News

The Athena Research Center and the Hellenic Development Bank (HDB) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, launching a strategic partnership aimed at enhancing the transformation of Athena’s research results into final products and services, and linking them with entrepreneurship. The Memorandum was signed at the Headquarters of the Hellenic Development Bank, on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, by the Chairman of the Board and General Director of the Athena Research Center, Professor Yiannis Emiris, and the CEO of HDB, Ms. Ismini Papakirillou.

 

The Memorandum of Understanding aims to establish a joint framework of cooperation to support and further promote innovation, utilize Athena’s research results, and link them with the market in areas of mutual interest. Through the exchange of expertise, ecosystem interconnection, and the shared use of infrastructure and experience, both parties commit to contributing to the development of Greece’s research and innovation ecosystem and to strengthening collaboration networks between the public and private sectors.

 

The cooperation will focus, among others, on the following areas:

Connecting research with entrepreneurship | Strengthening the link between Athena’s research and technological outcomes and its spin-offs with industry, investors, and organizations through joint initiatives.

 

Education and training | Implementation of joint seminars and training programs (such as webinars through the InnoAgora platform, workshops, and bootcamps) on cutting-edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, blockchain, and Big Data.

 

Extroversion and networking | Boosting outward orientation through the InnoAgora platform, which will serve as a networking tool connecting research fields, spin-offs, and start-ups with investors and strategic partners, accelerating the process of securing funding and bringing innovative solutions to market.

 

Development of synergies and clusters | Creating partnerships between Greek businesses and Athena spin-offs to develop competitive international consortia, incubators, accelerators, and collaborative formations.

 

Support for innovation in strategic structures | Strengthening synergies with Innovation and Technology Centers, Hubs, Business Parks, spin-offs, and Competence Centers through joint actions.

 

International participation | Promoting Greece’s presence in European and international research and development consortia.

 

“Innovation is a cornerstone of a dynamic and sustainable economy. Within this context, the Hellenic Development Bank is joining forces with the Athena Research Center to establish a shared cooperation framework that effectively strengthens the transfer of know-how from research to the market. Through this strategic partnership, we aim to leverage Athena’s research results in areas of mutual interest and support innovative entrepreneurial initiatives with targeted tools, actively contributing to the competitiveness of the Greek economy. HDB remains firmly committed to creating synergies that connect science and technology with Greek entrepreneurship.”

 

“This collaboration is part of Athena’s strategy to enhance innovation and extroversion, aiming to shape a resilient and dynamic ecosystem capable of responding to the challenges of the modern economy—whether for spin-offs emerging from the Research Center or for start-ups seeking collaboration in Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Data Management, Natural Language Processing, and many other digital technologies. Athena focuses on the sciences of Information, Communication, and Knowledge, as well as their multifaceted applications, and is committed to supporting all forms of entrepreneurship connected to new technologies.”