News

Professor Ioannis Emiris, President and General Director of Athena Research Center, participated in the HIAS Symposium 2026 - Engineering the Future: Intelligent Health and Resilient Infrastructure Systems, held on 16 - 17 July at the Athens Conservatoire. Co-organized by the Hellenic Institute of Advanced Studies (HIAS), Endeavor Greece and the Columbia Global Center Athens, the symposium brought together leading scientists, academics, and representatives of the research, innovation and business communities from Greece and abroad. The event explored the role of artificial intelligence, biomedical engineering and intelligent infrastructure in addressing major societal challenges.

 

Professor Emiris took part in the panel discussion "Education, Research and Innovation in Greece", moderated by Professor Efthimios Kaxiras of Harvard University. The panel also featured distinguished representatives of academia, research and innovation, including Professor Emeritus Spyros Artavanis-Tsakonas (Harvard Medical School), Professor Anna Batistatou, Rector of the University of Ioannina, Professor Andreas Boudouvis, former Rector of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Professor Vassilis Charmandaris, President of the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH), and Markos Veremis, Co-founder of Big Pi Ventures. The discussion focused on strengthening Greece's research ecosystem and on enhancing the translation of scientific excellence into tangible benefits for society and the economy.

 

During the discussion, Professor Ioannis Emiris, President and General Director of Athena Research Center, highlighted the need for a more coordinated and coherent approach to the planning of Greece's research and innovation system, pointing to the challenges arising from fragmentation and the absence of a long-term national strategy. He also emphasized the importance of strengthening brain gain policies and investing in Greece's technological sovereignty in critical fields such as robotics, artificial intelligence and language technologies. Drawing on Athena Research Center's experience and activities, he presented both short- and long-term proposals aimed at building a more competitive and internationally connected research and innovation ecosystem.

 

The Hellenic Institute of Advanced Studies (HIAS) is dedicated to promoting scientific excellence and strengthening collaboration between the Hellenic scientific diaspora and the research community in Greece.