For the second time, Prof. Dr Stanislav Ivanov was awarded the ‘Varna’ Prize at an official ceremony held on 21 May 2026. By decision of the Municipal Council of the city, a total of 25 awards were granted to distinguished individuals and creative teams. In the field of science and higher education, eight individuals and teams were honoured, among whom is our lecturer and colleague.

Prof. Dr Stanislav Ivanov received the individual award in the category ‘Social Sciences’ for his outstanding contribution to research in the fields of artificial intelligence, robotics, and automation. The award is given to distinguished representatives of education and science for achievements in the preceding year, 2025, during which Prof. Ivanov was also awarded the national ‘Pythagoras’ Prize by the Ministry of Education and Science for an established scholar in the field of social sciences and humanities.

In addition to being one of the leading researchers in his field, Prof. Ivanov is the Editor-in-Chief of the European Journal of Tourism Research, published by the Varna University of Management. It is the only Bulgarian scientific journal in the field of tourism indexed in Scopus, the world’s largest database of scientific publications. In early 2026, he was also elected President of the International Federation for Information Technologies and Travel and Tourism (IFITT) for the 2026–2028 term.

Prof. Ivanov is among the world’s leading researchers in the economic and social aspects of artificial intelligence, automation, and robotics. His research interests focus on the impact of new technologies on tourism and human resource management.

Upon receiving the ‘Varna’ Award, Prof. Ivanov expressed his gratitude to his family, friends, and colleagues for their support and trust. The academic community of Varna University of Management congratulates him and expresses its pride that he is part of the team, thanking him for once again demonstrating the high level of expertise of VUM’s academic staff.