Abstract

Trends at the international arena reveal that we are at the beginning of a new era, characterized by much deeper and disruptive innovations, as well as by the integration of digital technology into everyday life, remodeling the way in which people, businesses, societies operate, communicate and interact with each other. This new Innovation era is expected to have a profound impact on our economies, far greater than what we have experienced over the past two decades; thus, they require a focused and dedicated effort on behalf of each country in setting up effective and extrovert innovation ecosystems, operating in a collaborative mode with wider regional and global innovation players.

Evidence suggests that Cyprus has the ability to generate high-quality scientific knowledge based on our STEM investments; yet our country’s innovation performance remains far below its potential. At the same time, the vast majority of Cypriot enterprises lag behind in innovation capacity. Supporting our business’s capabilities to innovate and grow, presupposes bridging the gap with the scientific and research community, while facilitating the availability of appropriate skills and a favourable business environment. Turning new knowledge into tangible benefit for the local market, the economy and society, one of the key challenges we need to address, requires, above all, spreading out a culture, nurturing innovation and creativity from early childhood.

Our fundamental partners in this critical effort are the stakeholders from the academic and research community, the private sector and the government, who are invited to come together and operate collaboratively and effectively, defining common goals and mobilizing the necessary instruments. The new research and innovation governance system, adopted through the decision of the Council of Ministers last October, provides a platform for coordination and cooperation among stakeholders, while adopting a unified and integrated approach to science, research and innovation at all levels. It is oriented towards the implementation of actions to achieve impact, it leverages coordination, interaction and synergy among stakeholders and enhances their participation in policy design and implementation. Last but not least, the new system provides for substantial strategic guidance and advice at the high level, helping defining an overarching research and innovation strategy and selecting key fields of action, to achieve tangible results in the medium- and longer term.

In the new innovation race about to begin, Cyprus needs to be prepared, in order to remain a competitive economy, with a society built on the principles of prosperity and wellbeing.

About the Speaker

Kyriacos Kokkinos is the National Chief Scientist for Research and Innovation and Member of the National Board for Research and Innovation (NBRI). He is a distinguished professional and technologist with long service in IBM Europe and PwC, with key focus on Digital Transformation Consulting and Information Technology. He served as IBM Executive Director & Partner, IBM Europe, with 30 years of experience in the Technology Consulting and Services Sector, most recent role being the leader of European Consulting practice in Cognitive Computing – Analytics and Artificial Intelligence AI.

He is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions for professional excellence, including the ‘Business Leader of the Year Award’ 2016, by Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and the ‘Quality Leader Award 2015’ by Cyprus Quality Association. He serves at the Board of Directors of several organizations, including, Vice - Chairman of the Board of Research Promotion Foundation (RPF), Member of the Board of Directors of CIPA and Member of the Board of Trustees of The Cyprus Institute.
His Academic qualifications include Executive MBA in Strategic Management from Henley Management College (UK) and MSc & BSc in Electrical Engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology (USA).

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