The 2nd HETiA forum successfully highlighted Greece’s potential within the EU Chips Act as well as the capacity of Greek firms to produce technologies for the IoT, Smart Cities, Factories and Infrastructures
Athens
8.12.2022
HETiA staying true to its mission on evangelizing national deep-tech potential, on the 7th of December 2022 organised its 2nd annual Emerging Tech Forum at the Hotel Grande Bretagne.
This year, the focus was on the EU Chips Act and Greece’s opportunity to be placed in the semiconductor value chain that suffered major shortages during the pandemic years. For this reason, key stakeholders from the European Commission, the Greek state, industry and academia were invited to share knowledge and exchange ideas on the subject.
The forum has hailed and opened by the Minister of Digital Governance Mr. Kyriakos Pierrakakis, who highlighted the public sector’s progress on digital transformation and stated his willingness to support a long-term plan for placing Greece in the chips’ value chain.
Mr. Thomas Skordas, Deputy Director DG Connect EC, presented how the EU Chips Act will strengthen its competitiveness and resilience while contributing to the Green and Digital transition.
Mr. George Kotrotsios, Mr. Thomas Skordas, Mr. Kyriakos Pierrakakis and members of the HETiA BoD.
In the forum digital twin applications for critical assets, automobility and maritime were also discussed as well as the energy dimension of infrastructures like national highways, chargers and batteries for electromobility and smart electricity distribution grids. Smart cities were not left out, as stakeholders highlighted use cases of high citizen value, like reducing traffic jams, energy consumption or improving air quality.
Additionally, the post-Covid workplace and workforce were discussed, while most speakers brought up the lack of talent and the digital skills gap between industry needs and university curriculums.
The event concluded with a “Back to the future: Greeks approaching the Silicon Valley” session, where the importance of market targeted and persistent trade missions was stressed by past attempts participants. Mr. Michalis Dritsas from the Ministry of Development referred to the new initiative for a Greek Silicon Valley Hub and how the National Start-up Platform’s (Elevate Greece) forming into an S.A. firm will also act as a long-term support mechanism.
Dr. Manolis Zervakis, HETiA president made the following statement:
“For the 2022 edition of our Emerging Tech Forum we worked hard on gathering all stakeholders for Greece’s placement in the EU Chips Act and create an engaging agenda to highlight the local ecosystem’s potential in the semiconductor value chain. We want to thank all speakers for their participation and especially the Minister of Digital Goverance Mr. Pierrakakis for hearing our proposal and Mr. Skordas from DG Connect for his catalytic role. A big thanks also to our generous sponsors and our partners in Tsomokos Agency for producing such a high-caliber event.”
About the forum:
Held each year in downtown Athens is the ecosystem’s gathering event, targeting to create awareness for HETiA members to governmental actors and society, discuss developments and challenges and finally propose ideas on capitalisation of Greece’s competitive advantages in the global technological landscape.
About HETiA:
HETiA is the alliance of highly innovative industrial and academic performers, promoting digital technology proliferation and entrepreneurship in emerging technology domains. HETiA is the evolution of the Hellenic Semiconductor Industry Association that was launched in 2005.
Η HETiA υποστηρίζεται από τη Δράση «ΣΥΝΕΡΓΑΤΙΚΟΙ ΣΧΗΜΑΤΙΣΜΟΙ ΚΑΙΝΟΤΟΜΙΑΣ/ ΣΣΚ» – 1η Πρόσκληση: «Φορέας Αρωγός» της Γενικής Γραμματείας Έρευνας και Καινοτομίας.
