Innovation Hubs
Democritus University of Thrace (DUTh) Innovation Hub
Partnering with the Democritus University of Thrace (DUTh), Mantis BI undertook the design and development of the initial activities of the newly established DUTh Innovation Hub. By implementing a series of innovation support programs, the Hub aims to encourage the utilization of research and support innovative ideas, projects, and researchers-student teams to further develop their startup concept until their initial entrepreneurial steps into the market. The Hub provides the most suitable tools, expertise, and guidance to its community depending on their needs and maturity, starting with the conceptualization of an innovative idea, and moving forward step by step until the go-to-market and revenue generation process and develops a collaborative innovation ecosystem between internal actors (students, researchers, professors) and a network of external partners. During 2023, the Hub managed to engage more than 2000 members of its community in its activities, i.e. DUTh Info Days, the Idea Accelerator, the Innovation Challenge, the Innovation Week, and other relevant events.
University of Peloponnese (UoP) Entrepreneurship Hub
Partnering with the University of Peloponnese (UoP), Mantis BI undertook the design and development of the initial activities of the newly established Entrepreneurship Hub that aims to cultivate the entrepreneurial skill-set and innovation capacity of the University’s members. During 2023 multiple Innovation Programs, Bootcamp Trainings, Innovation & Entrepreneurship Symposiums, and other relevant events were run, engaging more than 600 members of its community.
GreenTech Hub
Following the successful traction of the GreenTech Challenge, the largest national green innovation program, and focusing on creating a network around the green innovation and entrepreneurship sector that operates year-long, Mantis BI established the GreenTech Hub. This new support structure will now include both the Challenge, the GreenTech Venture Builder, a financial and entrepreneurial support program for the best-competing teams and startups in the sector, as well as a scientific multi-conference for green technologies and innovations in the value chain of energy, raw materials, and circular economy. In early 2024 the first teams of the GreenTech Venture Builder will enter the program and continue working with the Mantis BI team on their business plan as well as their Proof-of-Concept with one of the GreenTech Partners.
EIT RawMaterials Hub in Greece
Following our multi-year collaboration with EIT RawMaterials and partnering with the National Technical University of Athens, Mantis BI operates the EIT RawMaterials Hub in Greece as the Innovation Enabler, undertaking all actions around innovation and startups. The Hub serves as a focal point for EIT RawMaterials’ activities and Mantis BI acts for the enhancement of Greece’s innovation capacity in the raw materials value chain, the scouting of relevant technologies and startups, as well as for the creation and mobilization of a community relevant to the EIT RawMaterials objectives. During our 2023 presence, another four (4) Greek startups were supported by the EIT RawMaterials, becoming members of its portfolio.
Innovation Hub by ΑΔΜΗΕ
One of Mantis BI’s latest achievements is the design and operation of the initial activities of the Innovation Hub of IPTO (ΑΔΜΗΕ) the Greek energy Transmission System Operator (TSO). Undertaking the innovation study on how the Hub’s operation model and the processes will balance with the strategic objectives of the IPTO, Mantis BI aspires to have once again a great impact in the energy and environment sector, contributing to an even more sustainable and just accessibility in energy.
Stay tuned as one of the Hub’s Open Innovation Programs will soon be announced!
Open Innovation Programs
GreenTech Challenge 2023
Under the scientific responsibility of the UNESCO Chair for Green Innovation and Circular Economy of NTUA and with Mantis BI as the Innovation Enabler and organizational manager, GreenTech Challenge 2023, the largest national green innovation program and a vertical of the GreenTech Hub, completed for the 7th time since its launch. GreenTech Challenge is a three-month open innovation program focusing on entrepreneurial training, consulting, and promoting ventures in green innovation areas such as the Environment, Energy, Environmental Projects & Infrastructures, Innovative Green Products & Advanced Materials, Raw Materials, Smart & Sustainable Cities, Sustainable Tourism, Blue Growth and Water Management.
Following its continuous growth, this year’s program managed to have 297 submissions of which 32 were startups, 249 innovative ideas, and 16 research groups that led to 84 semi-finalists in the Pitching Competition phase in December.
