RISE is the first Research centre in Cyprus focusing on Interactive media, Smart systems and Emerging technologies aiming to become a centre of excellence empowering knowledge and technology transfer in the region. It is a joint venture between the three public universities of Cyprus (University of Cyprus, Cyprus University of Technology, Open University of Cypurs), the Municipality of Nicosia, and two renowned international partners, the Max Planck Institute for Informatics (Germany) and University College London (UK). RISE is designed to act as an integrator of academic research and industrial innovation, towards the sustainable fuelling of the scientific, technological, and economic growth of Cyprus and Europe. It sets out to meet the challenge with a total potential funding of more than 40 million Euros for the first 7 years, from the Horizon 2020 Teaming Action, the Cyprus Government through the Directorate General for European Programmes, Coordination and Development, the European Structural and Investment Funds, the project partners and multiple other sources. The business plan of RISE is specifically tailored for long term sustainability and growth. RISE will operate by embracing the motto “Inspired by Humans. Designed for Humans producing technologies to work “in the wild” as its guiding philosophy. Such a focus, geared towards applications and going beyond the traditional academic confines, is expected to bring direct tangible benefits to the local society, but also to ensure the prospects of an economically viable operation of the Centre.
Hosting RISE in the heart of Nicosia is part of the strategy of the city to foster the development of an inclusive innovation and creativity ecosystem, with a core in its central area. RISE will be catalytic in this respect; by complementing other infrastructures and services in this area; by mobilizing significant knowledge networks and social capital; by providing a solid scientific base that will encourage the development and application of new technologies and innovative entrepreneurship; by offering support to the start up community and established innovation companies. Multiple synergies are achieved through the establishment and operation of RISE at the heart of the designated Quarter of Creative Industries in the historic centre of Nicosia, while giving a breath of fresh air by turning the island’s (and Europe’s last) divided capital into an innovation hub. The inclusion of labs equipped with key emerging technologies will be a first for the country enabling the incorporation of scientific methodologies and state of the art techniques into the research and product development pipeline of entities in Cyprus while minimizing their risk and costs. Many key indicators of success, identified in similar research centres, are all met in Cyprus. The pool of high calibre science, engineering and business talent with multinational experience that exists locally, coupled with the outreach offered by the leading European partners, the MPI and UCL will ensure a constant supply of experts and innovators that will be empowered by RISE as a resource to succeed. The geographic location of Cyprus at the crossroads between Europe Asia and Africa as well as its membership in the EU and Eurozone and direct access to a large pool of RTD funding will add to the sense of opportunity for international entities to collaborate with Cyprus utilizing the RISE resources.