2026 | Summer Internship in Radio Astronomy and the Construction of LOFAR-BG: Group 1

19.07.2026

The summer internship in radio astronomy and the construction of the LOFAR-BG station has begun. For the past few days, the first group of participants in the internship organised by the Institute of Astronomy with the National Astronomical Observatory of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IA with NAO – BAS) has been combining fieldwork with training, while building valuable professional connections with one another, with leading Bulgarian scientists, and with representatives of the Dutch institute ASTRON.
The participants, from Bulgaria and Israel, are young people with an interest in radio astronomy, physics, and engineering, including students from Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski,” the Technical University of Sofia, and the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy in Varna. Each of them is eager to gain practical experience in the construction and operation of this new scientific infrastructure — the first of its kind in Bulgaria and the region.
The first of the two weeks of the first group began with training in occupational safety and working procedures at the Bulgarian station of LOFAR (Low Frequency Array) — the world’s largest low-frequency radio telescope — which is under construction in the immediate vicinity of the National Astronomical Observatory Rozhen. In an introductory lecture, the project leader, Prof. Dr. Kamen Kozarev, Director of IA with NAO, introduced the participants to key milestones in the development of radio astronomy and outlined the scope of this major internationally significant scientific and technological project, in which they are among the first to take part.
Each day amid the Rhodope Mountains brings new challenges — weather included — which the interns have met with strong teamwork and motivation. From the very first day, dedicated to orientation and the start of practical field activities, all participants demonstrated the commitment needed to lay the foundations for the successful completion of this important project for both the Bulgarian and European scientific communities.
The interns are receiving guidance and support from the IA with NAO team: Prof. Dr. Rositsa Miteva, Assoc. Prof. Yanko Nikolov, and Chief Assistant Prof. Asen Mutafov, as well as from ASTRON maintenance engineers Peter Gruppen and Zabet Amadi. Assoc. Prof. Petar Petkov from the Technical University of Sofia, a member of the LOFAR-BG consortium, also participated during the first two days.