Employing Partners

University of Nicosia

University of Nicosia is the largest university in Cyprus. With over 12,500 students from 70 countries across the globe, coming together in an innovative and transformative learning space. UNIC is a comprehensive university with over 100 conventional on-campus and online programmes of study and has been instrumental in the internationalisation of higher education in Cyprus and the wider region. In the 2024 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the University of Nicosia has been placed in the 501-600 bracket, which means it was ranked #1 in Cyprus and Greece. The School of Business (Top 151–175 universities in the world for Business and Economics, according to THE 2024). Internationally recognized undergraduate and graduate business programmes, prepares leaders and entrepreneurs for success in the global marketplace full-time faculty amounts to 57 academics and 35 adjunct professors. The Institute For the Future (IFF) is an interdisciplinary research Centre at the University of Nicosia (UNIC), aimed at advancing emerging technologies and contributing to their effective application in industry, government and education as well as evaluating their impact on society at large. IFF's mission is to educate leaders, develop knowledge and build communities to help society prepare for a future shaped by transformative technologies.

Audencia Business School

Audencia Business School is one of France’s elite Grande École higher education institutions, with campuses in Nantes, Paris and Beijing. Audencia is amongst the 1% of business schools holding all three top international academic accreditations – EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA. We are known globally for education and research in the fields of business and management, and are consistently ranked amongst the top European business schools.

In 2004, Audencia became the first business school in France to join the United Nations Global Compact, which unites companies, the business world and civil society around the universal principles of labour and environmental standards and human rights. Since then, we have been developing and disseminating our expertise in corporate social responsibility.

At Audencia they educate managers of diverse origins and backgrounds who are dedicated to sustainable business practices. Guided by the values of innovation, cooperation and responsibility, our work is useful to society and designed to develop management education and inspire new business practices.

Athens University of Economics and Business PMD

The Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB) was founded in 1920 and is the oldest university in Greece in the general fields of Economics and Business.

As part of its strategy towards innovation and entrepreneurship, AUEB has established the Athens Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ACEin), the university’s incubation centre. ACEin supports young entrepreneurs and researchers in turning their entrepreneurial ideas or scientific research results into a sustainable business model. More than 300 new ventures passed through the educational programs, while 70 of them were incubated and received support and mentoring.

Innovation Acts

INNOV-ACTS is a Nicosia-based ICT and business consulting firm, which offers software development, project management and business consulting services consulting different sectors, with emphasis on digital finance, industry, and security/reliance of large organizations. Its services are centred around some of the cutting-edge digital enablers for digital finance and Industry 4.0 including IoT (Internet of Things), AI, blockchain and security technologies. INNOV-ACTS security and resilience services leverage the security expertise of the company and target organizations in main sectors where the company focuses. The consulting services include business modelling, business planning and techno-economic analysis services, as well as design and implementation of cutting-edge technological solutions based on distributed ledger technologies.

Maggioli

Maggioli is a leading Italian software vendor and systems integrator that offers a broad range of specialized solutions for Public Administration and Enterprises, in areas including (a) Information Technology, (b) Services & Technologies, (c) Publishing, (d) Training and Education, (e) Document Management, and (e) Art and Culture. Maggioli has more than 2800 employees and more than 60 Italian and international branches, offices and subsidiaries in Spain, Greece, Colombia, and Belgium, 45000 customers and 10 Research and Development branches. The company had 240 M€ of consolidated revenues in 2022. Consistent with its motto "Innovators by tradition" the company maintains a strong presence in actions related to science, technology, and innovation. Maggioli invests heavily in R&D by currently participating in 30 Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects, while it has participated in projects under FP7, Connecting Europe Facility and AAL Programs in the thematic areas (a) Health, (b) Cyber and Physical Security, (c) Smart Cities, (d) Industry 4.0, (e) Circular Economy, (f) Sustainable Energy. The company's CSR includes active contributions to social, cultural, economic and environmental improvement for a better present and future. The importance of Metaverses can not be overstated, as they will be the way people will work, socialize, transact and make business in the near future. The groundbreaking research that will be conducted in AGORA will lay the technological foundation of Metaverses and will also investigate their social and business impact. Maggioli, being at the forefront of science, technology and innovation, will host 3 DC and will co-supervise 6 DC in AGORA.

University of Agder

University of Agder (UiA) is a public university located in two campuses: Kristiansand and Grimstad, Norway. The university is affiliated with 180 partner institutions globally through research collaboration, faculty and staff exchanges. Research activities are funded by the Norwegian Government, the Research Council of Norway and EU’s H2020 and other programmes as well as regional funds and industrial partners. The Department of Information Systems provides teaching and research at the intersection of technology, organisation and business administration. The department conducts research on digital ecosystem transformation for joint optimisation for business value and societal value. The Human Centered AI (HCAI) group at the department has expertise on user experience and designing and conducting user studies, including studied with physiological data to capture complex interactions while training users for better learning experiences.

University of Durham

Durham University Business School is an international triple accredited business school. Founded in 1965, it is one of the UK's longest established business schools and are proud to be integral to Durham University. Research at Durham has contributed to significant advances in social policy, economic growth and international development, and is internationally renowned, both for its academic rigour and the benefits it brings to society as a whole.

Associated Partners

AEGIS

Summarizing AEGIS objectives, it can be said that the main objective of AEGIS is to make available cutting-edge software technology to a plethora of industry, business and public sectors. In AEGIS we believe that a lot of effort is wasted supporting antiquated structures and paradigms regarding IT deployment. AEGIS objectives focus to the needs of the citizens and industry.

CollegeLink

College Link mission is simple, they want to give everyone the media to access inspiring career opportunities and help companies find the best talent available. The vision is to provide candidates of all seniorities – from entry to senior level – with all the necessary tools that will enable them find and get a step closer to their dream job, all gathered in one place. At the same time, they want to help businesses transform by making the effort to fully understand their needs and challenges and support them with our tailored made recruitment solutions services.

Future Intelligence

Future Intelligence (FINT) is a Telecom Engineering SME founded in Athens, Greece, in 2009 with expertise in: Embedded systems engineering, Internet of Things (IoT) and Cloud, Edge Computing technologies and Data Spaces FINT is the leading manufacturer of IoT systems in Greece and a key solution provider in the areas of Smart Agrifood, Smart Infrastructure, Smart Energy and Smart Industry. The firm scaled its operations owing two branches in Greece and setting additional entities in UK and Cyprus.

Unparallel

UNPARALLEL is a Portuguese SME that develops digital technologies and provides consulting services on digitisation with a strong foundation on research and innovation. UNPARALLEL develops new products ranging from software/web solutions to hardware devices/sensors, and provides high-value consulting services on technological development, strategic insights, market intelligence, etc. Main target markets include (but not restricted to): Internet of Things, Industrial IoT, Smart Cities solutions, Agri-food instrumentation, Water-smart systems, Smart Factories/ Manufacturing, etc.

Metis Baltic

Metis Baltic is a dissemination and commercialization expert, specializing in research and innovation projects. From all the projects that they take on, health, mobility, civil security, and climate change projects take center stage. They have a background in working with European Commission projects, financed under Horizon 2020, ECSEL JU, Marie Skłodowska-Curie and other programs and initiatives. As an experienced dissemination coordinator, they develop and implement communication and dissemination strategy and plan that is geared towards increasing project`s impact even after its final stage. As commercialization coordinators they perform market and consumer acceptance research, which ensures smooth entrance of the product or service to the market.