Cyprus Seeds’ Second funding cycle was completed on the 30th of June. Despite the challenges arising from the COVID 19 pandemic and the lack of a Technology Transfer Office to support research commercialization in Cyprus, many of Cyprus Seed’s academic teams achieved significant milestones and successes.

To name a few:

a)    Prof. Vasilis Tanos committed to commercializing the novel ElectroyUternoGraph of the ‘DIMEC' team whilst Prof. Georgiou will continue research activities in this area;
b)    The filing was completed for nine patents and it is anticipated that two patents will be granted by the end of the year;
c)    The hands-on business training and mentorship provided by Cyprus Seeds facilitated two of its teams to win highly competitive SEED grants. Namely, the ‘DIMEC team’, with Principal Investigators Prof. Julius Georgiou and Prof. Vasilios Tanos, and the ‘ABLASONIC’ Principal Investigator, Prof. Christakis Damianou, won two of the seven SEED grants from the national SEED Program of Research and Innovation Foundation;
d)    The ‘DIMEC’ team, was a finalist in MITEF Greece’s 2021 startup competition, competing with their novel ElectroUternoGraph;
e)    The ‘Yieldshield’ team won two prizes in the 2022 MIT Enterprise Forum Greece Startup Competition;  2nd Runner-up overall and Winner of the General Track category;
f)    Four Cyprus Seeds teams are currently in negotiations with Greek Venture Funds;
g)    Eleven young researchers were hired in the Cyprus Seeds projects with Cyprus Seeds funding. 

During their 18-month journey (Jan 2021 – June 2022), the ten Cyprus Seeds teams from different academic institutions in Cyprus including the University of Cyprus, Cyprus Technology University, CYENS Center of Excellence, KIOS Research and Innovation Centre of Excellence, The Cyprus Institute, University of Nicosia, and Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics received financial and non-financial support to commercialize their innovative scientific solutions.  

More than €260.000, in the form of grants, were provided to the teams supported by C.S in its Second funding cycle. Additionally, Cyprus Seeds covered the costs for the filing of nine patents. Fourteen experienced business & innovation experts from the US and Europe with deep knowledge of the industry area of each team, and with previous successful experience in technology transfer and start-ups were engaged to mentor and coach pro-bono the Cyprus Seeds teams, during the last 18th months.
Additionally, Cyprus Seeds organized workshops delivered by experienced US trainers on a) IP Protection, b) Customer Exploration, c) Presenting with Impact, and d) Pitching to Investors. Finally, the teams were given the opportunity to network and meet with potential clients, investors, and partners during the three networking Events organized on the ground by Cyprus Seeds in Cyprus, London, and Athens, as well as at the Second Innovation Showcase Event, which took place at the 1st of June, in Cyprus.

The Second Cyprus Seeds Funding cycle could not have become a reality without the financial support of its donors, The Leventis Foundation, The Hellenic Initiative, and the Ministry of Research, Innovation, and Digital Policy. The three organizations have supported Cyprus Seeds since the launching of the Program. Cyprus Seeds’ main donors including Eurobank and EY continue to support the program for a third consecutive year. Cyprus Seeds also attracted new corporate donors including ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Cyprus, Henkel, and GENESIS Pharma, and received sponsorships from Novartis Europe, the US Embassy in Cyprus, as well as Cypriots in the City (UK), Circular Economy Alliance, and CYENS Centre of Excellence, and individuals.

Following the success of the Second funding cycle, in September Cyprus Seeds will announce a call for applications for a Third funding cycle in September. As with the previous calls, those eligible for the Cyprus Seeds Program will be researchers (post-docs and Ph.D. students), together with academics from any university (public or private) and Research Institutions in Cyprus whose academic research has the potential to commercialize the international market and to solve world challenges in any sector. Cypriot post-docs and Ph.D. students from universities in the US, UK, Greece, and other European countries collaborating with academics of the Cypriot academic institutions, will be eligible to apply to the Third funding Cycle of Cyprus Seeds.