President of Cyprus launches critical infrastructure partnership

The KIOS team

The President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades helped launch a multi-million euro collaboration between Imperial and the University of Cyprus this week.

The EU-funded teaming project, KIOS, brings together the two universities to make critical infrastructure more efficient, resilient and economical. 

The KIOS Centre of Excellence, directed by the University of Cyprus’ Professor Marios Polycarpou in partnership with Professor Thomas Parisini of Imperial’s Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, will focus on major societal challenges to critical infrastructure like cybersecurity and smart control systems. They will improve the way critical infrastructure is monitored, increasing automation and efficiency, while heightening security. Imperial's Institute of Security Science and Technology will play a leading role in the Centre. 

Representing Imperial at the launch event at the University of Cyprus, Professor Parisini was joined by Professor David Gann, Vice President (Innovation), Professor Nick Jennings, Vice Provost (Research), and Professor Chris Hankin, Director of the Institute of Security Science and Technology. Other attendees included the European Commission’s Director-General for Research & Innovation Robert-Jan Smits and Professor Constantinos Christofides, Rector of the University of Cyprus. 

Speaking at the event, Professor Jennings said: “This teaming partnership is the first of its kind for Imperial. It shows Imperial at its best: working with partners to tackle major societal challenges like cybersecurity and smart control systems – while contributing to economic growth. 

“The University of Cyprus and Imperial are natural collaborators. We will build this cluster into a critical mass of knowledge, innovation and application. Our ambitions are high – but also achievable. We want to create the leading research centre for the monitoring, control and security of critical infrastructure in the region… There is a sense of excitement in both universities about how much more we can do together.” 

L to R: Prof Marios Polycarpou, Prof Thomas Parisini, Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, Prof Nick Jennings, Prof David Gann, University of Cyprus Rector Prof Constantinos Christofides and U Cyprus Chair Manthos Mavrommatis

Professor Jennings added: “This teaming project has a special significance for Imperial right now.  We have deep relationships throughout Europe. 

“My colleague Professor Thomas Parisini submitted his proposal on the same day as the Brexit vote. That made for a bittersweet experience. But it also showed our determination to keep applying for and winning new European grants. This is exactly what we have been doing since the referendum. We will forge new European collaborations wherever we can… Imperial will remain a European university.”

Nicos Anastasiades, President of the Republic of Cyprus, said: "A university leads by developing productive knowledge that induces growth, economic development and jobs, The KIOS Centre Teaming Project is an important boost in this effort." 

Robert-Jan Smiths, Director General for Research & Innovation at the European Commission, said: "If you're selected as a teaming project on Horizon 2020 by the European Commission, you belong to the very best that Europe has to offer in the field of science and innovation."

Fertile ground

Professor David Gann said: “There is urgent need to improve the resilience, security and efficiency of what we call 'critical infrastructure' – the transport, energy and communications networks, healthcare, water and waste systems that support everything we do at work and in our leisure. 

Imperial has 1,000 alumni in Cyprus

"Imperial is the UK's most international university and we are very pleased to deepen our partnership with this special relationship with the University of Cyprus. We plan to unleash a wave of innovation in the region. Cyprus is fertile ground for new thinking on cybersecurity, control systems and infrastructure. Together we will create a research and innovation capability and the talent to develop new ideas for infrastructure industries, resulting in new jobs and safer, better ways of living.”

The €15 million project is funded through the Horizon 2020 Widespread-2016-2017 programme. When in-kind support from the College and co-funding from the Cypriot Government, the University of Cyprus and local and international industries is taken into account the project’s budget rises to over €40 million.

Imperial's Institute for Security Science and Technology is a hub of security research with expertise in cyber-physical security. The international partnerships and projects at the ISST have helped to raise the profile of security research for infrastructure at Imperial and at the level of UK Government.

Growing ties

The project underlines Imperial’s growing ties with Cyprus. In the last five years, Imperial researchers have co-authored more than 600 papers with their peers in Cyprus. The College also has 160 Cypriot students and 43 staff from the country. 

Following the event, Professors Gann and Jennings met with members of Imperial’s 1,000-strong alumni community in Cyprus at a special reception.