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Funding opportunities
for SMEs
David C. Prosser: "Soon, it
will be unusual for a funding
body or university not to
have an open access policy"
Ioannis Ioannidis: "Open
Access will 'democratise'
the access to knowledge"
Greek researchers reveal
a new mechanism for
mitochondria biogenesis
Research and Regional
Policy at the EU
Ioannis Ioannidis, Professor at the University
of Athens, in his interview takes the "inter-
mediaries" out of the lifecycle of knowl-
edge production and promises that research
results will come to the surface more
directly, without any censorship burdens.
The benefits of Open Access are obvious
for the society. However, the culture of
the academic community has to change,
especially regarding the quality assurance
of scientific publications.
ΚΑΙΝΟΤΟΜΙΑ
ΕΡΕΥΝΑ & ΤΕΧΝΟΛΟΓΙΑ
Ι
01-02 / 2009
3 2
Highlights
INNO
VATION
RESEARCH
ΤECHNOLOGY
&
i
RegioStars 2009 - The Awards for
Regional Innovative Projects
i
Research team at FORTH
Nature Structural and Molecular
Biology Journal
i
Greece is indeed a country of Small and
Medium Enterprises (SMEs), since 99.8%
of the enterprises employ less than 100
workers. Their role is essential for eco-
nomic growth, especially in the current
circumstances of competition and glob-
al market instability.
New policies and initiatives, both at nation-
al and European level, aim to cover the
specific needs of SMEs: recent surveys of
the National Observatory for SMEs and
the Foundation for Economic & Industrial
Research reveal a profile of Greek SMEs.
A short guide provides information on
funding opportunities, support networks
and useful links. EKT actively supports
Greek SMEs thorough the Enterprise Europe
Network-Hellas that provides integrated
services for boosting competitiveness
based on knowledge and innovation.
David C. Prosser, Director of SPARC Europe
(alliance of 110 European research libraries
in 14 countries), in his interview, under-
lines that research funding bodies and
universities will realize their responsibili-
ty to ensure that the results of all the
research they fund are openly accessible.
Soon, it will be unusual for a funding body
or university not to have an open access
policy. Any country, such as Greece, that
wishes to promote itself internationally
as a country that takes research serious-
ly will need to address the issue of open
access policies.
Recent research at the Institute of Molecular
Biology and Biotechnology at the Foundation
for Research & Technology-Hellas (FORTH)
- the results of which are published in the
Nature Structural and Molecular Biology
Journal, one of the most prestigious inter-
national scientific magazines - reveals a
new mechanism for mitochondria bio-
genesis. The research will contribute to
innovative, targeted, therapeutic approach-
es to several mitochondrial diseases, such
as ageing and cancer.
"Innovation, Research and Technology at
the framework of the European Regional
Policy" was the topic of the information
event organised by the Member of the
European Parliament Emmanouil Angelakas,
in February, in Athens. The event was
attended by the Commissioner for Regional
Policy Danuta Hubner and attracted high
level officials from Greece and abroad.
The winners of the RegioStars 2009 Awards
were also announced on 16th February
2009 during the Regions for Economic
Change conference. The objective of the
RegioStars Awards is to identify good
practices in regional development and to
highlight original and innovative projects
which could be attractive and inspiring
to other regions. The winner under the
category "Audiovisual spot or programme
highlighting the contribution of Cohesion
Policy", entitled "Do you know about ...
ESPA?", was conceived by the Greek
Ministry of Economy and broadcast on
main Greek public TV channels. In the
spot, the famous actor Thodoris Atheridis
explains the meaning of "ESPA" which is
the "National Strategic Reference Framework",
defining the priorities of Cohesion policy
in Greece.
High technology ground
coupled heat pumps
developed by CRES
i
CRES
GROUNDHIT
Εnergy Globe Award
The project GROUNDHIT "Ground Coupled
Heat Pumps of High Technology", coor-
dinated by the Greek Centre for Renewable
Energy Sources (CRES), received the Energy
Globe Award - one of the most presti-
gious international environmental awards
- as the best environmental project in
Greece in 2008.
The project GROUNDHIT aims at improv-
ing the cost-effectiveness, competitive-
ness and market penetration of ground
coupled heat pumps. The Ground Coupled
Heat Pumps are a reliable and environ-
mentally friendly technology that utilises
the soil temperature, which is near-con-
stant irrespective of the external weath-
er conditions, and provides buildings with
efficient heating, cooling and warm water.