Cyprus Seeds 2024 Innovation Showcase: Transforming Cyprus' innovation landscape for the future

The Cyprus Seeds 2024 Innovation Showcase at the Reflect Festival concluded on 31 May, marking a significant milestone in the advancement of the innovation ecosystem in Cyprus.

Held at the Kolla Factory of Culture, the event brought together distinguished speakers, startup investors, world-class mentors, pioneering innovators, and more than 120 participants, creating a platform for impactful dialogue and collaboration.

The event commenced with warm welcomes from Maria Markidou Georgiadou, Managing Director of Cyprus Seeds, and Theodoros Loukaidis, Director General of the Research and Innovation Foundation.

Linda Plano, Managing Director of Plano & Simple, captivated the audience with her presentation on crafting the Perfect Pitch. Her insights, concentrated into ten simple yet powerful questions, provided invaluable guidance to the attending innovators on effectively communicating their groundbreaking ideas.

The inaugural panel discussion, facilitated by Theodoros Loukaidis, focused on the vital role of nurturing scientific startup ecosystems. Esteemed speakers, including Aristos Doxiadis from Big PI Ventures and Roula Bachtalia, Director of Eurobank Greece’s egg enter grow go, provided valuable insights into successful strategies and practices within the Greek ecosystem. They highlighted the importance of fostering collaboration between academia and industry to cultivate a thriving ecosystem for deep-tech startups. Additionally, they shared best practices for strengthening national ecosystems and emphasised the importance of establishing international networks. Doxiadis emphasised the importance of building strong technology transfer teams to scout for good IP prospects and to assist academics in bringing products to market. Bachtalia described how Cyprus Seeds and egg enter grow go accelerator are working together to further strengthen the innovation ecosystems of both countries.

Another engaging panel focused on forming stronger ecosystems for university-born startups. Moderated by Kim Wang, Associate Professor at Suffolk University Sawyer Business School (USA), the discussion featured prominent figures such as Mikkel Sørensen, Founding Director of the Skylab Innovation Hub at the Technical University of Denmark, Prof. Julius Georgiou of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Cyprus, Jonathan Green of Arcadia Funds (USA), Dora Trachana of Uni.Fund (GR), Elena Pantazi of Northzone (UK), and Monica Ioannidou Polemitis, Board Member of the Research and Innovation Foundation. Their diverse perspectives and extensive experience from the public and private sectors as well as academia provided a comprehensive overview of the challenges and opportunities for academics to successfully bring their research to the international market.

The Seaside Chat on innovation in renewables and green energy, featuring Prof. George Georghiou of the University of Cyprus and moderated by Paul Blackborow, was another standout session. Blackborow presented the Boston Innovation Ecosystem in renewables and discussed how the Cyprus ecosystem could benefit. Prof. Georghiou highlighted the role of the Phaethon Centre of Excellence in developing state-of-the-art research and innovations in the field of renewables in the region. He also emphasised the important role of Cyprus Seeds within the Cypriot ecosystem as well as being one of the innovation partners of the Phaethon project to develop the innovation and technology transfer department of the Phaethon Centre of Excellence.

A standout feature of the event was the Inventors' Pitching session, where six teams from Cyprus Seeds presented their innovative projects. The teams, representing fields such as cybersecurity, art, health, and renewables, came from various research organisations including the University of Cyprus, CYENS Centre of Excellence, The Cyprus Institute, and Frederick University. The session, moderated by Aristos Doxiadis, featured a dynamic "Ask Me Anything" session with a panel of distinguished investors including, among others, the Cyprus Business Angels Network, Kinisis Ventures, Uni.Fund, BIG PI Ventures, National Bank Greece Innovation Unit, and Metavallon.vc. The Cyprus Seeds teams had an exceptional presence, sparking positive interest from both investors and the audience, and fostering meaningful conversations and potential collaborations.

During the two days of the Reflect Festival, all the teams of the current cycle of the Cyprus Seeds Program presented their innovations to more than 9,000 visitors at the booths provided to Cyprus Seeds by the organisers. The event not only showcased these innovative projects but also highlighted the dynamic growth and potential of Cyprus' innovation landscape.

Following the success of this year's showcase, Cyprus Seeds plans to expand its programs and initiatives, continuing to support the commercialisation of research and innovation in Cyprus. During her closing remarks, Maria Georgiadou announced that the 4th Call for Applications of the Program will open later in the summer as well as bringing to Cyprus the VMS Mentoring the Mentors Program of the MIT. The organisation remains committed to fostering an environment where groundbreaking ideas can thrive and make a global impact.