EIT Inaugurates Community RIS Hub in Cyprus

18/06/2024,

The Chief Scientist for Research Innovation and Technology had the pleasure of participating in the inauguration of the EIT Community RIS HUB Cyprus Kick-Off event. The EIT RIS Hub Cyprus aims to support the Cyprus Innovation Ecosystem. The event hosted a series of esteemed guests, including the newly elected Mayor of Nicosia, Mr. Charalambos Pruntzos, the Director of EIT RIS Hubs, Dr. Styliani Petroudi, and featured a panel discussing “Supporting Innovation in Cyprus: Strategic Actions for Startups, Businesses & Industry.”  Panelists included the Chief Scientist for Research, Innovation & Technology, Mr. Demetris Skourides, Mr. Kyriakos Attouni on behalf of Mr. Marios Tannousis, CEO of Invest Cyprus, and Ms. Maria Markidou Georgiades.

During the panel discussion, Mr. Skourides elaborated on the current ranking of Cyprus, which is number 10 out of 27 in the European innovation scoreboard and 28th globally. He attributed this ranking to factors such as public-private co-publications, international scientific co-publications, innovative SMEs collaborating with others, trademark applications, and the population with tertiary education. Mr. Skourides emphasized how actions aligned with the Research and Development 2024-2026 strategy are paving the way to create a more vibrant, diversified ecosystem focused on scientific excellence and innovation.

When asked about the government’s efforts to make Cyprus more attractive to startups, Mr. Skourides explained the status of the Spin-off law and emphasized the importance of capital, talent, and resources in propelling the Cypriot tech and startup ecosystem forward. He highlighted that Cyprus ranks for the first time within the top 45 countries globally, with three cities—Limassol, Nicosia, and Paphos—ranking within the top 1000 startup cities, according to the Startup Blink Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2024.

Mr. Skourides referred to the active involvement of venture capital, angel investors, and government funding that actively support the vision of President H.E. Mr. Nicos Christodoulides in making Cyprus a regional Technology, Research, and Innovation Hub. He also cited that the 12 universities on the island and the strong linkages built between academia, research organizations, and private industry are fueling the capabilities of students pursuing STEM degrees such as computer science.

Adding to the discussion, Mr. Skourides praised policies and tools such as the Startup Visa and Digital Nomad programs, which encourage technology talents and distinguished professionals to immigrate to Cyprus. Concluding, the Chief Scientist stressed the importance of having structures and programs to support the execution of the strategy, referring to the role of the Research and Innovation Foundation, accelerators, and incubators, and elaborating on the support provided to the ecosystem by Cyprus Seeds.

Additionally, particular emphasis was placed on the need for startups and entrepreneurs to be mentored by successful entrepreneurs to increase their chances of success. Mr. Skourides reiterated the importance of engaging more women in tech, referring to the mentors of the Quadcore AI Hackathon, and stressed the importance of understanding the difference between research and innovation entrepreneurship, with the latter focusing on building a product, developing a go-to-market strategy, and focusing on operational execution.

Mr. Skourides highlighted the importance of the services offered by the EIT RIS Hub and their ability to help Cypriot startups transform and accelerate their journey to scale by leveraging services such as business model innovation, commercialization, and new product development.