The Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH) auctioned 9 major building projects in the 5 cities of Greece, where its Institutes are based, having secured significant funding of 56 million euros from the Recovery and Resilience Fund and the European Investment Bank, within the framework of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan "Greece 2.0". The project includes the creation of an Innovation and Advanced Education Center, which will incorporate a Conference Center in Heraklion, new buildings for its Institutes, the expansion of the Science and Technology Park of Crete, as well as the overall upgrade of FORTH’s infrastructures of 18,406.96 m². This project, which is supervised by the Ministry of Development and the General Secretariat for Research and Innovation, consists a strategic goal of FORTH, which will allow a quantum leap towards its development. It is worth noting that this is the largest funding that FORTH has ever received.

The creation of the Innovation and Advanced Education Center will be a catalyst for the attraction of new scientists and the expansion of FORTH's research activity in new scientific fields. It will also facilitate the creation, hosting and support of new start-up companies, and the attraction of competitive financing. It is therefore expected to bring multiple benefits to the national research and innovation ecosystem and contribute to the development of the Country, on the basis of the knowledge-intensive economy.

The major project of FORTH’s Innovation and Advanced Education Center will include:

• in Heraklion (FORTH’s headquarters), the construction of an Education Hub, an Innovation Hub, a Conference Center and a Building for the accommodation and creative occupation of children of a total area of 8,504.28 m².
• in Rethymnon, the expansion of the Institute for Mediterranean Studies, with the renovation of a listed building of 280 m², in the historic center of the city, with seminar rooms, meeting areas and work spaces. This sub-project will also include the construction of optical and mechanical equipment installation at the 360 m² building of the Skinakas Observatory in Rethymnon.
• in Chania, where the Institute of Geoenergy is based, the construction of a Research and Innovation Center for Sustainable Energy Transition, which will include two three-story buildings with basements, of 3,501.56 m².
• in Ioannina, within the Campus of the University where the Biomedical Research Institute is based, a Research and Innovation Infrastructure of 4,921.65 m², consisting of a two-story building with a basement, which will house research laboratories, seminar rooms, and work spaces.
• in Patras, an innovative Green Energy Transition Facility, with an area of 1,434.75 m^2, is planned to be built at the Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences.