2020 Cyprus Country Report

Research & Development
Sector Profile
of Israel’s leading institutions
IDC Hezliya and the city of
Pafos. The learning and training
institute has the aim to encourage
intellectual and entrepreneurial
cooperation to generate
solutions to challenges of water,
energy and food security.
Cyprus’ climate research
is also well aligned with the
European Commission’s (EC)
European Green Deal, an
action plan to boost the efficient
use of resources, cut pollution
and restore biodiversity.
The ultimate goal is for the EU
to be climate neutral in 2050.
Part of the action plan is investing in eco-friendly
tech and green innovation, and it will mobilise
funding of over €100 billion in 2021-2027 to the
most affected regions. Cyprus has begun working
in collaboration with key ministries towards the
realignment of its projects and initiatives portfolio
to be aligned with the EC Green Deal plan.
Projects based on the Green Deal for Cyprus
can focus on climate change, quality of water,
soil exploitation, food and smart cities, energy,
solar energy exploitation – and with the necessary
technology and intellectual capital needed
already in place, Cyprus is sure to accomplish its
targets.
The RIF has set
up a Knowledge
Transfer Office to
operate as a central
hub linking industry
with research
organisations and
support high-level
knowledge transfer
activities such as
patent protection
and licensing.
focuses on developing start-ups
from early-stage to mature ventures,
by assisting them in all
the necessary steps and being
with them throughout their
journey.
To better connect research
talent with businesses and
to support ways to commercialise
novel solutions is of
strategic importance to the
aforementioned Research and
Innovation Foundation (RIF).
The Foundation has set up a
Knowledge Transfer Office,
which operates as a central hub
linking industry with research
organisations and support high-level knowledge
transfer activities such as patent protection and
licensing. Another project in the works is to
set up an Innovation Factory to offer mentoring,
coaching and assessment services as well as
enable networking with investors. One of the core
RIF activities is to also keep a record of expatriate
Cypriot researchers on a central database, with
the purpose of keeping them informed about R&I
activities in Cyprus, updating them with available
networking and financing opportunities and encouraging
the development of new partnerships.
A FUTURE OF TRANSFORMATION
Three new Centres
of Scientific
Excellence in 2019
➊ Marine and
Maritime Research,
Innovation and
Technology Centre
➋ Eastern
Mediterranean
and Middle East
- Climate and
Atmosphere
Research Centre
➌ Biobanking and
the Cyprus Human
Genome Project
FOSTERING START-UPS
Creating a vibrant community of start-ups is a key
priority for Cyprus, and to achieve this, providing
programmes and incentives specially-designed to
respond to the needs of early stage entrepreneurship
is essential. Cyprus already has high-quality
human capital and world-class academic and research
centres, however, it still needs to embrace
creativity in order to fuel cutting-edge ideas and
build a culture of innovation. A key challenge
is to create better links between innovative academic
research centres and businesses that excel
in transforming ideas into commercially viable
products and services.
There are private R&D companies which are
commercially driven, and a flagship example
is the Cyprus Research and Innovation Center
(CyRIC). Its core areas are mechanical engineering
design and prototyping, electrical and
electronics engineering, robotics and wearables,
biomedical engineering and information communication
technologies. CyRIC has been involved
in more than 35 R&D projects – mostly
funded by the EU and industry – worth over €40
million. It also founded an international venture-building
incubator branded Gravity, which
With renewed focus from a government level to
support and develop a thriving research and innovation
sector, the country is diversifying into a
more sustainable and knowledge-based economy.
With a multitude of innovative projects up and
running, new centres of excellence and cuttingedge
multidisciplinary research being undertaken,
Cyprus is well on its way to achieving its
ambition of becoming a leading innovation hub.
The vast pool of talent, experience and state-ofthe-art
facilities are attracting bright minds from
around the world and the growth in this area is
also attracting those wanting to invest in emerging
technologies and solutions of the future.
Situated at the crossroads of three continents and
already established as a solid EU business centre,
Cyprus is the ideal location for research and innovation
projects that can easily reach millions of
potential customers. The future of Cyprus is one
of transformation and the synergy between scientific
research and industry is fundamental for the
creation of a productive R&I environment with
multiple benefits for the economy. n
Discover more at www.cyprusprofile.com
The
government,
banks and
public
organisations
have been
promoting Cyprus as a startups
destination, offering
tax incentives for innovative
enterprises and start-ups.
Recently, the government has
also offered great incentives
to the film industry and has
managed to grab the attention
of renowned American
producers, which apart from
being an asset to the economy
of Cyprus, it will be a huge
marketing tool for Cyprus on a
global level, associating Cyprus
with glamour and wealth.
Yiannos G. Georgiades
Co-founder and Director
KV Kinisis Ventures Limited
126 Country Report CYPRUS 2020