News

"Athena" RC had the honor of welcoming in its central premises in Marousi, on Friday, November 11th, 2022, the State Member of Parliament and President of the Special Permanent Committee on Research & Technology of the Hellenic Parliament, Christos Tarantilis.
 

In the first part of his visit, Mr. Tarantilis attended presentations by the Director of "Athena" RC, Prof. Ioannis Emiris, as well as by the Directors of the Institutes and other executives of the Center not only from Athens but from Patras and Xanthi as well. The main purpose of the presentations was to advertise the fertile ecosystem that has been created at "Athena" RC for the production of scientific and technological excellence and the transfer of research results to society. The MP was initiated in these actions in the areas of Artificial Intelligence in the automotive sector and digital humanities.
 

The presentations triggered a constructive discussion on issues of innovation and Technology Transfer with the Director and the Board of Directors of "Athena" RC. During the discussion, Mr. Tarantilis emphasized the need to capitalize on personnel qualified in matters of innovation as well as on partnerships of entities in order to maximize the impact on value chains. He showed particular interest in the innovation support ecosystem created in "Athena" RC and the dynamics developed and asked not only specific proposals for problems-solving but also new ideas.
 

Later, Mr. Tarantilis visited the facilities of Symbiolabs, a spin-off of "Athena" RC and had the opportunity to be informed about the progress of the company so far by the IMSI/"Athena" RC, researcher and co-founder of Symbiolabs, Theodore Dalamagas, and other executives. The next steps, the role of the state in supporting innovation, as well as the difficulties a researcher faces when deciding to transfer research results to business were some of the issues raised in the discussion that followed.
 

Natalia Manola, scientific associate of "Athena" RC, co-founder of the OPIX spin-off, presented to Mr. Tarantilis the services that the company offers in the field of Policy Intelligence, as well as the use of Artificial Intelligence for the study and drafting of public policies on a wide range of issues, at National and European level.
 

The final part of the visit comprised a series of presentations of representative examples of innovation at "Athena" RC, such as applications of Artificial Intelligence in interactive systems and in education, actions to support women's innovation, etc. This time, the discussion focused on the need to map the research groups and capture the technologies and their degree of maturity throughout Greece, in order for the state to be able to draw up appropriate policies in a more targeted manner.
 

Participants expressed their optimism that there will be an appropriate framework for discussions and that proposals will gain impact and bring results in the innovation ecosystem.