The European Innovation Council (EIC) and the Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF) organised an EIC Info Day in Cyprus on 18 February 2026, at the Hilton Nicosia.
The event presented the current EIC Work Programme, providing detailed information on the individual calls and highlighting funding opportunities available to potential applicants.
Slide presented are now available:
- innovation
- Wednesday 18 February 2026, 14:00 - 18:00 (EET)
- Nicosia, Cyprus
Programme
- 18 Feb 2026, 13:30 - 14:00 (EET)Registrations and welcome coffee
- 14:00 - 14:15 (EET)Welcome Remarks
Theodoros Loukaidis, Director General of the Cyprus Research & Innovation Foundation (RIF)
Stavriana Kofteros, EIC Ambasssador, EIC jury Member, Founder & Partner @W11 Ventures, Cofounder & Chair @Startup Cyprus
- 14:15 - 15:00 (EET)A walk though the European Innovation Council (EIC) journey
Overview of programmes, funding opportunities, criteria and timelines
Angelo Wille, Deputy Head of EIC Unit, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission
Followed by Q&A session
- 15:00 - 15:15 (EET)Coffee Break
- 15:15 - 17:00 (EET)PARALLEL SESSION 1: EIC for deep tech start-ups and scale-ups
Master of ceremony, Stavriana Kofteros, EIC Ambassador
15:15-16:00 Deep dive into the EIC Accelerator/EIC Fund
Including Pre-Accelerator and STEP schemes
- Neil Griffin, Project Officer, European Innovation Council and SME Executive Agency
EIC Fund: How it works?
- Svetoslav Stefanov, Senior Investment Officer, European Investment Bank (EIB)
Followed by Q&A Session
16:00-16:15 Local support for EIC applicants
Speakers:
- Leda Skoufari-Themistou, Scientific Officer A', EIC National Contact Point, Research and Innovation Foundation Cyprus
Followed by Q&A Session
16:15-16:30 EIC awardee experience
Speakers:
- Vasilis Stenos, Founder & CEO of Solmeyea First-ever Carbon-negative microalgae proteins and EIC Accelerator Awardee
Followed by Q&A session
16:30-17:00 Scaling science-based startups: how to raise 'slow' capital in a fast-paced world
Session moderated by Angelo Wille, Deputy Head of EIC Unit, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission
Speakers:
- Theodoros Loukaidis, Director General of the Cyprus Research & Innovation Foundation (RIF)
- Svetoslav Stefanov, Senior Investment Officer, European Investment Bank (EIB)
- Vasilis Stenos, Founder & CEO of Solmeyea First-ever Carbon-negative microalgae proteins and EIC Accelerator Awardee
- Stavriana Kofteros, EIC Ambasssador, EIC jury Member, Founder & Partner @W11 Ventures, Cofounder & Chair @Startup Cyprus
Followed by Q&A Session
- 15:15 - 17:00 (EET)PARALLEL SESSION 2: EIC for deep tech researchers
Master of ceremony, Agnieszka Chlad, Communication Advisor, European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency
15:15-15:45 The European Innovation Council: support for researchers
Speaker:
- Timo Hallantie, Head of EIC Pathfinder Unit, European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency
Followed by Q&A session
15:45-16:15 Exploring technology transfer strategies and best practices
Session moderated by Angelo Wille, Deputy Head of EIC Unit, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission
Speakers:
- Theodoros Loukaidis, Director General of the Cyprus Research & Innovation Foundation (RIF)
- Timo Hallantie, Head of EIC Pathfinder Unit, European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency
- Constantinos Loizou, CEO & Founder, Embio Diagnostics Ltd
- Maria-Andrea R. Anastasi, Project Manager/MSc Forensic Medicine at Mimar project (Miniaturized MEMS-based spectrometers for the Mid-Infrared spectral region), EIC Transition Awardee
Followed by Q&A session
16:15-16:45 EIC awardee experiences
Speakers:
- Vasileios Vavourakis, Associate Professor at University of Cyprus, Principal Investigator of Ignite Plasma (surgical platform for cancer treatment), EIC Pathfinder Awardee
- Maria-Andrea R. Anastasi, Project Manager/MSc Forensic Medicine at Mimar project (Miniaturized MEMS-based spectrometers for the Mid-Infrared spectral region), EIC Transition Awardee
Followed by Q&A session
16:45-17:00 Local support for EIC applicants
Speaker:
- Antonis Ioulianos, Scientific Officer A', National Contact Point Coordinator, Research and Innovation Foundation Cyprus
Followed by Q&A Session
- 17:00 - 18:00 (EET)Networking Cocktail Reception
Practical information
- When
- Wednesday 18 February 2026, 14:00 - 18:00 (EET)
- Where
- Hilton Nicosia1 Achaion Street, 2413 Nicosia, Cyprus
- Languages
- English
Description
