The future is ours to build

By Theodoros Loukaidis, Director General of the Cyprus Research and Innovation Foundation We often speak about young people as the leaders of tomorrow. Truth is, many of them are already leading today. One of the greatest privileges of my role is the opportunity to meet talented young people who are pushing boundaries, challenging assumptions, and creating solutions to some of our biggest challenges. I meet young scientists pursuing discoveries that can transform how we understand the world. I meet entrepreneurs building products and services that did not exist a few years ago. I meet innovators who refuse to accept that things must remain the way they are simply because they always have been. They come from different backgrounds and disciplines, but they share a few things in common: drive, ambition and determination. They do not need permission to lead. They need opportunity. Over the past years, at the Research and Innovation Foundation have worked hard to create more opportunities for young people to take their ideas further and to provide support at every stage of their journey, from curiosity to discovery, from discovery to innovation, and from innovation to impact. A young scientist may begin through the RIF Excellence Hubs and the RIF Post-Doctoral Programme, pursuing world-class research and developing the independence needed to establish themselves as future leaders in their field. This is far bigger than a research grant. It is about empowering talented young minds to pursue bold ideas, lead their own work and lay early on solid career foundations. In the last five years 125 young scientists have received support to do exactly that! Others may take their first steps into entrepreneurship through the RIF Future Founders Academy. There, aspiring entrepreneurs have the opportunity to test their ideas before even establishing a company, but equally importantly, to discover whether entrepreneurship is truly the path for them. Building a company is an exciting journey, but it is also an exceptionally demanding one. It requires far more than technical expertise. The Academy provides participants with a unique opportunity to experience these realities early on, helping them develop the skills, confidence and entrepreneurial mindset required to transform ideas into action. Thanks to our collaboration with Professor John Kymissis and Ivy Schultz of Columbia University, participants are exposed to world-class expertise, practical insights, and entrepreneurial thinking from the very beginning of their journey. Twelve (12) aspiring young entrepreneurs went through the first round of this new addition to our innovation programme portfolio. For some, the journey continues through the RIF Pre-Seed Programme. Every successful company begins with a single idea and a team willing to pursue it. Pre-Seed funding helps innovators take those critical first steps, transforming ideas into prototypes, testing technologies, engaging customers and building the foundations of a future business. From there, the RIF Seed Programme provides the resources needed to accelerate development, access new markets, strengthen teams and move closer to commercial success. Through the Pre-Seed and Seed programme 33 founders and their teams have secured funding in the past five years. At the same time, the PhD in Industry Programme helps enterprises gain access to highly skilled doctoral talent, creating bridges between research excellence and business needs. These collaborations not only strengthen companies but also create exciting career opportunities for young researchers who want to see their knowledge translated into real-world impact. To-date, 26 doctoral students have been placed in enterprises across Cyprus. There are of course many more RIF programmes that provide support to young talent. Taken together, these programmes create pathways that allow a young person to progress from discovery to innovation, from innovation to entrepreneurship, and from entrepreneurship to building a company with global ambitions. At each stage there is support and an opportunity to lead in a world that is becoming increasingly more complex and needs solutions from those who dare to think big and act bigger. Thankfully, we have them! I see them across Cyprus every week. They are working on frontier research, they are launching new ventures, they are proving that innovation can thrive anywhere. For the future is not something that simply happens to us. It is something we build. And from where I stand, I am confident that is being built by an extraordinary generation of young people! Onwards and Upwards.