Innovation Week, Athens: 13-16 June
The British Embassy and British Council hosts the inaugural Innovation Week in Athens which will showcase the best of UK innovation and highlight the UK-Greek partnership in research and development.
This series of events is designed to bring together creative minds, disruptive entrepreneurs and cutting-edge scientists from the UK and Greece. It will offer the Greek public the opportunity to learn, network, connect and be inspired by stories of innovation and impact.
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13/6: UK University Alumni Innovation Showcase at Στέγη Ιδρύματος Ωνάση / Οnassis Cultural Centre Athens
15/6: Fundathon: Innovative Fundraising for the Third Sector at Social Dynamo
16/6: Science and Technology Day at Innovathens
Education Day: UK University Alumni Innovation Showcase – Tuesday 13 June
With more than 11,000 Greek students studying in UK universities, and about the same number studying UK programmes in Greece, Innovation Week will kick off with a free event at Onassis Cultural Centre (Athens) in partnership with the Onassis Scholars Association We will have the opportunity to hear the stories of successful innovative Greek Alumni from UK universities who have achieved impact in their respective field. The presenters are:
- Antigone Dimas - The Geneticist
- Fred Featham - The Campaigner
- Hariton Korizis - The Banker
- Marilita Moschos - The Ophthalmologist
- Aggeliki Pappa - The Educator
- Joanna Theodorou - The Social Enterpreneur
- Myrto Tsima - The Lawyer
- Nikolaos Tsokanos - The Farmer
- Zoe Zeniodi - The Conductor
The event will be moderated by Dr Theo Anagnostopoulos, President of the Onassis Scholars’ Association.
Addresses by
- Kate Smith, British Ambassador
- Tony Buckby, Director British Council
- Kostas Fotakis, Alternate Minister for Research & Innovation
- Effie Tsiotsiou, Executive Director, Onassis Foundation
Keynote Address by
- Maria Xytaki, Honorary President of the Hellenic Alumni Association of the London School of Economics.
Social Economy Day: Innovative Fundraising for the Third Sector: Fundathon - Thursday 15 June
And since all successful ideas are based on attracting funding to move forward, the next event in Innovation Week will take place at Social Dynamo and will be focused on innovative fundraising methods for Social and Solidarity Economy Organisations.
This event complements the objectives of the British Council’s Social Enterprise Global programme aimed at promoting the development of social enterprise as a means of addressing entrenched social and environmental problems and delivering positive change to our communities and societies.
32 reps from Greek social groups will have the opportunity to attend a day’s workshop at Bodossaki Foundation’s Social Dynamo space, featuring training seminars on new trends in fundraising including the use of exciting digital tools such Virtual Reality and creative storytelling for charity. Greece-based Blood-e, Open Lab and Shedia street newspaper will also have the chance to showcase their stories and interact with participants.
The centre-piece of the day will be a “Fundathon” where teams will brainstorm fundraising ideas and apply the knowledge they have acquired during the day to pitch to an expert panel of imaginary investors. The winners will win tablets courtesy of our sponsors. A surprise announcement will also be made at the end of the event! Info on the programme here.
Science and Technology Day - Friday 16 June
Innovation Week will close at INNOVATHENS - Hub of Innovation & Entrepreneurship of Technopolis City of Athens with a free entrance day event full of presentations (in English) and discussion on leading sectors in the UK-Greece partnership, including technology and life sciences, future cities, smart business and education.
12.00pm - 12.20pm
Welcome remarks
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Kate Smith, British Ambassador to Greece
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Tony Buckby, British Council Director Greece
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Dr Sotiris Pavleas, Cabinet of Secretary General for Research and Technology, Ministry of Education, and Dr Nektarios Nasikas (Scientific Advisor, Office of the Alt. Minister for Research & Innovation): “Overview of Programs for Research, Technological Development and Innovation: and current policies regarding the use of financial instruments to support knowledge economy”
Life Sciences
Moderator: Yannis Rizopoulos, Journalist
12.30pm - 2.30pm
- Innovation to transform the NHS, Kathy Scott, Interim Head, Innovation & Research Unit, NHS (UK)
- Introduction to Cell & Gene therapy Catapult, Almira Bartolome, Business Development Executive, Cell & Gene Therapy Catapult (UK)
- Transforming drug discovery and development with an integrated genomics approach, Dr Athena Matakidou, Oncologist, Head of Clinical Genomics, AstraZeneca
- Reverse Vaccinology: a genomic journey to the vaccine development, George Vernikos, Vaccines country medical lead, GSK Greece
- Antibiotic value and the AMR crisis, Peter West, CEO, Academy of Infection Management (UK)
- Accelerating the antibiotics pipeline - AMR Centre and CARB-X, Dr Peter Jackson, AMR Centre (UK)
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Transforming the future of healthcare: promises and challenges of precision medicine, Dr Antigone Dimas, Fleming Institute
- Q&A
Science for all
2.45pm - 3.30pm
- STEM Empowering Youth Program presentation Vodafone Foundation - Presentation and discussion with Mr Theo Anagnostopoulos, Founder and General Manager, SciCo
- Vodafone Greece Telemedicine Program
Technology
Moderator: Prodromos Tsiavos, Head of Digital Development at the Onassis Cultural Centre and a Senior Research Fellow at The Media Institute at University College London (UCL)/ BBC.
4.00pm – 6.00pm
- From Spin-off to Take-off: Reforestation using Drones, James Murray, Director of Business Development, BioCarbon Engineering, Oxford University
- LIDAR technology, Matthew Wolland, Customer Relations Manager, Raymetrics
- How the Catapults support the Future Cities and the Intelligent Mobility concept, Michael Synodinos, International Engagement Manager & Ryan Johnston, Modelling & Visualisation GIS Engineer, Technologist, Transport Systems Catapult (UK)
- Digital Transformation, smart cities and openness Mr Kostas Habidis, Head of Digital, Openness and Smart Cities, Municipality of Athens
- Chatty Business Opportunities: text and voice chat bots, Vaggelis Eftaxopoulos & Panagiotis Kanellopoulos, Cato Bot
- Going for Gold: 3D Scanning, 3D Printing and Intellectual Property Law - Perspectives from the UK, Dr Dinusha Mendis, University of Bournemouth
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Smart Business with Vodafone, Mr Panos Livanos, Product Marketing Manager Vodafone
- Q&A
6.00pm - 6.20pm *Closing Remarks
Innovation Week is taking place under the auspices of the Secretarial General of Research & Innovation - Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs and supported by Vodafone/Vodafone Foundation, and AstraZeneca.