The National Research Foundation, the General Secretariat for Research and Technology and the Start up Business Incubator of the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry organized the Awards of Excellence in Innovation and Entrepreneurship 2016 with the support of the European Commission Representation in Greece.
The Awards Ceremony was held Tuesday, January 31, 2017 at 12.00 at the National Research Foundation.
As noted in a statement, the aim of the Awards is to highlight and reward innovative proposals that contribute to the development of systems and applications based on new technologies, the integration of environmental considerations in the design of innovative products and services, the widespread use of new information technologies and communications and the creation of new enterprises in traditional sectors of development using innovative systems or provide additional modern services.
Dr. Basil Gregory, Director and Chaiman of NRF, referring to the organization pointed out that “The aim of the National Research Foundation is through such actions to promote entrepreneurship based on research and innovation and to give opportunities to young people who dare to do practice their ideas. We hope in this way to contribute in multiplying such proposals. ”
Dr. Patricia Kyprianidou, Secretary General for Research and Technology, stressed that “the central objective of the Research and Innovation of the Ministry and the General Secretariat for Research and Technology is innovation resulting from research activity to be encouraged and funded.”
Dr. Harris Labropoulos, President Institute for Research and Studies Central Union of Hellenic Chambers of Commerce and member of the Board of Commerce and Industry of Greece, said that “according to the statistics recorded by the Bank of Greece, Greece is currently experiencing the third largest wave of immigration in its history. The number of permanently outgoing Greeks (aged 15-64) exceeds 427,000 resulting in a direct annual cost of brain drain worth just over 7 billion euros.”
Finally, Mr. Argyris Peroulakis, Deputy Head of the European Commission Representation in Greece, noted that “entrepreneurship and innovation are key to the European Union since they are the flagships of recovery and improvement of competitiveness of member states’ economies.”
The first prize was awarded to a business proposal titled «Mobile diagnostics: a portable laboratory diagnostic tests connected with your mobile phone”.
The second prize was awarded to a business proposal titled “Transparent solar power panels, mounted on a solar hot water heater”.
The third prize was awarded to a business proposal titled “Off shore hybrid system of electricity power production from wind and sea wave energy”.
