Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF) Demetris Skourides and its Director General Theodoros Loukaidis recently held meetings with “prominent figures” in the international field of Research and Innovation, within the framework of the Science and Technology in Society Forum 2025, which took place between 5–6 October in Kyoto, Japan.
According to an RIF press release, they exchanged views with Marcia McNutt, President of the American Academy of Sciences, on the need to redesign research evaluation systems.
They also exchanged views with President of the European Research Council Maria Leptin (pictured with Skourides and Loukaidis above) on the new EU framework programme, the budget for cutting-edge research and support actions for young scientists, as well as with Alexandra van Huffelen, President of the Executive Board of Radboud University in the Netherlands, on collaborations in areas such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence and neuroscience.
The representatives of RIF, it notes, also participated in the high-level meeting of the Research & Innovation Funding Agencies, “where the development of human resources with specialisation in artificial intelligence and the role of organisations in enhancing talent were discussed extensively.”
Exchange of good practices
During the roundtable discussion, they exchanged good practices with Tsuyoshi Sugino, President of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Dr. Wiparat De-ong, Executive Director of the National Research Council of Thailand, Professor Alejandro Adem, President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Dr. Georg B. Schutte, Senior Executive Director of the Volkswagen Foundation, and Andre Kudelski, President of Innosuisse.
They also had brief meetings with Professor Mari Sundli Tveit, Senior Executive Director of the Research Council of Norway, Lars Hultman, Senior Executive Director of the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research, Fulifhelo Nelwamondo, Senior Executive Director of NRF South Africa, and Professor Tuula Linna, President of the Finnish Academy of Sciences and Letters.
It is noted that Skourides also held brief meetings with Edward Screven, Member of the Board of Directors of Ampere Computer Holdings, Dr. Harrick Vin, Chief Technology Officer at Tata Consultancy Services, Dr. Aswani Kumar, Senior Counsel of the Supreme Court of India, Dr. Michael Stampfer, CEO of the Vienna Science and Technology Fund, Dr. Mona Nemer, Canada’s Chief Science Advisor and Dr. John Roche, Chief Science Advisor to the Prime Minister of New Zealand.
The RIF representatives also attended lectures and participated in discussions on academia-business cooperation, retraining in the era of Artificial Intelligence, the application of artificial intelligence solutions in the public sector and green energy, the announcement concludes.
(Source: CNA)
