This initiative is a natural continuation of the AmCham Hackathon, designed to build on the amazing partnerships and collaborations formed during its previous editions.
The pilot will be driven by three leading AmCham member companies – IBM Bulgaria, Kyndryl Bulgaria, and MSD Bulgaria – giving students and companies the chance to continue working together on real-world projects and build lasting professional connections.
Our Vision
Launched as a pilot project, the AmCham Mentoring Program aims to become a regular feature of the AmCham calendar and an integral part of the Hackathon experience – amplifying its impact, value, and long-term benefits for all participants.
Looking ahead, the program will expand to include more companies, offering even greater opportunities for collaboration. Companies participating in the AmCham Hackathon are encouraged to plan ahead to extend their Hackathon experience through the Mentoring Program and maximize their benefits.
Program Overview
What: A mentoring program connecting students with professionals from leading AmCham companies for continuous learning, guidance and collaboration.
When: Starts in November 2025 – until end of March 2026
Who: 3rd and 4th year students from the following majors: Economics, Business Administration, Finance, Engineering, Information Technologies, Computer Science, Humanitarian Studies with intermediate or advanced English skills.
Mandatory requirements for program completion:
- Participation in face-to-face group events (up to 3 events for the 5-month period)
- Active engagement with the selected mentor at least once a month in a mutually agreed format (either face-to-face or virtually)
What’s in it for Students
- Join the AmCham Mentoring Program to gain real insight into the business world and explore career opportunities with leading companies.
- Through one-on-one mentoring and group sessions, you will build confidence, develop essential business skills, and expand your professional network.
What’s in it for Companies
- Companies participating in the AmCham Hackathon are encouraged to plan ahead to extend their Hackathon experience through the next edition of the Mentoring Program and maximize their benefits.
- The AmCham Mentoring Program lets you mentor talented students, collaborate on fresh ideas, and engage with the next generation of professionals.
- Participating companies can nurture future talent, boost brand visibility, give back to the community, and build meaningful connections.
How to participate:
To apply for the AmCham Mentoring Program, students need to fill in the Application Form at the link below, answering all required fields, and attaching their CV, no later than November 14th, 2025.
How to Reach Out:
If you have any question about the Step Ahead Mentoring Program, you may contact the Project Manager Veneta Sapoundjieva, IBM Bulgaria, at baneva.veneta@bg.ibm.com or Iva Pavlova, AmCham, at iva@amcham.bg.
You can meet the Mentors on the following link.
Participating Companies
IBM Bulgaria
IBM is a value-driven company with people who create and apply technologies to make the world work better. Today, thousands of IBM employees around the world invent and integrate hardware, software, and services to enable forward-thinking enterprises, institutions, and individuals to succeed and build a smarter planet.
Departments across the whole IBM Bulgaria organization:
- IBM Infrastructure: provides end-to-end IT services, including network management, server systems operations, maintenance and monitoring of computer hardware and software.
- Main office: provides country business coverage by offering IBM high tech solutions to Bulgarian customers and serving all major industries in the areas of: Sales, IT Infrastructure, Business consulting.
- Procurement center: manages the process of supplier selection, including bid process, handles contract negotiation and other activities related supplier to supplier management across entire Europe, Middle East and Africa by participating in deal’s pricing processes, accounting and other.
- Finance center provides financial services to IBM units across entire Europe, Middle East and Africa by participating in deals pricing processes, accounting and other.
- IBM Software: Provides a unified integration platform that enables organizations to connect applications, automate workflows, and manage data across cloud and on-premises environments using tools like ESBs, API management, B2B gateways, and real-time processing capabilities.
Kyndryl Bulgaria
We have the world’s best talent that design, run, and manage the most advanced and reliable technology infrastructure each day. We are a focused, independent company that builds on our foundation of excellence by creating systems in new ways.Our experience speaks for itself: We have tens of thousands of highly skilled employees around the world serving most of the Fortune 100 companies.
Kyndryl in Bulgaria has been present on the local market mainly thru Kyndryl Collaborative Centre supporting our own Kyndryl organization and transformation. Kyndryl’s unmatched expertise and our unique intellectual property positioned Kyndryl as a compelling and trusted partner for our customers across the world. Kyndryl Bulgaria Collaborative is supporting our internal stakeholders with expertise in finance, procurement, business operations, and transformation area. Our Culture the Kyndryl Way underpins everything we do – from the way we engage with customers to the way we organize ourselves. We are committed in our Kyndryl mission to be our customers’ most vital IT services partner — delivering transformational business outcomes.
MSD Bulgaria
Merck & Co., Inc., an American biopharmaceutical company, is one of the oldest and most established pharmaceutical companies in the world, with a history spanning more than 130 years. Operating in Europe under the name MSD, the company is dedicated to scientific research and the development of innovative therapies in key health areas such as oncology, vaccine prevention, and infectious diseases. In Bulgaria, the company has been present for more than 30 years, and in 2024 it became the market leader in prescription medicines.
The program offers students the opportunity to gain a closer understanding of one of the most important areas in the pharmaceutical industry – regulatory affairs. This is the field that transforms scientific discoveries into therapies available to patients, ensuring their safety, efficacy, and quality. Within the program, students will be introduced to real-life examples and will gain insight into the role of regulatory affairs as a vital bridge between science and society.