Hot Days, Cool Ideas: Keeping CY Innovation in Motion

While the midst of August often signals a seasonal slowdown and we all took time off to recharge, reflect and draw inspiration -preferably by the sea- as an organisation the Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF) continued to run its engines full steam ahead implementing forward-thinking initiatives that strengthen the country’s innovation landscape.

In fact, this summer we have made some impactful new Call announcements, opening up opportunities for companies and aspiring entrepreneurs across Cyprus to take the next step in their innovation journey while at the same time we have been busy designing new funding programmes but also evaluating proposals submitted in time-sensitive calls.

New Product Development Capacity Building: Simplicity meets Impact

This is a stepping stone for companies of all sectors with at least 10 full-time employees aiming to strengthen their New Product/Service Development capabilities and bring bold ideas to market. It offers up to €30,000 in funding towards creating products and services of tomorrow and we top it up with free-of-charge training on New Product Development.

What makes this call even more attractive is its simplicity:

·        A streamlined submission process makes it easy to apply.

·        Fast evaluation timelines ensure momentum isn’t lost

Innovation Vouchers: Small Steps, Bigger Ambitions

Not every business has the time or resources to build an in-house R&D team and get on the journey to innovate. This is a great chance to get a first taste of structured innovation support: a spark that could ignite bigger ambitions.

With funding of up to €10,000, our revamped Innovation Vouchers Call supports SMEs with at least four employees to obtain services from research and innovation providers who will deliver specific services helping them test, validate and grow their ideas.

It is a flexible and practical scheme whereby SMEs can “redeem” their voucher. Submissions are welcomed on a continuous basis until 15 September 2025.

We have seen success stories stemming out of an innovation voucher, including SMEs that gradually built capacity and managed to secure funding from bigger and far more competitive RIF funding programmes.

AI in Government: A Flagship for the Future

At the same time, we are also pushing the boundaries of how AI can transform public services in Cyprus.

Our flagship programme, AI in Government, launched in collaboration with the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, is inviting proposals that tackle real challenges faced by the public sector.

The programme already features two challenges from the Department of Meteorology:

·        Developing an early warning system for extreme weather events, and

·        Delivering agro-meteorological support to strengthen the agricultural sector.

And now we have added a new challenge from the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth, focused on AI tools to forecast labour market needs and trends with the aim of better connecting the education system with the realities of the job market.

Deadlines are set for 17 October for the Meteorology challenges and 31 October 2025 for the Education challenge. Expect more challenges to be announced in September!

Future Founders Academy: Building the next generation

Dreaming of your own startup? The Future Founders Academy is here to turn that spark into reality.

With up to €25,000 in funding, hands-on support and training in entrepreneurship and new product development, you can explore your idea, learn from early experiments and take the first steps toward building something big.

If you are a Cyprus resident within three years of graduation, all you need is a short video pitch and a brief idea description. Applications are open until 8 October 2025.

Many paused, we pressed forward

We’ve been hard at work running evaluations for proposals submitted under the time-sensitive Open Infra Call for Proposals funded by the Resilience and Recovery Fund.

Throughout August, the RIF team and our expert evaluators have been reviewing proposals. We’re now closing in on announcing results, at record time.

This accelerated timeline reflects our commitment to supporting urgent research infrastructure needs and delivering funding decisions to meet targets that matter and allowing maximum possible time for the doers to have the infrastructure installed and deliver on their promises.

Stay tuned, results will be coming out soon!

RIF in Full Motion: More coming in September

In the coming weeks we will be announcing new calls of the Excellence Hubs programme and the Post-Doc programme. We will also run another round of the Cybersecurity Capability Enhancement in collaboration with the Cyprus Digital Security Authority. And there are more challenges to be announced under the AI in Government programme.

The future is always in motion! The future is ours to build!

Whether you're reading this from a beach chair, a mountain cabin, or you are back at your desk know this: Cyprus’s innovation engine keeps running.

We invite researchers, entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs to seize the moment!