5 scientific institutions created a new hub “Science Agora”

Two universities of the country, the National Technical University of Athens and the Athens University of Economics and Business, as well as three research institutes, the National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos”, the Research Center “Athena” and the ICCS (Research University Institute of Communication and Computer Systems of NTUA) collaborated for the establishment of the new Central Technology Transfer Hub “Science Agora“. Through their networking they aspire to create one of the largest integrated ecosystems for the exploitation of scientific research in Europe.

Through the “Science Agora” hub, the production of new scientific knowledge and technology with significant benefits for researchers, institutions, society and the national economy will be exploited. More than 10,000 scientists, faculty members, researchers, postdoctoral associates and PhD candidates will be able to benefit from the partnership – groundbreaking by Greek standards.The emerging momentum of the initiative is extremely large considering that the research teams of these institutions have been involved in hundreds of international research and development projects over the last five years.

The Technology Transfer Offices of the five institutions and the existing Entrepreneurship Centers are now interconnected with the aim of supporting the entire academic community on issues related to the protection and exploitation of intellectual property, the establishment of spin-offs, business acceleration, training in entrepreneurship and the subsequent attraction of venture capital.

At an event at Technopolis of the Municipality of Athens, the presidents and rectors of the five institutions and the respective working groups presented the rationale behind the establishment and the role that Science Agora aspires to play. As they mentioned, the partnership creates significant synergies and ensures the achievement of economies of scale, especially for attracting executives with specialized knowledge and know-how in the management of intellectual property and its commercial exploitation.

Also, it ensures the communication and dissemination of results between different scientific fields and the ability to create mixed teams that have an interdisciplinary approach and complementary skills.Moreover, it attracts capital to fund entrepreneurial efforts, especially during the early stages of team building and proof-of-concept evaluation and effective communication with citizens, industry, international financial institutions and the international investment environment.

“The transfer of technology from research laboratories to society is one of the most powerful tools for attracting international investments in research and the competitiveness of the economy. Science Agora gathers the prestige, maturity, readiness and infrastructure of five major research organizations in Attica, in order to have a direct international footprint.”, stated George Nounesis, president of “Demokritos”.

“The establishment of Science Agora is for us an important milestone that takes us to a new era. A time when the support of innovative entrepreneurship is targeted to contribute to the business exploitation of the wealth of research carried out in our institutions with a system and method.”, said Professor Dimitrios Bourantonis, Rector of the Athens University of Economics and Business

“The five institutions represent a very strong core of research conducted in the country. Through their partnership, new opportunities are created to promote their research activity towards the market and businesses, as well as opportunities for the development of new spin-offs and business groups with complementary knowledge. The use of young researchers is a top priority and requires an essential link between engineering education and entrepreneurship and innovation.”, commented Professor Andreas Boudouvis, rector of the National Technical University of Athens

 “We hope to support specific initiatives of scientific teams from all over the country, which will exploit modern technologies for products and services that will serve society and the citizen.”, noted Professor Ioannis Emiris, general director and president of the Research Center “Athena”, which, apart from Athens, maintains Institutes in Patras and Xanthi.

“The participation of the ICCS in Science Agora significantly increases the ability to disseminate and implement the innovative results of its researchers, through its interaction with the other leading institutions, utilizing the knowledge already developed in them as well as its own experience, which may benefit other institutions that may be integrated into the hub in the future.”, said Professor Ioannis Psarras, Director of the ICCS.