Cyprus Chief Scientist Participates in EUC Startup Networking Night
The Chief Scientist of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Demetris Skourides, participated in the Startup panel discussion at the EUC Startup Networking Night, an event organised by the European University Cyprus (EUC).
This event is part of the EUC Startup Programme powered by Microsoft, aimed at connecting startups, entrepreneurs, and investors.
The panel, moderated by Dr. Celia Hadjichristodoulou, featured distinguished panellists including Mrs. Maria Georgiadou, Managing Director of Cyprus Seeds; Mr. Andreas Panayi,
Co-founder of VC Kinisis Ventures, Mr. Yiannis Eftychiou from VC 33East, Mr. George Georgiades, Senior Partner Technology Strategist at Microsoft and Mr. Demetris Skourides, Cyprus Chief Scientist.
During the discussion, Mr. Skourides stressed that Cyprus now possesses the fundamental elements required to establish a leading innovation ecosystem, highlighting supportive government policies, the startup program, and its overall attractiveness. He noted the necessity of additional efforts to prepare the startup sector for external scaling and emphasized the importance of funding to assist entrepreneurs in developing their ideas into MVPs and viable solutions.
Mr. Skourides also echoed the sentiments of Mr. Andreas Panayi, stressing that entrepreneurs must embrace failure as a learning experience and leverage financial support from angel investors and venture capitalists, in addition to competitive government funding.
He cited the success stories of major technology corporations such as Oracle and AWS, advising entrepreneurs to “Think Big,” “Think Scale,” and consider “How Value is Created.”
He urged entrepreneurs to maintain a customer-centric approach rather than becoming grant-centric.
Furthermore, Mr. Skourides reiterated the status of the “Spin-off law” and underscored global best practices, noting that successful spin-off companies should incorporate staff with the expertise required to transform intellectual property into practical solutions.
He warned that spin-offs often fail due to a lack of execution focus or leadership that prioritizes research excellence over technological and commercial success.
Highlighting the critical role of senior leadership teams, Mr. Skourides referenced how Larry Ellison, former CEO of Oracle, transitioned to the role of CTO to maintain the company’s focus on business growth and product innovation.
In his concluding remarks, Mr. Skourides highlighted the importance for Cypriot entrepreneurs and startups to validate their customer value propositions in international markets early on, rather than treating market validation as an afterthought.
