KyoLink Connect 2026

KyoLink Connect 2026 Celebrating KyoLink’s 1st Anniversary About KyoLink Japanese non-profit organisation dedicated to fostering collaboration among academia, culture, business and governments across Asia and Europe, with a strategic focus on Japan and Bulgaria. アジアとヨーロッパをつなぐ架け橋として、日本とブルガリアを戦略的な重点地域とし、学術、文化、ビジネス、政府を横断した協力を推進する、日本発の一般社団法人です。 About KyoLink Connect 2026 KyoLink Connect 2026 celebrates KyoLink’s first anniversary and brings together our growing community of partners, researchers, professionals, companies, institutions and friends from Bulgaria, Japan and beyond. Date: 17 December 2026 Time: 15:30–20:00 JST Venue: Tsukuba Center Inc. (TCI / つくば研究支援センター) Address: 2-1-6 Sengen, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0047, Japan Registration: Link Program 15:30–15:45 JST | Registration Guest arrival and registration. 15:45–15:50 JST | Opening Remarks & Greetings Moderated by Lidia Vitanova Opening remarks: Dr Lidia VITANOVA, Representative Director and Co-Founder of KyoLink, Japan Dr Eng. Lidia Vitanova is an accomplished expert in urban climatology, climate resilience, and smart cities, with over 15 years of international experience in sustainable urban development. She holds a PhD in Urban Climatology and Climate Modelling from the University of Tsukuba, Japan, and has five years of research experience at Nikken Sekkei Research Institute. Alongside her academic and research roles in Bulgaria and Japan, she serves as Executive Director and Co-founder of General Incorporated Association KyoLink, Japan, and Executive Director and Co-founder of KyoLink Foundation Bulgaria, actively fostering research, innovation, and collaboration between Bulgaria and Japan. Greetings : HE Ms Marieta ARABADJIEVA, Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria to Japan The Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria to Japan, H.Е. Ms Marieta Arabadjieva, is a career diplomat and Japanologist with 30 years of academic and professional engagement with Japan, including more than 15 years of direct experience in the country. Her diplomatic career also includes postings in China and various positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria. She has specialised at Osaka University of Foreign Studies, Fudan University, and the University of Oxford. Throughout her career, she has worked to strengthen Bulgaria's relations with Japan and the wider Asian region, focusing particularly on political and economic cooperation, innovation, science and technology, education, and people-to-people exchange. 15:50–14:10 JST | KyoLink Presentation Moderated by Lidia Vitanova Speaker: Dr Lidia VITANOVA, Representative Director and Co-Founder of KyoLink, Japan Topic: KyoLink at One: Achievements, Partnerships and What Comes Next Speaker : Assoc. Prof. Quang-Van DOAN, Director and Co-Founder of KyoLink, Japan Topic: Bridging Academia and Innovation: Research Opportunities through KyoLink Assoc. Prof. Quang-Van Doan is a researcher at the Center for Computational Sciences, University of Tsukuba, specialising in climate science and international research collaboration. He serves as a Lead Author for the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Cities (2027) and works closely with the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and international research networks. With over 60 international publications, his work bridges science, policy, and society to advance climate resilience and global scientific cooperation. Speaker: Iskren KRUSTEFF, Director and Co-Founder of KyoLink, Japan Topic: From Bulgarian Innovation to Japan-Europe Partnerships: How KyoLink Connects Startups, Research, Corporates and Market Opportunities Iskren Krusteff empowers startups and scaleups with tailored strategies for capital raising, global expansion, and innovation to drive sustainable growth and market leadership. With 15+ years of experience, Iskren has mentored over 500 startups and scaleups in deep tech, AI, fintech, and web3, helping them raise millions and expand globally. Beyond mentoring, Iskren has built and led flagship initiatives connecting founders with capital and strategic partners. As a Board Member of Power of BG, initiator of The Bridge, and strategic advisor to Bulgaria's Expo 2025 Pavilion, he operates at the intersection of startups, corporates, and governments. 16:10–16:20 JST | Q&A Session Moderated by Iskren Krusteff 16:20–16:40 JST | Panel Discussion Moderated by Iskren Krusteff Panellist: HE Ms Marieta ARABADJIEVA, Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria to Japan Panellist: Prof. Taisuke Boku, Director, Advanced HPC-AI Research and Development Support Center (HAIRDESC), RIST Bio: Taisuke Boku has been researching HPC system architecture, system software, and performance evaluation/tuning on various scientific applications. In 2019-2025, He was the Director for Center for Computational Sciences (CCS), University of Tsukuba, a co-designing center with both application researchers and HPC system researchers. He played a central roles for development of original supercomputers in the center including CP-PACS (ranked as number one in TOP500 in 1996), FIRST, PACS-CS, HA-PACS, Cygnus and Pegasus systems, the representative supercomputers in Japan. He was the President of HPCI (High Performance Computing Infrastructure) Consortium in Japan in 2020-2022, and also the Vice President in 2024-2026. He was a member of system architecture working group of Fugaku supercomputer development. He received ACM Gordon Bell Prize in 2011. He was one of the Program Directors of the Feasibility Study of the Next Generation Supercomputer in Japan (“Post-Fugaku”) under MEXT, and also one of the Program Directors of the Program for Promoting Research on the Supercomputer Fugaku. He is currently assigned to the Director of newly established Advanced HPC-AI Research and Development Support Center (HAIRDESC) under a governmental program by MEXT, which supports the education and code development toward GPU-ready systems such as FugakuNEXT and all GPU-equipped supercomputers in Japan. Panellist: TBC Panellist: TBC 16:40–16:45 JST | Closing Remarks & Post-Event QR Quiz Moderated by Lidia Vitanova 16:45–16:50 JST | Group Photo Coordinated by Lidia Vitanova 17:00–20:00 JST | Networking and Anniversary Ceremony