Press Release – RIF’s presence at the Reflect Festival stood out!

3 June 2024

 

RIF’s presence at the Reflect Festival stood out!

 

The Director General, Th. Loukaidis, members of the Board and representatives of the RIF presented the prospects of the Cypriot ecosystem and the funding tools offered by the Foundation.

This year’s presence of the Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF) was dynamic and multi-leveled at the renewed Reflect Festival, which was successfully held on 30-31 May for the 5th consecutive year in Limassol.

During the two-day festival, a large number of people had the opportunity to visit the RIF’s specially designed booth and learn, first-hand, about the programmes and services offered by the Foundation, the effectiveness of its tools for strengthening the Cypriot ecosystem, as well as to discuss ideas with the RIF’s experts and receive additional information.

The hologram of the RIF’s Director General stole the show at the RIF booth which was on site for the information and convenience of the public and provided real-time information to passers-by. The hologram was well-trained in matters relating to the mandate and mission of the Foundation and, using Artificial Intelligence, was able to handle all the questions posed to it successfully. It is worth noting that this initiative attracted the interest of the President of the Parliament, Mrs Anita Demetriou, the Minister of Education, Sports and Youth, Mrs Athena Michaelidou as well as the Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, Mr Nicodemus Damianos, who visited the booth of RIF.

In his welcome speech at the opening of the event, the Director General of the Foundation, Mr. Theodoros Loukaidis, stated that “We are establishing Cyprus as a regional hub of technology and innovation” while motivating the participants to expand the boundaries that they thought possible until now.

In the framework of the festival, discussion panels were organized under the coordination of Mr. Loukaidis, on the guarantees of success of start-ups and the effort to shape Cyprus as a centre of emerging technologies. In addition, the RIF organised an information workshop, presenting its rich toolkit of programmes and services, as well as a networking event with the participation of entrepreneurs, startup founders, investors and industry professionals.

At the same time, RIF officers participated as moderators in roundtable discussions, with topics around sectors considered key for the sustainable development of the economy, such as Energy, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Health and Shipping.

The RIF supports the largest event in the field of technology and innovation in Cyprus as a Gold Partner. Reflect Festival attracts thousands of visitors, from different countries around the world, offering a rich and innovative programme of interactive activities that highlight the latest technological developments.