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καινοτομια
ερευνα & τεχνολογια | 03-05/2012
Highlights
Young researchers innovate
Innovative technologies and business plans of great potential were presented by
young researchers from across Greece in various competitions that were held
recently:Microsoft’s ImagineCup, theNationalBankofGreece’s i-bank Innovation
& Technology competition, e-nnovation, and Innovation Odysseys. Researchers
representing Greece distinguished themselves in these competitions, thus
promoting the creative aspect of a country that, despite its difficult financial
situation, continues to invest in knowledge and innovation. The new technologies
cover various scientific fields, from ICT to Medicine and Architecture, while
distinctions were gained by institutions across the entire country.
The Microsoft Imagine Cup, in its 10th year, brought together students from
around the world who stepped up to the challenge of leading global change
under the theme“ImagineaWorldWhereTechnologyHelpsSolve theToughest
Problems”. The winners of the Greek competition presented innovations for
Alzheimer’s disease, nutrient deficiency and flowers that communicate with
young children. The i-bank Innovation & Technology competition awarded
10 prizes – worth a total of 49.000 euros – to innovative ideas that solve
everyday problems. 467 researchers competed under 307 proposals which
mainly focused on digital enterprise, the environment and culture.
More than 250 students from 23 universities and technical institutes
participated in the 4th e-nnovation competition for digital entrepreneurship
and innovation. More than 50 senior scientists were also involved, either as
mentors or as evaluators of the proposals. In the Innovation Odysseys 2012
competition, 4 innovative business plans won equal prizes. The aim of this
competition is to get people, ideas and technologies to interact in order to
convert scientific knowledge into innovative products and services.
Growth via innovation and technology
Innovation can serve as a basis for gradual economic growth in Greece,
as well as in Ireland and Portugal, although the starting points of the three
countries significantly differ. This was underlined at the recent study "Growth
via Innovation" that was conducted by Deutsche Bank, in collaboration with
Frankfurt Goethe University.
Accordingtothestudy,Greece’s innovationsystemdisplaysseriousweaknesses.
High- andmedium-high-tech industrial sectors and knowledge-intensive service
sectors carry very little weight in the overall economy. There is little potential
to leverage the development of fast-growing industries with high productivity
levels. Since economic growth is required and there is no way of improving
their competitiveness via external devaluation, the main focus has to be on
boosting productivity. Besides general structural reforms and privatisations, the
conditions for innovation need to be improved and measures should be taken to
simplify the establishment and development of high-tech companies.
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ENAROMaTIC: novel
repellent against the
malaria mosquito
vector
A novel, highly effective mos-
quito repellent which has
shown to be more effective
against Anopheles gambiae
compared to currently avail-
able repellents, including
DEET, has been developed
within the framework of the
ENAROMaTIC project. The Eu-
ropean Network for Advanced
Research on Olfaction for
Malaria Transmitting Insect
Control (ENAROMaTIC) is a
multinational, multidiscipli-
nary consortium of research-
ers at the forefront of modern
insect control product devel-
opment, funded by the 7th
Framework Programme of the
European Commission. NCSR
Demokritos coordinates the
consortium and the National
Hellenic Research Foundation
participates as a partner.
Health authorities in many
nations are unable to con-
trol the spread of malaria
due to increasingly ineffec-
tive and sometimes inacces-
sible drug treatments, a lack
of usable vaccines, and the
mosquito vector’s growing
resistance to existing insec-
ticides. ENAROMaTIC has
sought to interfere with the
cycle of malaria transmission
from mosquito to human by
blocking the mosquito’s abil-
ity to detect humans in the
environment, thus preventing
the infection of humans with
malaria. ENAROMaTIC’s prod-
uct development strategy is
in accord with increasingly
stringent European and glo-
bal regulations and addresses
the public’s concern regarding
toxic insecticide use.
34.8 million
euro for the
new Eco-inno-
vation call for
proposals
A new call for pro-
posals for the Eco-
innovation
pro-
gramme, with a
budget of 34.8 Meu-
ro and a deadline of
6 September 2012,
was announced by
the European Com-
mission. The call
supports projects
in different sectors
that aim to prevent
or reduce environ-
mental impacts or
that contribute to
the optimal use of
resources. However,
more specific priori-
ties are being set up
that consider their
important environ-
mental impact as
well as the policy
priorities of the
European Union in
the following prior-
ity areas: Materials
Recycling, Sustain-
able Building Prod-
ucts, the Food and
Drink Sector, Water,
and Greening busi-
nesses.
The National Docu-
mentation Centre,
a member of Enter-
prise Europe Net-
work – Hellas, oper-
ates as a National
Contact Point for
the programme. For
more information,
consultation, partner
search, etc., please
contact Mrs Argyro
Karahaliou (Tel.: +30
210 7273921, E-
mail: akarah@ekt.gr).
info
http://ec.europa.eu/
environment/
eco-innovation/
http://www.ekt.gr/
news/events/ekt/
2012-06-05/
info
info
"Greece, Ireland, Portugal: More growth via innovation"
http://www.dbresearch.com/PROD/DBR_INTERNET_EN-PROD/
PROD0000000000283994.pdf