Pan-European first in Cyprus in research

Cyprus ranks first in Europe among the countries that secured funding for the preparation of the establishment of Research Centers of Excellence, in the scoreboard of the "Teaming for Excellence" Program, which is part of the "Horizon 2020" framework of the European Union (EU) for Research and Innovation.

Nine of the thirty proposals that will be funded across Europe are Cypriot. A total of 208 proposals were submitted by 15 EU Member States as well as 11 countries participating in Horizon 2020, which were eligible to participate. The Cyprus Cooperation Networks have secured a total amount of over 3,5 million euros for the first phase of the Invitation, during which Business Plans will be prepared for the creation of Research Centers of Excellence. In the second phase of the Program, these plans will be submitted to the EU, claiming an amount of 15 million euros each.

The selected Cypriot Networks are coordinated by the Cyprus University of Technology (2), the University of Cyprus (2), the Cyprus Institute (2), the Institute of Agricultural Research (1), the Municipality of Larnaca (1) and the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works (1). A number of other Cypriot Agencies also participate in the above Networks.

Creation of Centers of Excellence
In his statements, the General Director of the Foundation for Research Promotion (RPF) Dr. Vassilis Tsakalos commented as "of utmost importance this success", explaining that "taking into account the size of the country and the very competitive nature of the Program, the success of Cyprus proves the quality of the Cypriot research potential and the strong commitment of both the Institutions and the State ". "It is worth noting," he added, "that the first three places in the pan-European ranking were occupied by Cypriot proposals, the next most successful country has four proposals, while other countries with larger size and research background are not on the table."

This Program aims to connect internationally renowned research institutes from countries with a strong tradition in research and innovation, with actors from countries with growing research activity. More specifically, the goal is to create new Centers of Excellence or to radically upgrade existing ones and, more generally, to improve the research and innovation culture of these countries, so that they become more competitive in securing funding.

Information
Utilizing its many years of experience in scientific and technological information and its participation in European networks for research and innovation, RPF actively supports the Cypriot institutions in their efforts to successfully participate in EU research programs. In this context, it provides information and consulting services such as proposal preview, support in finding partners as well as wider guidance in proposal preparation.

RPF provided preview services for most of the proposals submitted to the "Teaming for Excellence" Program, while all proposals received a statement of national support through the Directorate General of European Programs, Coordination and Development, a competent authority in Cyprus for Research.