Alumni debate economic policy in Cyprus

Last week more than 100 alumni and friends gathered to debate the challenges the Cypriot economy faces in an uncertain European economic environment.

The event in Nicosia on 2 April 2015 was sponsored by PwC and hosted by its CEO Evgenios Evgenius (Mechanical Engineering 1996).

Professor Alex Michaelides

Alex Michaelides, Professor of Finance and Head of the Department of Finance at Imperial College Business School, delivered the keynote presentation. Thanks to previous roles at the Central Bank of Cyprus (as a senior researcher and as a non-executive member of their Board of Directors) Professor Michaelides was able to draw on a deep understanding of Cyprus’ financial systems and placed special emphasis on understanding how the crisis had been managed since the financial crash. He presented a data-driven analysis of factors such as the time Cyprus and other countries took to reach agreement on a bailout package following the request for EU assistance, with the package for Cyprus taking considerably longer than other countries. He offered a number of suggestions for how the economy could be structured so as to encourage sustainable growth.

Those suggestions included diversifying the economy further in services such as tourism, health, education, financial, legal and accounting, as well as in industry. He noted that the knowledge economy was particularly salient, and suggested introducing a research exercise rating system, similar to that used in the UK, in order to improve the quality of research in Cyprus. Another solution proposed was to increase the cost to strategic loan defaulters, but it was noted that the challenge was to find them.

Professor Michaelides said: “Drawing from the experience of Cyprus, we are taught that delays in decision-making have been costly, quality of institutions is suffering and administrative capacity is weak. In spite of the significant progress made during the past 2 years, we should keep in mind that correct implementation is the key to exiting the crisis and presupposes a mutual understanding between the public and private sectors.”

Following Professor Michaelides’ presentation, the audience had an opportunity to ask questions and to debate how the current challenges can be turned into opportunities for reform. The questions ranged from the responsibility that politicians had in the crisis management process, the speakers' views on the outlook for Cyprus, and a question as to whether or not corruption was more prevalent in smaller states.

In his address, sponsor and alumnus Mr Evgenius said he felt that a degree of inertia was palpable in Cyprus and this made the topic of the presentation and debate especially timely. He said he was pleased and proud to have so many fellow Imperial alumni in the room, and noted that the graduates of one of the world’s top universities had some responsibility to help lead Cyprus’s economic recovery. “In order to return to sustainable growth and generate new job positions”, he said, “We need to create a more competitive economy and a friendly environment to business and investment.”

Over drinks and canapes the guests had a chance to network, and many expressed delight at the energy and enthusiasm in the room. Angelous Ioannou (MSc Finance 2001) said, “I feel really honoured to be a graduate of Imperial, and I feel especially proud when fellow alumni organise great things like this event tonight!”

The alumni in the room spanned the generations and sectors. Meet entrepreneur Christis Plastiras (MSc Finance 2009), the Head of Cyprus Space Exploration Organisation, George Danos (BEng Information Systems Engineering 1993) and the Director at GEOLAB Clinical Laboratory, Gabriel Georgiades (BSc Biochemistry 2000).

Nicola Pogson, Acting Head of Alumni Relations, thanked Professor Michaelides and Mr Evgenuis for their support. She noted that the Imperial College Alumni Association of Cyprus was looking to re-energise their activities, and encouraged alumni to contact Christis Plastiras and Elena Avgoustidou-Kyriacou, who were leading those efforts, to find out more. Follow the group's new Facebook page to keep abreast of news and updates.

Among the audience were guests from the KIOS Research Centre at the University of Cyprus, where Imperial has recently announced a new research partnership with the Control and Power Research Group (Electrical and Electronic Engineering), as part of the Horizon 2020 programme.

View a slideshow of images from the event below, check out the complete album on Facebook, or watch the video produced by PwC.