Greece at the Forefront of Robotics: Impressive Launch Event of the HERON Center of Excellence
07-05-2025
With formality and broad participation from the academic community, government, and the scientific world, the Inaugural Event of the Hellenic Center of Excellence in Robotics – HERON – was held on Thursday, April 3, 2025, at the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation in Athens.
HERON is the first national Center of Excellence focused on robotics and its intersections with artificial intelligence—a project of strategic importance for Greece and Europe. The European project of creating the Center of Excellence HERON is being coordinated by the Athena Research Center with support from the HERON team and in collaboration with the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), with funding of 30 million euros from the European Horizon – Teaming for Excellence programme and the General Secretariat for Research & Innovation, along with additional support of approximately 5 million euros from various private sponsors.
Professor Yannis Emiris, Project Coordinator of HERON and President of the Athena Research Center, set the tone at the event's opening by stating: “This is a great celebration for the community and a very special day for the Athena Research Center, which I currently represent. I believe such efforts are always the result of collective work — and that’s the path forward.”
The Minister of Digital Governance, Mr. Dimitris Papastergiou, emphasized Greece's transition to the era of artificial intelligence, highlighting accessibility to high-performance infrastructure for researchers and universities: “Greece is starting its journey to the next AI era. With Dedalus ROHPC infrastructure, we can provide resources to all those new scientists and universities.” While the Deputy Minister of Development, Mr. Stavros Kalafatis, emphasized: "This innovation ecosystem is a very high priority for the Greek government".
Dr. Anastasios Gaitanis, Secretary General for Research and Innovation, stated during his opening remarks: “HERON is part of the important European initiative ‘Teaming for Excellence.’ As the first Center of Excellence in robotics in Greece, it will promote applied research in robotics in combination with artificial intelligence.”
Meanwhile, the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Mr. Christos Dimas, described the initiative as “extremely important not only for Greece but for the entire European Union.”
Following the opening remarks, representatives from the three HERON implementing institutions gave presentations. Professor Petros Maragos, Director and Scientific Coordinator of HERON, stated: “The main goals of HERON are to promote excellence in the science and technology of robotics, empowered with artificial intelligence, and to organize the Greek robotics ecosystem”, and he added: “There are significant opportunities that we can seize to make Greece a leader in robotics in SouthEast Europe.”
Francesca Cervelli, Policy Officer at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, noted the importance of balancing excellence with social cohesion: “We will try to strike a balance between the excellence priorities with the need to help and reducing the innovation gap.”
Professor Darwin Caldwell of the Italian Institute of Technology pointed out: “We have a number of different activities sponsored by the Greek government, by the European Union, supported by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and the Italian Institute of Technology.”
In this context, Dr. Gregory Yovanof, Executive Manager of HERON stated: "We look forward to maintaining a very productive collaboration with Athena Research Center as well as with IIT and KIT."
Ms. Mina Wilkki, Representative of the European Research Executive Agency (REA), congratulated the Athena Center on the success of the proposal, stressing the intense competition involved.
Similarly, Professor Tamim Asfour of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany emphasized: “The next frontier of artificial intelligence is embodied intelligence — AI that can act, not just understand.”
The afternoon panel, moderated by Professor Evangelos Papadopoulos, Deputy Director of HERON, hosted experienced scientists, entrepreneurs, and policymakers who engaged in an open discussion focused on Robotics in Greece.Professor Zoi Doulgeri highlighted the evolution of robotics through AI applications, pointing out the potential for robots to “be used in unstructured environments — beyond traditional robotic applications,” while Dr. Konstantinos Konstantinidis, Scientific Director and Head of the Department of General, Laparoscopic, Oncological, and Robotic Surgery at the Athens Medical Center, spoke about the contribution of robotics to medicine: “The robotic system helps me become a better surgeon and provides everything I need to be as precise as possible in surgery.”
Mr. Michalis Dritsas, Policy Officer at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, added: “Robotics is a critical technology for economic development and for addressing many pressing social issues.”Professor Kimon Valavanis from the University of Denver in the USA mentioned tourism as a field where smart robotic solutions could be applied, while Dr. Evangelos Theodorou, President & CEO of Theodorou Group, pointed out: “A healthy industry is one that can continuously invest in innovation and the production of new products.”
By organizing a targeted and high-profile event, the Athena Research Center kicked off HERON, the first Center of Excellence in robotics, with a dynamic start. A project that began as an ambitious research vision is now taking shape, advancing technological development in Greece and positioning robotics and AI as strategic priorities for the future.
The next day, Friday, April 4, the internal HERON kick-off meeting took place at the Divani Caravel Hotel, aiming to strategically plan its research and innovation trajectory, structure collaborative frameworks among partners, and define long-term goals. This meeting marked a decisive step toward establishing HERON as a leading international center of excellence in robotics and artificial intelligence, with a vision of technological leadership.
See photo highlights of the event here
