A large number of actors in the Greek innovation ecosystem, including the National Documentation Centre (EKT), participated at the ‘Innovation in Greece and actors who support it’ conference held on January 18 2020, at the Athens Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation - ACEin.
The conference was attended by representatives of the academic and business communities, public and private institutions, investment funds, incubators, accelerators and students. The aim was to bring together participants with those actors that support innovation in startups and small businesses, and to update them on financial tools, support and consulting services.
The event was organised by the NBG Business Seeds Programme of the National Bank and the Athens Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ACEin),Athens University of Economics, the Archimedes Centre the University of Athens, the Uni.fund, the Metavallon and Bayer Hellas.
EKT actively participated in discussions and workshops, presenting actions and initiatives implemented successfully in recent years.
During the first panel of the conference, which presented the activities of the institutions that support innovation and entrepreneurship, the EKT Innovation consultant Giorgos Megas presented EKT in its role as National Contact Point for Horizon 2020 and the services the institution provides for the Greek Research and Business community.
He also presented the new European project STARTUP3, in which EKT participates. The project aims to link startups to large corporations, venture capital and the public sector to promote innovative partnerships.
During the afternoon panel, G.Megas presented EIT Health, the European Institute of Innovation & Technology for Health and the work done in Greece. As he reported, in 2019 more than 20 startups and 30 students participated in international competitions and trainings. The afternoon continued with a discussion on all EIT KIC Hubs (Health, Digital, InnoEnergy, Climate etc.)
Parallel workshops were held where initiatives implemented by Greek actors to strengthen entrepreneurship were presented. Dimitris Maragos, co-ordinator of the initiative Knowledge and Partnership Bridges, presented the purpose, actions and future actions of the initiative in a closed workshop, noting the importance of co-operation and networking of Greeks around the world. Special reference was made to the initiative’s Bridges Awards programme.
In the same workshop, Angelos Angelidis, co-ordinator of Enterprise Europe Network - Hellas, presented in detail the services provided by the network for innovative Greek companies and development organisations.
EKT and the innovation ecosystem
The National Documentation Centre (EKT) is the National Contact Point for Horizon 2020, the European programme for research and innovation. It is co-ordinator of the consortium Enterprise Europe Network - Hellas, the Greek node of the Enterprise Europe Network, the largest business support network in the world.
EKT is also the Greek node of EIT Health, the European Institute of Innovation & Technology initiative for innovation in health. At the same time, it implements the Knowledge and Partnership Bridges initiative for the networking and co-operation of Greeks around the world.