Report on Event:
With 143 speakers,18 panels, 12 workshops, 227 participants and 20 hours of duration, the 3rd two-day conference was completed in Patras on: "Innovation in Western Greece and the organizations that support it 3.0" in the framework of the Regional Growth Conference . The two-day conference was held on Thursday 16 and Friday 17 March, at the Conference and Cultural Center of the University of Patras and was a Smart Attica EDIH action. It was co-organized by the NBG’s Business Seeds program, the University of Patras, the Region of Western Greece, Patras IQ, the Chamber of Achaia, the Technology Park of Patras, the University of Peloponnese, the Open University, PoS4Work, Mindspace and Orange Grove, the Archimedes Center of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Uni.fund, Metavallon, the Hellenic American Chamber of Commerce, and Bayer Hellas. And with the kind support of the start-up platform Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub.
The conference was opened by Mr. Christos Bouras, Rector of the University of Patras, Mr. Christos Dimas, Deputy Minister of Development & Investments, Mr. Ioannis Tsakiris, Deputy Minister of Development & Investments, responsible for public investments and NSRF, Haris Lambropoulos, President HDBI, Theodoros Louloudis, Publisher of the Peloponnisos Newspaper, Platon Marlafekas, President of the Chamber of Achaia, and Spyros Kekelos, Regional Manager for NBG’s Peloponnese branch network.
Spyros Kekelos stated: “We’re proud that an initiative launched by ten key bodies of Western Greece has managed to unite the entire economy of Western Greece. It has established itself as the annual barometer of innovation, covering innovation across all sectors and all sizes of entrepreneurship. For the past ten years, NBG, recognizing the special importance of Patras and Western Greece in research, innovation and innovative entrepreneurship, has been strengthening year on year its support to the institutions and innovation initiatives of the region. The aim is to increase awareness among the local community about the actions and funding for innovation, to foster the networking of stakeholders, and to bring the central administration and its bodies closer to the region.”
Over the following 2 days, Saturday 18.3 and Sunday 19.3, a two-day Bootcamp Match & Develop a startup 4.0 took place for research groups and startups at the Conference and Cultural Center of the University of Patras and the Patras Bar Association.
As part of the Bootcamp, the teams had the opportunity to discuss their ideas with local entrepreneurs, attend seminars, discuss funding opportunities and receive guidance and support from the executives of funds including Uni.fund, Metavallon, Genesis Ventures, L-Stone, as well as executives from Amcham, Bayer, Intracom, Intrasoft, Data Consultants, the Region of Western Greece, Rezos Brands, Dynacomp, EIT Manifacturing, and NBG Business Seeds.
The Bootcamp concluded on Sunday with presentations by the teams before the panel of judges, and the teams received distinctions as follows: Access Lab, E-wili network, Nano Therm, Polikatikia.gr, Smart Temperature Controller, Smart Alert, Patraw Biology IGEM marble Erosion Cure, carexchange, and easylyzi received Amazon services. The easylyzi and carexchange teams received Geekbot Services. The carexchange team was selected for support by Bayer Hellas. The carexchange and EasyLyzi teams were selected for support by the Hellenic American Chamber of Commerce. The Smart Food Packaging and Air Dehumidification Membranes teams qualified to go through to the Phase Two of the 14th Innovation & Technology Competition.
