Cyprus’ Chief Scientist joins High-Level Science Policy Briefing in Israel

Chief Scientist for Research, Innovation and Technology and Chairman of the Research and Innovation Foundation Demetris Skourides joined Israel's Chief Scientist Professor Abraham (Avi) J. Domb in a Diplomatic Salon hosted by H.E Ambassador Kornelios Korneliou, and the Chairman of the Jewish Center of Impact, Robert Singer.

During his keynote address titled “Creating Tomorrow’s Research & Innovation Ecosystems”, Skourides outlined Cyprus’ advancements in research and innovation and presented the Cypriot R&I Strategy and its ecosystem, emphasising how the Centres of Excellence serve as infrastructures scaling innovation. The Chief Scientist focused on common industries of interest showing synergies in energy, environment and climate change, healthcare, critical intelligence infrastructures, and marine & shipping, elaborating on his strategy to develop Research Excellence, Innovation Excellence, Infrastructure Excellence and Commercialisation excellence, which the Chief described as the 4Es.

Skourides highlighted the importance of fundamental research and demonstrated through examples how Cyprus focuses on enhancing commercialisation through showcasing successful startups and innovation companies in their respective sectors.

Skourides also discussed Cyprus’ plans to establish an AI Green Data Center and ongoing discussions with hyperscalers, explaining how such developments can create game-changing opportunities for startups and innovation companies.

“Now is the Time to Join Innovation Ecosystems, building on next generation infrastructure such as Data Centers as enablers”, Skourides said. He spoke about the synergies and opportunities of cooperation between the Cypriot and Israeli R&I ecosystems, adding that the future of innovation depends on loosely coupled innovation ecosystems that can be orchestrated to create synergistic value for fundamental and applied research and innovation.

The Chief Scientist also participated in a science policy briefing co-hosted by the Cyprus Embassy in Israel and the Center of Jewish Impact along with the CEO of Startup Nation Israel, Aviva Steinberger, VP of International Affairs of the Israel Innovation Authority, Shlomi Kofman, Professor Abraham (Avi) J. Domb, Chief Scientist for Research Israel, CEO of Bazan Group, Asaf Almagor. The panel was moderated by Sofronis Papageorgiou.

As part of this visit, Skourides held meetings with:

• Prof. Abraham (Avi) J. Domb, Chief Scientist, Ministry of Innovation
• Alon Stopel Chairman of the Board, Israel Innovation Authority (IIA), and Chief Scientist of Innovation
• Shlomi Kofman – Vice President & Head of International Collaborations Division
• Gaby Portnoy, VP of International Development, Israel Cyber Security Directorate
• Robert Singer, Chairman of the Center for Jewish Impact.

The Diplomatic Salon was attended by the Ambassadors of Austria Nikolaus Lutterotti, Albania’s Bardhyl Canaj, Bahrain’s Khaled Yousif Al Jalahma, Croatia’s Vesela Mrđen Korać, and other prominent figures of Israel’s ecosystem including Israel’s Acting Deputy Chief Scientist, Mr Raveh Avi.