The opening event of the 1st Green and Blue Innovation Competition of the Metropolis of Mesogaia and Lavreotiki, Innovate East, was successfully held. Innovate East aims to connect, for the first time, public organizations, the academic community and businesses in the local region of Mesogaia and Lavreotiki, in order to mobilize young researchers and scientists to develop entrepreneurial ideas that will address contemporary challenges. The competition is the first in a series of initiatives by the Metropolis of Mesogaia and Lavreotiki, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary, while Break Even Consulting is responsible for organizing and coordinating the competition.
The event was attended by prominent figures, including government advisor Mr. Stelios Kympouropoulos, Deputy Minister of Development Mr. Maximos Senetakis, Secretary General for Research and Innovation Policy Mr. Manolis Koutoulakis, Deputy Regional Governor of Eastern Attica Mr. Vassilis Kokkalis, as well as university rectors who support the competition. The event was also addressed by Break Even Consulting President Mr. Markos Margaritis, while Metropolitan Nikolaos of Mesogaia and Lavreotiki delivered the closing remarks with the message: “Not today, not tomorrow, but action, innovation and collaborations that create good.”
The competition process, the method for submitting proposals and the expected benefits for participants were then presented by the Competition Coordinator, Mr. Evangelos Sioukas, and the Head of Strategic Planning, Ms. Eleni Mitsea. The Chair of the Scientific Committee and Professor Emeritus at NTUA, Mr. Giannis Kalogirou, then presented the innovation categories of the competition, as well as the areas that participants should focus on when submitting their proposals.
Two speed sessions on entrepreneurship were also held as part of the event. The first session, entitled “Innovation, Primary Sector & Best Practices,” was moderated by Antonis Papadopoulos, Entrepreneurship Development Director at New Agriculture New Generation. Participants included Panagiotis Katsos, CEO of Future Intelligence; Christos Raftogiannis, founder of City Crop Automated Indoor Farming; and Charis Trivellas, student in the School of Mechanical Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens and founding member of Hyperion Drone Team. The second session, entitled “Innovative Technology Transfer: From Research to Industry,” was moderated by Maria Gabriella Anagnostopoulou, Chief Operation Officer at Envolve Entrepreneurship and coordinator of Open Farm; Olina Agelou Tsakanika, Associate Professor at NTUA and Head of the NTUA Technology Transfer Office; and Katerina Papadouli, Head of the Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology Transfer Office at the Agricultural University of Athens, InnovinAgri.
