The 3rd Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum 2017* with the theme "Research Commercialization & Innovative Start-ups" was successfully held on 28 November 2017 at the University of Cyprus.
The Forum was organized by the University's Entrepreneurship Center and the Hellenic Initiative (THI), in cooperation with PwC Cyprus, MIT Enterprise Forum Greece and the support of the US Embassy in Cyprus.
The event was opened with greetings by the Dean of the University of Cyprus Professor K. Christofides, the Founding Member of the Greek Initiative Mr. G. David, the Minister of Interior Mr. K. Petrides, the Program Director of the Greek Initiative Mr. M. Prinzzo and the Ms. C. Doherty, US Ambassador to Cyprus.
Speeches on experiences and best practices for the exploitation of research results by
Leon Sandler, Executive Director of the Deshpande Technology Innovation Center of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Herbert Chen, Innovation Advisor of China's largest science and technology park, TusPark, owned by Tsinghua University in Beijing
Anna Protopapa, President and Managing Director of Mersana Therapeutics in Boston, USA.
The forums included:
Presentations on 30 research results with potential for exploitation by the international market in the fields of Information Technology, Communications and Microelectronics, Intelligent Infrastructures, Renewable Energy Sources and Health Sciences.
The exhibition was attended by distinguished businessmen and representatives of investment funds from abroad, welcomed by Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, Professor M. Dikaiakos, summarizing the Center's actions and stressing that the event is a platform for building trust and cooperation relations between the research community of Cyprus and international economic and business players with the aim of transforming the Cyprus economy into an innovative orientation.
A Start-up Competition featuring 10 finalists selected from 30 entries. Businesses presented their ideas to a jury of seven world-renowned entrepreneurs, investors and experts, Ph. Ammerman, J. Downward, A. Doxiadis, P. Maroudia, Al. Pantazi, V. Papakonstantinou and Anna Protopapas.
The competition was co-ordinated by the President of the Entrepreneurship Council of the University of Cyprus, Associate Professor G. Kasinis.
The three best teams won prize money of $ 15,000, offered by the Greek Initiative, and PwC free training services.
The first prize was given to the Cypriot company LEVEL 5 and was received by Dr Marios Neophytou. LEVEL 5 has designed an innovative plasma printable technology for the automatic cleaning of dustproof cameras and is based on a research project involving KAUST University.
The second prize was given to AJMmed-i-caps and was received by Deputy Professor of the University of Cyprus Dr Julius Georgiou for the creation of an "intelligent" electronic pill for non-invasive bowel cancer detection, and is a result of European cooperation research involving University of Cyprus.
The third prize was given to AMDM and received by Dr. Kingdom Draconaki. AMDM focuses on the production of light and durable nanomaterials with applications in the construction of aircraft, cars, defense systems, etc. and is based on research in which he participates in the Cyprus University of Technology.
The event ended with a discussion on "Key Factors for successful Commercialization" with the participation of the invited speakers of the Forum, the Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and the CEO of PwC Cyprus, Mr. Eugeniou.
Representatives of investment funds from Europe, the US, China and Cyprus, bank executives, representatives of the Ministries and Producers of Cyprus participated in the event. His Excellency, Mr. Rumen Radev, the President of Bulgaria, visited the research results.
The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum is organised with a view to educating the academic community, young researchers, students and Cypriot society more broadly, about the ideas, practices, perspectives, but also the challenges and opportunities that exist to strengthen the local ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship. It is organized and hosted annually by the Center for Entrepreneurship of the University of Cyprus.
Further information is available at http://www.c4e.org.cy/ief2017/
* This press release has been adapted from the Greek original version developed by the University of Cyprus.