We are all familiar with the phrase “two heads are better than one.” It refers to the notion that two minds working together can collaborate in an effort to create or to achieve a goal. Collaborating through sharing resources, creativity, and knowledge drives innovation beyond what one single entity can achieve on its own. It is on this premise that individuals and organizations across sectors come together to innovate, forming centers for innovation called innovation hubs.

Innovation hubs are physical and virtual spaces that bring together individuals and organizations from different industries and backgrounds with the common goal of developing innovative solutions to various challenges or filling a market gap. These hubs are crucial in promoting a culture of innovation and creativity, as they provide a supportive environment that enables individuals and entities within the public and private sectors to experiment, collaborate, receive mentoring, and share ideas. 

Cyprus is home to several innovation hubs that aim to foster a thriving startup culture and develop technological advancements across sectors. Among the island's innovation hubs are: the Central Bank of Cyprus’ Innovation Hub, CySEC’s Innovation Hub, Cyprus Seeds, CyRIC, TechIsland and the Cyprus Institute of Technology Research and Innovation.

Along with prominent innovation hubs are centers of excellence (CoE), such as the University of Cyprus’ KIOS Research and Innovation Center of Excellence, Eratosthenes, and CYENS. A CoE facilitates knowledge sharing and develops improved capabilities within specific knowledge areas through the collaboration of experts and researchers in a particular field. Such collaborations further contribute to the resources, knowledge, and capabilities of innovation hubs across sectors.

As these innovation hubs vary in industries, we will be exploring their activities within their respective sectors, and addressing their notable achievements to date. Their collaborations and efforts to improve the dissemination of information, resource allocation, and access to mentoring ensure that industry specific stakeholders are prepared to take on today’s challenges to create tomorrow’s opportunities.

Acting as a platform for knowledge dissemination and networking, The Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) established “The Innovation Hub” to facilitate better communication between regulatory bodies and capital market participants, enabling them to adopt products and services born from technological innovation. As a means of addressing and overcoming challenges concerning regulation and administration, the CBC is committed to monitoring technological developments globally. 

Through The Innovation Hub, the CBC aims to keep stakeholders in Cyprus informed and ready to deploy emerging technologies in order to avoid risks and to keep the ball of innovation rolling within the financial sector.

Nurturing the financial innovation ecosystem requires additional contributions from regulatory frameworks to ensure that operations run smoothly and securely, while supporting the gathering of financial resources and talent. As part of CySEC’s promise to support the island’s financial sector, they established a hub of their own dedicated entirely to exploring the emergence of fintech and regtech developments. Their innovation hub launched in 2018, and serves as a communication platform for leaders in industries that conduct operations within the FinTech and RegTech fields. 

One of their notable efforts is their involvement in the Blockchain Technology for Algorithmic Regulation and Compliance (BARAC) project, managed by the University College London Blockchain Technologies. Its purpose is to observe ways in which blockchain technologies can enhance the consolidation of financial activities, conduct studies on the proof-of-concept platform to automate compliance and “algorithmic regulation based on blockchain data”, as well as the dissemination of knowledge within networks of the financial sector, regulators, and academia.

Regarding innovations stemming from academia, Cyprus Seeds is among the significant entities making an impact. They aim to tackle the “brain drain” challenge that has been haunting Cyprus, seeking to retain highly skilled and talented researchers to ultimately foster a supportive environment to Cypriot technology spin-offs. For the past four years until today, they have been offering funding and mentoring services to help commercialize research projects and to help launch startups. 

The second startup, Gynetronics, is a healthcare-centric company looking to develop an enhanced diagnostic tool for gynecological examinations, and is a spin-off from the Direct In-vivo Monitoring of the Endometrial Cavity (DIMEC).

Cyprus Seeds is committed to helping universities commercialize research and projects across a variety of sectors including ICT, energy, healthcare, cybersecurity and AI, among others. They have also facilitated the funding and launch of two startups in 2022. iQ3Solar is focused on delivering a platform to improve the monitoring and data collection of photovoltaic assets and their performance to enhance the development of photovoltaic parks.

Maria Georgiadou, Managing Director at Cyprus Seeds, further expressed Cyprus Seeds’ mission and future, stating that, “there is no doubt that Cyprus'  innovation ecosystem has been growing over the past 5 years and, surely, it has the potential to grow faster in the next 5 years! One factor that can contribute and accelerate growth is enhancing collaboration among key stakeholders. Cyprus Seeds, a non profit organization with the mission to commercialize innovative scientific research from the universities and research centers of Cyprus, is the best example of public-private partnership. 

The Cyprus Government has been matching funding to the privately raised funds, raised by Cyprus Seeds, which is granted to the very best projects in academia that have the potential to bring to the market innovative solutions to world problems, in all the sectors of the economy. As a result, in less than 5 years of operation, Cyprus Seeds has succeeded in spinning out two startups from the University of Cyprus and one startup from the Cyprus Institute. We look forward to many more success stories in the future.”

Part of the innovation hub ecosystem involves centers of excellence (COE), whereby they contribute to the commercialization of academic research and projects to foster further growth and advancements in their respective fields of expertise. 

One such CoE, KIOS Research and Innovation Center of Excellence (KIOS CoE), was founded in 2008 within the University of Cyprus. Through collaboration with Imperial College London, they secured more than €40 million in funding from 2017-2022. 

