2020 Cyprus Country Report

Research & Development
Sector Profile
Prominent
R&D Projects
KIOS DRIVING ICT INNOVATION
One of the island’s biggest ongoing research
projects involves the University of Cyprus’ KIOS
Research and Innovation Centre of Excellence (KIOS CoE).
In collaboration with Imperial College, London, it conducts
cutting-edge multidisciplinary research and innovation in the
area of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) with
emphasis on the monitoring, control, security and management of
critical infrastructure systems. In 2019, the Centre was awarded three
new EU-funded projects to address key research challenges related to
cancer monitoring and therapy, security of health data, and border surveillance
with technologies such as unmanned aircraft systems. New technology and
pioneering methods will be developed and are expected to have significant
economic and social impact in the region and globally. To ensure
that its research has maximal applicability and impact, KIOS
collaborates with a large network of national and international
academic, industrial, and governmental organisations.
KIOS also has an innovation hub to promote technology
transfer and liaisons with industry, as well as an
entrepreneurship network to facilitate startups
and venture capital investments.
CONSERVING HERITAGE ASSETS
The Cyprus Institute’s Science and Technology in
Archaeology and Culture Research Center (STARC)
brings together researchers from a broad range of
subjects, including art history and archaeology, computer
science, chemistry and physics, to preserve and understand
cultural heritage. STARC employs bio-chemical-physical techniques
to analyse works of art, ancient artefacts and archaeological discoveries.
It has also led the way in the 3D documentation of heritage assets and the
development of digital libraries. The STARC team from Cyprus collaborated
with the Antiquities Department of Israel on a 3D mapping project of
the Cenacle in Jerusalem, the building that is believed to be the site
of the Last Supper. Thanks to laser technology and advanced
photographic techniques, the precise dimensions of the
room and its architectural chronology could be carefully
mapped, providing conservationists with invaluable
insights into how the structure should be preserved.
This technology, pioneered and developed in
Cyprus, can be exported worldwide and
map and record historical and cultural
landmarks across the globe.
BIOBANK FOR VITAL RESEARCH
Another Cypriot centre of excellence to benefit from Horizon 2020 funding is the
national biobank, a collection of medical records and biological material, including
blood, DNA/RNA, plasma, serum, urine, tissue biopsies and genetic samples to
support biomedical research. This builds on work begun in 2010 by the Molecular
Medicine’s Research Centre (MMRC), under the auspices of the University
of Cyprus, which established a small biobank of genetic material related
to the study of hereditary kidney disease. This expanded repository
will ultimately accommodate a vast collection of genetic samples
from hundreds of thousands of individuals. The existence
of a unique national biomedical resource on this scale
will attract a critical mass of medical scientists and
experts, keen to utilise the biobank’s genetic
material for the development of their own
cutting-edge research and innovation.
MARITIME RESEARCH
Cyprus is one of the most influential shipping hubs
in the world and in 2019 created the Cyprus Marine and
Maritime Institute (CMMI), thanks to European Commission
Horizon 2020 Programme funding. Focusing on key priority
sectors such as maritime transport, offshore energy, maritime
and coastal tourism and aquaculture, the CMMI is forging partnering
relationships with well-known European institutions and businesses, active
in the fields of research, technology and innovation for the Blue Economy, thus
contributing to the transfer of knowledge and the development of a critical mass
of infrastructure and human capital in the Eastern Mediterranean region. In 2020,
Cyprus took the lead in optimised shipping and port operations through an agreement
between CMMI and two digital solutions companies, Tototheo Maritime and Marine Fields
Holdings. This agreement will test the understanding that ship port calls and harbour
services can be optimised through data sharing, using artificial intelligence (AI) and
more efficient communications within the coastal ecosystem. In addition, the
Institute also signed an MoU with Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement to
launch True North 72, an initiative that aims to encourage innovation across
the maritime supply chain and logistics industries. In the education
sector, Frederick University, based in Nicosia and Limassol,
aims to become one of the world’s top providers of maritime
education. In 2019 alone, the University had a budget of
more than €28 million for 31 new research programmes,
while in the past decade the university has been
involved in over 200 research programmes.
RISE OF EMERGING TECH
A new kind of highly accessible research centre
that aims to have a permanent and pivotal presence
in the research and innovation ecosystem of Cyprus was
established in 2017. Situated in the centre of old Nicosia, RISE
(Research into Interactive Media, Smart Systems and Emerging
Technologies) is an incubator and accelerator for both start-ups and
established companies, with common working spaces and laboratories
where innovative ideas can be tested. It is also a place for students and
academics to develop their research in a user-friendly direction. The project is
a joint venture between Cyprus’ three public universities and the municipality of
Nicosia, along with the German Max Planck Institute for Informatics in Saarbrucken and
University College London. RISE builds creative partnerships between local government,
commerce and academic scientific research. The project has been very successful in
competing for funds, so far securing €50 million, with €15 million from Horizon
2020 – a figure matched by the Cyprus government that will be scheduled over
15 years, and with PwC and Eurobank offering their services in kind.
124 Country Report CYPRUS 2020