The US Ambassador in Cyprus visited the KIOS Center of Excellence

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On Monday 20th of December 2021, the Ambassador of the United States of America in Cyprus, Ms. Judith G. Garber, along with her delegates visited the KIOS Research and Innovation Center of Excellence (KIOS CoE) at the University of Cyprus. The purpose of the visit was for the delegation to be briefed on the research and innovation activities undertaken at the Center and to explore possible ways of collaboration in areas of common interest, especially through the CYCLOPS project (Cyprus Centre for Land, Open Seas and Port Security), funded by USA’s Department of State.

Her Excellency was welcomed by the KIOS CoE Acting Director, Prof. Christos Panayiotou, who presented the overall mission and vision of the Center, and its research and innovation activities for making critical infrastructures smarter, more efficient, greener, and more secure. In addition, Prof. Panayiotou talked about the education and training activities offered at the Center, and the participation of the Center in several projects led by Cyprus-based startups, fostering entrepreneurship and commercialization. Finally, the KIOS CoE Acting Director referred to the Center’s activities, projects and collaborations with research centers in the USA.

The US Ambassador congratulated the KIOS research team for their research achievements and stated: “It was wonderful to visit the KIOS Center of Excellence and be informed about exciting projects on smart cities that help to address climate change by reducing energy use, water use, and CO2 emissions. During the meeting, we discussed U.S. – Republic of Cyprus cooperation, including potential ways to incorporate KIOS expertise into the CYCLOPS project”.

On behalf of the KIOS CoE, the Acting Director, Prof. Panayiotou said: “We were honored to host the US Ambassador in Cyprus, Ms. Judith G. Garber at our premises and to brief her on our activities related to research and innovation, entrepreneurship, digitalization and cybersecurity of critical infrastructure systems. We also discussed potential ways of collaboration through the CYCLOPS project”.

After the meeting, the delegation visited the KIOS’ laboratory and talked with young researchers.