The discussion was initiated by the heads of the organizations of Science Agora, Dr. Georgios Nounesis, President of NCSR Demokritos, Prof. Dimitris Bourantonis, Rector of AUEB, Prof. Andreas Boudouvis, Rector of NTUA, Prof. Ioannis Emiris, President of RC ATHENA and Prof. Ioannis Vasileiou, former President – Director of ICCS. In their statements, they referred to the added value that institutions and the wider ecosystem of research, innovation and entrepreneurship already obtain from the collaboration and shared their views on the next steps for the Hub.

A presentation of the actions that the Hub has implemented so far and those planned for the immediate future followed. These actions are associated with both the education of the staff of the Technology Transfer Offices and the research potential of the institutions and with the extroversion of the Hub and the development of collaborations with the market (with a characteristic example being the Proof of Concept Program that was implemented and subsequent ones planned in the fields of Culture and Creative Industries and Tourism). Emphasis was placed on orienting the Hub’s actions towards identifying and addressing market challenges and needs and its connection with the research community to create innovative products and high-value services.

The first “Proof of Concept” program, focusing on Environment and Energy, was implemented with the support of Google. Ms. Maria Founta, Google’s Marketing Director for Southeast Europe, notably stated: “We were delighted to participate in the Science Agora technology transfer hub. As Google, we are committed to supporting green and sustainable transformation in Greece. We will continue to embrace innovative initiatives through our products, synergies and funding we provide.”

Following a brief presentation of the implementation process of the Proof of Concept program, the floor was given to the teams supported by the program, which discussed the results of the pilot action and the benefits they gained from their participation in it.

The presented teams were the following:

Scidrones

An online cloud-based platform which incorporates all necessary information for the medium voltage network manager of the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator S.A. (HEDNO S.A.), from data originating from Unmanned Aircraft Systems.

Run4More

The first free application in Greece aiming at increasing physical activity (walking, running, cycling) and rewards its users with points which can be redeemed in cooperating businesses, earning gift vouchers, offers, or supporting actions with social impact.

SILDI

A data processing system for timely notification and prediction of problems during water processing, through determining the SDI index in real time.

FreshIt

Development of new fruit processing technologies with the aim of extending the shelf life of the fresh product through the application of sustainable and mild processes.

Fresqo

A system that provides a secure estimate of the freshness index of fish, using image analysis tools and utilizing color changes in fish tissues.

Dataphoria

An analytics-as-a-service platform that utilizes data and facilitates businesses, organizations, and cities to accelerate their transition to sustainability.

In following, Cyrus, SymbioLabs, and TEKMON companies, which have been supported in the past by Science Agora organizations and have already made a successful market journey, were presented. Representatives from the companies shared their experience and discussed the challenges, as well as the prospects of transitioning research from the lab to the market.

The event was concluded with brief presentations by renowned market executives, who discussed the prospects of the Hub’s cooperation with businesses and suggested specific actions that would accelerate the interconnection of the two.

You can download the Press Release here.