Mitko Hristov is a software engineer, a programmer, a teacher, and the creator of the Atlantida Academy, an innovative school for competitive mathematics. After 10 years of working as a manager and IT specialist in the corporate world, Mitko made a U-turn and decided to dedicate his life to education. He became a maths teacher because he could no longer find satisfaction in his corporate career. Instead, he decided to follow one of his childhood dreams – to prepare students for mathematics competitions.
The problem Mitko faced was that children in the primary level of the educational system often had no access to an inspiring environment, where they could unfold their talents. He found the problem related to the decline in the level of our students was a chronic one, which was clearly demonstrated by the low performance of Bulgaria in the rankings of functional literacy. According to him, this results in a growing deficit of highly qualified staff for the IT industry and may create problems with the development of business in Bulgaria in the long run.
The solution was born in 2018, when Mitko created the Atlantida Academy – a school for children in the early stages of development of their mathematical talents. In 2021, the Atlantida Foundation was set up, which is the channel used to spread the Academy’s experience. For the past three years, the students from the Academy have won over 30 awards in European and Asian competitions in mathematics.
The mission of the Atlantida Academy is to spread the innovative mathematics teaching plan they have created and develop the personal qualities of the children, encouraging their individual abilities along with their success in mathematics.
Mitko has already developed a model featuring a hybrid classroom, where children can study live or online, when they cannot visit the lessons at the Academy.
Mitko was aware of our strong traditions in mathematics, particularly in maths competitions, so he decided to update the methodology and create an inspiring learning environment, where new talents can be found to bring Bulgaria's future Olympic fame. Furthermore, the Atlantida Academy is helping children who have difficulties in the primary years of education by encouraging their love for mathematics, because the Academy's founder knows that mathematics can be very fun – it depends on how you teach it.
PROMYANATA (The Change) he seeks to achieve:
The big goal of the Atlantida Academy is to spread its innovative approach in teaching children by reaching and developing the schools in Bulgaria's region, where competitive mathematics is underdeveloped.
The educational plan of the Atlantida Academy aims not only to achieve success and win medals in mathematics, but also to develop the children's emotional intelligence.
Through his project, Mitko wants to secure an inspiring environment to support Bulgaria's talented children in the field of mathematics, who will become the engineers, programmers, and IT developers of tomorrow.