By Bejay Browne.
The Paphos Innovation Institute has gained official recognition as a private school of higher education, from the government, according to the municipality.
The relevant decision from Education Minister Prodromos Prodromou was published in the Government Gazette after the evaluation by an international evaluation committee rating its high success rate academically and for its facilities, the municipality announced.
“Paphos is proud of the official recognition of the Institute as a private school of higher education. The turmoil of the pandemic highlights the importance of education and science both for the advancement of humanity and as a stable sector of the economy. Soon the research, innovation and cross-border cooperation will be a reality in Paphos” Phedonas Phedonos, the mayor of Paphos said in a statement.
The Paphos Innovation Institute (PII) for higher education, is a first of its kind venture that seeks to encourage the intellectual and entrepreneurial cooperation among people, with the aim of generating solutions to the significant challenges impacting our lives, in the fields of water, energy and food security, according to its website.
The venture is a non-profit institute, a first-of-its-kind joint initiative between IDC Herzliya, a leading Israeli academic institution, and Paphos, headed by Phedonos.
The mayor noted that the effects of the pandemic on the economy again demonstrate the need for a shift to sustainable areas of economic activity, such as higher education and new technologies and innovation.
“Research, innovation and cross-border cooperation will soon be a reality in Paphos”, he said.
PII was launched with the support of both President Nicos Anastasiades and Israeli President, Reuven (“Rubi”) Rivlin.
“PII awards master’s degrees, which integrate diverse disciplines of knowledge necessary to address the challenges of the 21st century, with the main goal of promoting innovation and innovative entrepreneurship not only in our country but also in the wider region,” said Phedonos.
The Institute is a product of the cooperation of the municipality of Paphos with the famous IDC University of twinned city of Herzliya in Israel and operates in facilities built for this purpose by the municipality of Paphos.
“The field of technology, management, entrepreneurship, sustainability, psychology, and more are harnessed to create a hub for people who are capable of learning and internalising worlds’ challenges, translating them into specific problems; working in cooperation in teams in order to design and build the tools, products and services that can solve these problems.”
