Chief Scientist for Research, Innovation and Technology, Mr. Demetris Skourides – Symposium on Artificial Intelligence in Modern Oncology

Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol | 22 March 2024

Dear participants, speakers, and esteemed guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure to join you on this extraordinary occasion, which brings together some of the brightest minds in Cyprus and abroad. Events like these are a small, yet much needed step towards the future.

Try to imagine the development of medicine and healthcare without technological advancements. It is simply impossible. Imagine 21st century medicine, without cutting-edge technology. Technological advancements, especially in the fight against cancer, are only possible with advanced technology, as is artificial intelligence

. The Cyprus University of Technology, the German Oncology Centre, and the Cancer Research and Innovation Centre should be praised for recognising this crucial connection and organising this symposium. Congratulations and thank you for giving me the opportunity to be part of it. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

Artificial intelligence, or AI, is a technology that uses mathematics to apply models that enable it to think like a human being. AI and other cutting-edge technologies enable humans to automate and accelerate otherwise time-consuming tasks. If properly harnessed, AI has the potential to free up time for the human workforce to focus on other areas of added value. These technologies are here to help humans increase their productivity, their precision, and their effectiveness and create new potential.

As you know, AI is already transforming healthcare. It assists with diagnosing and treating patients, while possessing the potential to predict the occurrence and progression of chronic diseases. It is playing a pivotal role in furthering medicine by transforming the way medical research is conducted, particularly in clinical trials. It can also streamline administrative tasks, allowing medical practitioners to focus purely on their duties. Last but not least, it is increasingly integrated into all levels of medical education.

It is no surprise that AI is increasingly becoming an integral part of the medical professionals’ toolkits. Machine learning for example, a type of AI that involves training computers with data to perform dedicated tasks, such as disease diagnosis, is already applied across the entire healthcare spectrum. A recent study demonstrated that ML algorithms perform as well or even better than medical practitioners. Google’s Med-PaLM 2 is an AI model which has been especially engineered for healthcare and can leverage the power of language and medical reasoning, revolutionising patient care and medical research. 

Ladies and gentlemen 

Ranking research and innovation high in its priorities, the Government has recently approved the National Research and Innovation Strategy 2024-2026, based on “Vision 2035”, according to which Cyprus is set to become a thriving and resilient economy at the crossroads of Europe and the Middle East, with high and ever-increasing levels of productivity and competitiveness.

In the same framework, reforms and investments have been planned as part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, while the Smart Specialization Strategy 2030 is already underway, and the action plan for 2023-2024 recently published by the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy has a total budget of €230m.

Medicine and healthcare are pivotal for the successful implementation of our national strategy. The development of healthcare applications is one of our primary focus areas for research and development in innovative materials, a technological priority area aiming to contribute towards our objective of drawing targeted investments in our country, that would drive growth.

Furthermore, health is one of the domains deemed essential for the success of the Smart Specialization Strategy. An unhealthy human workforce can neither be productive, nor creative. Therefore, research and innovation in the health sector aims to improve the quality of life of the people in Cyprus by addressing the existing challenges of our healthcare system. We are happy that the country’s R&I ecosystem already boasts several research organizations and Centres of Excellence, pharmaceutical companies, as well as innovative companies producing nutraceutical and cosmeceutical products based on indigenous plants.

The role of digital technologies is crucial to us in addressing issues related to data collection and analysis, as well as decision-making. This is why we have identified clinical and genetic exploration and treatment of diseases, digital health, innovative products and the promotion of public health and quality of life as our focus areas.

Lastly, I would like to once again congratulate the Cyprus University of Technology, the German Oncology Centre and the Cancer Research and Innovation Centre for this outstanding event that helps our country take one more step forward towards the future, and of course everyone present, in this great journey of advancement and development.

Thank you.