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KIOS at a glance

The KIOS Research and Innovation Center of Excellence (KIOS CoE) operates within the University of Cyprus. The Center was established in 2008 and was subsequently selected by the EU to advance into a Research and Innovation Center of Excellence in 2017. With collaboration with Imperial College London, KIOS has succeeded in securing funding in excess of 40 million euros for the period of 2017-2024. This is the largest and most competitive funding to be secured for research and innovation in Cyprus which will be implemented as part of the EU’s strategic Horizon 2020 program for “Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation – Teaming”.

The KIOS CoE is the largest research and innovation center in Cyprus on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) with an emphasis on monitoring, control, management and security of critical infrastructures such as electric power systems, water distribution networks, telecommunication networks,  transportation systems, healthcare systems as well as emergency management and response systems. The goal of the Center is to conduct outstanding interdisciplinary research and innovation and produce new knowledge and tools that can be applied to solve real-life problems. The Center collaborates with an extended network of national and international academic, industrial, and governmental organizations to assure that its research has maximal applicability and impact.

KIOS at a glance

The KIOS Research and Innovation Center of Excellence (KIOS CoE) operates within the University of Cyprus. The Center was established in 2008 and was subsequently selected by the EU to advance into a Research and Innovation Center of Excellence in 2017. With collaboration with Imperial College London, KIOS has succeeded in securing funding in excess of 40 million euros for the period of 2017-2022. This is the largest and most competitive funding to be secured for research and innovation in Cyprus which will be implemented as part of the EU’s strategic Horizon 2020 program for “Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation – Teaming”.

The KIOS CoE is the largest research and innovation center in Cyprus on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) with an emphasis on monitoring, control, management and security of critical infrastructures such as electric power systems, water distribution networks, telecommunication networks, and transportation systems. The goal of the Center is to conduct outstanding interdisciplinary research and innovation and produce new knowledge and tools that can be applied to solve real-life problems. The Center collaborates with an extended network of national and international academic, industrial, and governmental organizations to assure that its research has maximal applicability and impact.

KIOS Timeline

2008

Established
  • 14 researchers

2010

Cost Action IntelliCIS | RPF Strategic Grant

  • 38 researchers

2012

ERC Advanced Grant | FP7 iSense

  • 65 researchers

2017

EU Horizon 2020: Teaming
  • “Spreading Excellence & Widening Participation”
  • 70 researchers

2019

  • 24 EU funded projects
  • 17 Industry funded projects
  • 161 researchers

2020

  • ERC Synergy Grant
  • 36 EU funded projects
  • 20 Industry funded projects
  • 154 researchers

2021

  • 41 EU funded projects
  • 28 Industry funded projects
  • 172 researchers

 

2022

  • ERC Consolidator Grant
  • 42 EU funded projects
  • 33 Industry funded projects
  • 189 researchers

Key Achievements

Awarded funding (in excess of €40 million from EU and national sources) to develop a Center of Excellence in Cyprus in partnership with Imperial College, London, as part of the Horizon 2020 Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation – TEAMING program.

Awarded the prestigious ERC Advanced Grant on “Fault-Adaptive Monitoring and Control of Complex Distributed Dynamical Systems”.

Coordinated the COST Action IntelliCIS which has more than 30 partners (one of the largest COST Actions funded by the European Science Foundation).

Received funding by the Strategic Infrastructure Program of the Research Promotion Foundation of Cyprus.

Coordinated / participated in more than 80 national and international projects, with more than 70% of funding participation by the EU and the industry.

Awarded the prestigious ERC Synergy Grant – the 1st for Cyprus for the research project “Smart Water-Futures: Designing the Next Generation of Urban Drinking Water Systems”.

Awarded the prestigious ERC Consolidator Grant  for the research project “Real-Time Urban Mobility Management via Intelligent UAV-based Sensing” (URANUS).

KIOS CoE Key Capabilities

A critical mass of Researchers – Hiring, Education & Training

A key priority of the KIOS Research and Innovation Centre of Excellence is the development of a critical mass of highly qualified researchers to work in the high-tech arena. The Center constantly pursuits the recruitment of top-quality candidates, ensuring the retention and advancement of high-performing researchers. Education and training to researchers is provided via numerous activities, including: specialized technical courses and advanced programs in intelligent CIS, training seminars for soft-skills and career development, mobility opportunities at international collaborating institutions, industrial short-term placements with the KIOS Innovation Hub collaborators, etc.

Critical Infrastructure Systems Test-Beds

The KIOS CoE makes a significant investment in the development of large-scale physical/virtual testbeds for critical infrastructure systems, to enable the efficient, transparent and reliable testing of new software algorithms, hardware components, and new technologies under realistic operating conditions of these systems. This unique and significant infrastructure supports the development of innovative research in the areas of monitoring, control, management and security of critical infrastructures, and enables the pursuit of unprecedented research avenues.

Open Knowledge Framework

The Center promotes a comprehensive framework for open knowledge to support and encourage open access, open data, and reproducible research, for the purpose of supporting excellence in research. Opening up access to research results produced by the KIOS CoE researchers beyond the traditional academic dissemination channels raises the visibility of the work carried out at the Center and allows other interested parties to build on-top of their work and promotes further research, innovation activities and entrepreneurship in the area of CIS. This leads to a significant impact on the way research is shared and knowledge is managed within the KIOS CoE, thus enhancing scientific excellence.

Innovation Hub & Entrepreneurship Network

The KIOS Innovation Hub spearheads the innovation and exploitation activities of the KIOS CoE and promotes the development of regional innovation clusters that serve as local innovation ecosystems capable of connecting to global value chains. The Hub promotes collaboration between industry, academia and research organizations in high-tech areas of global importance, via an Industrial Membership Program suitable for CIS operators and regulators, related commercial and governmental organizations and innovative SMEs. Participating organizations are beneficiaries and can commercially exploit the research and technology outputs of the KIOS CoE. The innovation ecosystem is complemented by the KIOS CoE Entrepreneurship Network (linked to the KIOS Innovation Hub) to facilitate start-ups, venture capital investments and associated translational activities.

The KIOS Center of Excellence Research Team

The KIOS CoE brings together a multidisciplinary team of highly motivated and experienced researchers, combining expertise from several key areas. This interdisciplinary expertise enables the Center to develop solutions that address all aspects related to the monitoring, control, management and security of CIS, as well as response management in emergency situations, starting from modelling,design, analysis, real-time implementation, as well as in-depth investigation of the social, economic andenvironmental impacts of research.The KIOS CoE Faculty comprises of academics from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the University of Cyprus. The team is complemented by several affiliate faculty from other Departments of the University of Cyprus, such as the Departments of Economics, Psychology, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Education, Business and Public Administration, Social and Political Sciences, and the Library, as well as faculty from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Imperial College London.

A critical mass of Researchers –
Hiring, Education
& Training

KIOS CoE Key Capabilities

A critical mass of Researchers –
Hiring, Education
& Training

«Κοίος»

In ancient Greek mythology «Κοίος», (pronounced kee-os) the son of Uranos (Sky) and Gaia (Earth), was the Titan of “questioning intelligence” and the brother of Phoebe, the goddess of “answering intelligence.” The two completed one another and acted as the center of all knowledge. He also fathered Leto and thus was the grandfather of Apollo and Artemis. He was also the father of Asteria. The Titans, also known as the elder gods, ruled the earth before the Olympians overthrew them. At the end of the Titan-War Koios was cast into Tartaros with the rest of his brothers.