The Greek team “InnoGo” of the Technical University of Crete has achieved a great success, winning third place in the EUSAIR POPRI Youth 2025 international youth entrepreneurship competition, in the category of higher education.

The competition was held this year on 6 and 7 May in Georgioupolis, Chania, coordinated by the Science and Technology Park of Crete (STEP-C) of the Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH), in collaboration with the Innovative Business Observatory (IBO) of the Region of Crete. STEP-C has been a long-standing participant in the EUSAIR POPRI Youth initiative, in the framework of its cooperation with Primorski Tehnološki Park in Slovenia, while this year it also took on the coordination of the Greek participation.

The initiative is part of the EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region (EUSAIR) and aims to strengthen innovation and entrepreneurial culture from nine European countries.

The innovative product of the Greek team, entitled “IgnisGuard”, is an autonomous system for early fire detection in rural and isolated areas, using sensors and artificial intelligence. The team consists of students Christos Papanastasiou, Alexandros Hachalis, Stergios Haitoglou, Emmanuel Doxastakis, Emmanuel Polychronakis and Ioanna Theodosiou, with mentors Nikolaos Sifakis and Stylianos Manoudakis.

In the higher education category, first place went to a team from Serbia and second place to a team from Slovenia. In the students' category, the first place went to a team from Bosnia and Herzegovina, with North Macedonia and Slovenia in second and third place respectively.

Dr. George Papamichael, Director of STEP-C, said:

"It is an honour for us to host in Crete an international competition that highlights the potential of youth entrepreneurship in South East Europe. Congratulations to all the participating teams and to the InnoGo team for its excellent distinction. This success confirms the high level of expertise of Greek universities. It is no coincidence that in 2024, a student team from the same institution won first place in the same competition. As a body that strengthens the link between research and innovation, we support actions that foster entrepreneurial thinking, enhance extroversion and highlight Crete as a place of creation and progress."

Jury

The jury was composed of distinguished representatives of science, innovation and the market:

- Evangelia Gontikaki, Researcher, Institute of Geoenergy, FORTH
- Alexandros Markantonakis, Managing Director, Mili Kritis S.A.
- George Arabatzis, Professor, Technical University of Crete
- Petros Marinakis, Director, Botanical Park of Crete
- Stelios Archontakis, Founder & CEO, BioCoS
- João Malva, Director, Institute of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra (Portugal)

STEP-C supports over time actions that strengthen entrepreneurship and extroversion, promoting the connection of knowledge with society and the market, while it is the only institution from Greece that participates in the “EUSAIR POPRI youth” initiative, aiming to support, promote and promote innovative entrepreneurship in Crete internationally.