KIOS works closely with academic institutions, as well as with industrial and state organizations to perform studies and innovation centered on monitoring and improving energy infrastructures, telecommunication networks, and transportation systems. They accumulate knowledge to disseminate and educate key players across the private and public sectors to solve practical challenges.

KIOS CoE has successfully established 41 EU funded projects, 28 industry funded projects, and drives collaboration between 172 researchers. Through their collaborations with industry and academia experts and researchers, KIOS has been awarded several grants, including the ERC Consolidator Grant for their “URANUS” research project. 

It aims to monitor and improve urban mobility through the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) focused on creating environmental and socioeconomic benefits. This also aligns with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) targets set by the EU to develop ecologically friendly smart cities.

Sprouting from the Cyprus University of Technology, a public university in Limassol founded in 2003, Eratosthenes looks to create a digital innovation hub that will lead regional efforts in Earth observation, space technology, and geospatial information. Armed with 112 professionals, including 90 researchers, three buildings, and advanced technologies and satellites, Eratosthenes CoE is seeking to put Cyprus on the space observation and exploration map.

The CYENS CoE brings together three public universities of Cyprus, including the University of Cyprus, the Cyprus University of Technology, and the Open University of Cyprus. They have also partnered with the Max Planck Institute for Informatics of Germany, and the University College London of England. Their partnerships are indicative of the power of collaboration and its potential to garner further knowledge and advanced practices. 

By connecting entrepreneurs, academic researchers, and creatives, the CYENS CoE looks to create various synergies to attract international organizations to collaborate with Cyprus. They aim to bring professionals and academic researchers together to contribute to the future of visual sciences, human factors and design, and communications and artificial intelligence. 

Innovation hubs and CoE born from academia offer valuable knowledge, cutting-edge equipment, and resources through the collaboration of academic researchers backed by private and state-funded grants for projects geared towards helping the island accelerate its innovation efforts and align with global ESG targets.

In an effort to accelerate the digital transformation journey of Cyprus, the Cyprus Innovation and Research Center (CyRIC), the only certified Business Innovation Center in Cyprus, became the established coordinator of the Cyprus Digital Innovation Hub (CyDi-Hub). CyDi-Hub is a regional network hub consisting of research and innovation enterprises. It uses cutting-edge technological innovations and services to usher in the digital transformation era to Cyprus. 

They offer a range of services including business support, incubation, 3D design and prototyping, IoT and software solutions to name a few. Their expertise makes them a staple in the development of knowledge and practices in emerging technologies such as extended reality, cloud implementations, and technology evaluations for enterprises to help them better understand means of digital and technological innovation. 

On the front of digital transformation, The Cyprus Institute of Technology, Research and Innovation (CyI), highlighted Cyprus’ potential to play a key role in the region’s digital innovation efforts. The institution’s digital innovation project (DiGiNN) was proposed to the EU for funding and achieved a top 3 ranking in Europe among an estimated one hundred other proposals. DiGiNN was developed through strategic partnerships with thirteen Cypriot organizations that are leaders in technology, research, and entrepreneurship; a collaboration coordinated by CyI.

Another distinguished innovation hub which is nestled in Cyprus is TechIsland, which we have extensively discussed in a previous article. Their vision for Cyprus is to become a technological innovation hub regionally and globally. 

TechIsland pursues private and public sector endeavors to ensure that all significant stakeholders are able to engage in and collaborate on matters of technological innovation. One way they bring stakeholders together is through the TechIsland Summit where IT professionals and entrepreneurs can meet and build connections, as well as to stay informed on notable technological innovations within Cyprus.

Additionally, they aim to further scale the contribution to the ICT sector and inspire younger generations to strive for technological advancements and achievements. To achieve this, or at least gain traction in this regard, they have established the TechIsland Awards, which will acknowledge and promote the most impactful companies and entrepreneurs involved in the ICT sector.  

Collaboration is at the heart of innovation hubs, and it is what drives innovation. As the Washington Post’s Creative Group highlights, “innovating at speed and scale is a daunting challenge, but there is a solution - collaboration. Collaboration allows organizations to bring their best thinking to bear on a problem, and it’s the wellspring of invention.” It is critical to place emphasis on the collaboration that innovation hubs offer as experts from various fields bring their thoughts and ideas together. Collaboration is the key to challenging the status-quo and to creating solutions for a more sustainable future.

Support from the CBC and CySEC’s innovation hubs enable key players in the financial sector to continue to operate while providing them with knowledge and information on technologies disrupting the financial sector, and ensuring financial operations are secure. On the front of academia innovation hubs, they bring together forward-thinkers and researchers to develop solutions to critical practical challenges. 

Innovation hubs embedded in the technology sector drive the adoption of new technologies while experimenting with and gaining an understanding of emerging technologies. These efforts of collaboration bring to fruition the acceleration of innovation across the island.

Looking ahead, the innovation hub ecosystem in Cyprus must continue to leverage its international connections for further funding and higher calibers of expertise. The ecosystem seems to be heading in a direction of healthy collaboration, talent sourcing, and supporting initiatives dedicated to technological development and the improvement of the island’s infrastructures and systems. 

Most importantly, the innovation hubs and CoE’s present in Cyprus are making efforts in inspiring younger generations to explore science and technology fields to add to the island’s rapport as a regional technology and innovation hub.