The Chief Scientist’s Keynote Speech at the Cyprus Diaspora Forum titled: From Lab to Market: Bridging the Gap Between Scientific Discovery and Economic Impact – 9/5/

12/05/2025

Keynote Address by Demetris Skourides
Chief Scientist of the Republic of Cyprus
Cyprus Diaspora Forum 2025

May, 9 2025 – start is 2:30pm
Keynote – From Lab to Market: Bridging the Gap Between Scientific Discovery and Economic Impact.

Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed colleagues, and members of the Cypriot diaspora,

It is a true privilege to be here with you at the Cyprus Diaspora Forum to discuss a subject that lies at the heart of sustainable economic development – a subject that is amongst my main priorities every day; how we transform scientific innovation into viable market solutions. Cyprus, despite its geographic size, has managed to achieve successes in both the European Innovation Scoreboard and the Global Innovation Index, albeit the systemic challenges it faces. In 2024, Cyprus ranked for a third consecutive year as a Strong Innovator, number 10 in Europe behind Germany, just ahead of Estonia and France, number 2 in North Africa and East Asia, and number 27 in the GII. Such performances reflect that both research and innovation excellence are on the rise, also confirming that the nation’s investment in research and development is starting to ignite economic growth.

We are at the beginning, however, one cannot but notice how R&D is contributing to the creation of new jobs, the introduction of high-tech markets, and new products and services that serve Europe, the Middle East, and global markets, essentially helping create growth through the creation of new revenue streams.

We hear in the news of new success stories by Cypriot entrepreneurs creating intellectual footprints, introducing new solutions to the market, and Cypriot researchers thriving across the world. Our researchers, entrepreneurs, and academic institutions consistently punch above their weight in producing cutting-edge science and breakthrough technologies.

Cyprus Vision 2035 outlines a vision where we aspire for Cyprus to be a regional technology, innovation, and research hub, and to this end, the Deputy Ministry of Digital Policy, Research, and Innovation focuses greatly through the Research and Development Strategy 2024-2026 on four pillars:

Research excellence,
Encouraging and enabling R&D to become a main driver of growth for every SME,
People as drivers of growth,
And becoming a leader in Research and Innovation.

In essence, we want to move from basic research, through applied research, innovation, and conclude in commercialization. However, not all breakthroughs, ideas, or innovations are equal, and those that yield powerful surpluses are often described as innovations that can be commercialized through patents, trademarks, copyrights, licenses, products, or solutions. Basic research is fundamental to success, and most of the technologies and novel discoveries that make their way to the market and into our lives today had their origins years back; in some cases, a decade, in others, half a century. And in some cases, such as the inspiring case of Ada Lovelace, who is widely considered the inspiration for the Ada programming language, it was more than a century later.

Many of these breakthroughs originally stemmed from fundamental research, only to move to market when the time arrived. However, many often ask, “How do we understand when the time for the breakthrough to reach the market has arrived, and what does the route-to-market entail?”

Today, scientists and researchers are working together across multi-disciplinary domains, empowered and enabled by technology, where new technologies such as machine learning and deep neural networks, combined with applied and basic research, are setting new foundations and offering hope for humanity as we seek to disrupt and treat cancer, predict and diagnose diseases earlier, and offer personalized treatment.

As we embark on the journey of discovering the unknown, we encounter new fields that can act as enablers. Quantum computing is one of many. This is why investments in fundamental research are more important than ever. It is important to note that nations that have been able to transform knowledge and science into solutions, moving from research to innovation and commercialization, have generated great benefits for their citizens, increasing their quality of life as new opportunities are created.

Think of Switzerland or France, with their pharmaceutical industries. Think of advanced manufacturing and automation, green tech, and mobility industries that have originated from Fraunhofer Institutes and Max Planck in Germany. Silicon Valley is today known as the number one technology hub in the world, and very few are aware that technologies such as the internet stemmed from DARPA-funded research. Across the world in the Asia-Pacific region, new industries such as biotechnology and precision medicine, advanced manufacturing, and maritime technology in Singapore are led by research at the National University of Singapore and the Singapore Maritime Institute, respectively.

It is worth noting that research and development have become a crucial ingredient for countries aspiring to achieve the leapfrog effect, with notable examples of smaller nations that have also invested in research as a competitive advantage, including the UAE, where emerging AI, space, and biotechnology research are emerging from MBZUAEI through strategic partnerships.

One cannot but notice that for the successes mentioned above, innovation and technology are not the end game; they are rather the ignition and the fuel that act as enablers, supported by Technology transfer offices and accelerators in what we refer to as route-to-market engagements.

In Cyprus, we are learning by studying the successes and best practices of more advanced nations, building on a strong legacy of exceptional ERC wins, and architecting our capability to enable our aspiration of developing a world-class research culture. To achieve this, as Chief Scientist, and with the Deputy Ministry of Digital Policy, Research and Innovation, we are developing MoUs with the world’s top research nations and institutions, enabling researchers across borders and institutions to work together and pursue jointly some of the world’s most challenging problems.

However, the journey from discovery to commercial success is rarely linear, and not only dependent on the research capital that exists within research organizations. Such a journey demands not only visionary or breakthrough ideas but also robust ecosystems that support risk-taking, entrepreneurship, and interdisciplinary collaboration. The key challenge before us is aligning our scientific advancements with real-world market needs. That requires us to speak two languages – science and business; and to build bridges between them.

What does this mean in practical terms? Let’s start with the business perspective. To scale beyond enabling one researcher with one idea to thousands of researchers with multiple ideas, we must first invest in developing innovation infrastructure. Structures such as incubators, accelerators, and Technology transfer offices can provide the support, mentoring, and scale-up market engagement required to reach the market. The presence of funding tools to accelerate the transition of novel ideas and innovations to market becomes a key determinant of success. However, what success has taught many of us is that milestones become achievable with mentorship and the transfer of know-how, augmented by go-to-market expertise that is ingrained in the daily process.

Second, we need to cultivate a culture where failure is not feared but seen as an opportunity as part of the innovation process. Third, we must strengthen partnerships between universities, the private sector, and government – fostering a triple helix model where knowledge flows seamlessly across all three domains. Success requires the shifting of mindset from one’s own innovation to a partnership for success, where the focus shifts to how stakeholders together can co-create more value.

Because just like preparing a world-class dish, successful commercialization requires the right ingredients: talent, the right recipe—strategy, and the right chef—execution. We need world-class researchers, but we must also have a relentless focus on how their innovations can reach the market at scale.

Cyprus has the potential to be a Mediterranean hub for research commercialization. With strategic investments, international partnerships, and support from our diaspora as we develop MoUs, pursue strategic investments, and make way for Cypriot innovators to reach markets through exhibitions. Together, we can turn Cyprus into a launchpad for regional innovation – exporting not only goods and services but world-class scientific research and ideas that shape the future.

Let us commit today to bridging the gap from lab to market. Let us build and elevate Cyprus into a country where knowledge workers, commitment to excellence in all domains, and research fuel prosperity, while innovation drives inclusive and sustainable growth.

Thank you, and I wish you all a productive and inspiring session ahead.