materials of the competition itself. IMI-BAS also covered the submission system and the media strategy for the contest through subcontracting according to the project proposal.
The institute was also responsible for the introduction of alumni activities for the contest, employing Bulgarian alumni for the entire organisation of said activities and the drafting of a strategy for the creation of alumni network.
MES was responsible for covering the internal transport for all participants of the contest, as well as the food and potential medical help that they might need. Services for these activities were purchased according to the framework procurement procedures of the ministry.
During the competition MES and IMI-BAS jointly managed the cultural programme, including the activities of the invited alumni and the high-profile panel, where students had the opportunity to ask questions to leading researchers from Europe and other parts of the world.
MES covered the core prizes, which were increased from 9 to 12 and the remuneration of the jury. IMI-BAS worked with partnering organisations and its own resources to provide host prizes for the competition, providing prizes for five projects with a total of seven participants in the fields of mathematics, physics, computing and history. It also coordinated the travel and accommodation support for several other special prizes of the competition.
