The The Ambassador of France in Greece, Laurence Auer, together with the Consul General of France and Director of the French Institute in Thessaloniki, Jean-Luc Lavaud, the Director of the French Institute of Larissa, Chrysa Voulgaraki, the General Manager of STHEV, Elena Kamateri and the Secretary of Promotion and Support of Members of STHEV, Christos Tsitopoulos, visited the JOIST Innovation Park in Larissa on Monday, 13 May 2024.
During the visit, Ambassador Auer was shown around the Innovation Park by Tasos Vassiliadis, founder of JOIST, and Antonis Kiritsis, CAO of JOIST, who informed her about how JOIST operates and its innovative actions. The Ambassador showed particular interest in integrating new technologies into the educational process and in the significant number of educational activities implemented by JOIST that are addressed to people of all ages.
During the visit, discussions were held on various topics, with key points being the growing start-up ecosystem in Thessaly that JOIST supports, the remarkable innovations in agricultural technology, and health and pharmaceutical technologies. Additionally, prospects for future collaboration between JOIST and French Tech, France’s startup ecosystem, were explored. The aim is to strengthen cooperation between Greek and French startups and research institutions to transfer technology and innovation. In addition, discussions included plans to connect France’s European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs) with those in Greece, with a particular focus on Health Hub and other EDIHs.
In addition, there has been notable interest in promoting a stronger collaboration between Greece and France as well as with India, due to the recent collaboration between JOIST and the Adani University of India.
JOIST Innovation Park operates as an innovation hub in the region of Thessaly. It introduces small and medium-sized enterprises to innovation and new technologies, supports a dynamic business community, and hosts research teams developing cutting-edge technologies.
Ambassador Auer’s visit is an essential recognition of JOIST’s efforts on an international scale. It underlines the opportunities for fruitful collaborations between France, Greece, and India in technology and innovation.