Learn More
Open Innovation @ Democritus University of Thrace (DUTh)
During 2023, Mantis BI designed and operated the DUTh Idea Accelerator, a two-month innovation program dedicated to generating innovative ideas and supporting the commercialization of research results, engaging in the process more than 100 members of DUTh and formatting more than 25 new teams, that participated in a holistic entrepreneurial education program and received an aggregated of more than 400 hours of mentoring. Following the Accelerator, Mantis BI undertook the DUTh Innovation Challenge, a multiple-phase Pitching Competition with two funnels, one for innovators and one for research groups that participated in pitching preparation Bootcamp Trainings and 1:1 mentoring before competing.
HEDNO Datathon
Everybody would agree on lower energy prices, right? Well, Mantis BI partnered with HEDNO (ΔΕΔΔΗΕ) the Greek energy Distribution System Operator (DSO), and developed a Datathon intending to develop algorithmic machine learning models to detect intentional non-technical electricity losses, a problem leading to an annual 300 million € in losses that are charged to consumers. With the Open Innovation methodology Mantis BI designed, a total of 265 research teams, startups, and other interested parties tried to treat the problem, with the most prominent solutions reaching over 70% predictability in highlighting potential non-technical electricity losses.
TITAN Internal Ideation Challenge
Collaborating with TITAN Cement Group, Mantis BI designed and organized the first innovation program that was held internally for all the 5500+ worldwide employees of TITAN. The Ideation Challenge encouraged employees to unleash their creativity and propose innovative ideas that can advance product offerings, optimize manufacturing and operational processes, elevate customer satisfaction, and enhance the work environment for the employees. With Mantis BI’s contribution more than 300 internal teams were established and proposed innovative ideas for TITAN’s future growth, the best 6 of which will proceed in the development of a Proof-of-Concept.
Lab2Market 2023 Cohort 1
Following our multiple-sided collaboration with EIT RawMaterials, Mantis BI designed a dedicated open innovation program focusing on creating multidisciplinary (Business, Marketing, Finance, etc.) teams, including at least one member from the EIT-Labelled Master Programs or a Ph.D. student currently studying, a topic related to the raw materials sector, at a European University. Individuals accepted in the program will be supported in formulating teams (if they don’t already have one) and generating innovative ideas (again if they don’t already have one) that could positively contribute to the raw materials value chain. During 2023, teams received entrepreneurial support (350+ hours of 1:1 mentoring, Design Thinking Labs, Bootcamp Trainings, etc.) and an aggregate financial support of more than € 150.000 aiming to connect the entrepreneurial journey from the innovative idea generation to the startup establishment and the first sales of the product/service of each startup. More than 140 innovators formatted 27 teams that competed in the Pitching Competition held in Berlin in June 2023, 13 of which are on the verge of establishing a startup.
Following its successful pilot program, applications are now for Lab2Market Cohort 2 until January 16th, 2024.
Apply Now
Open Innovation @ University of Peloponnese (UoP)
During 2023, Mantis BI designed and ran four (4) Open Innovation Programs for the UoP community, addressing the value chain of AgriTech and HealthTech via a Hackathon procedure as well as FinTech and Smart ICT via the model of an Open Innovation Challenge, engaging more than 600 interested parties in the process.
Acceleration Program @ University of West Macedonia (UoWM)
Collaborating with the University of West Macedonia, a dedicated three-month acceleration program offered by Mantis BI Business Creation team to the best 6 student teams and research groups that came out of the innovation programs that the University held. The program aimed to support these beneficiaries in further developing their business plan, validating their financial planning, and becoming better prepared in terms of presenting their idea via a Pitch Deck. Mantis BI Business Creation team offered a total of 50 hours in 1:1 mentoring, coaching, and bootcamp trainings and as a result, a startup will be soon established via this process.
European Projects
IMPETUS
IMPETUS is a dynamic European initiative committed to addressing the challenges of climate change through collaborative action, scientific research, and technological innovation. Their mission is to drive positive change and build a sustainable future for generations to come. Mantis BI’s effort in 2023 was mainly devoted to delivering the digital and knowledge dimension of the Resilience Knowledge Boosters (RKBs) integrating the different sources of data available and modeling tools to assist RKB participants in decision and policy-making. Having that, the initial launch of the platform that users will gain access to via the program’s website.
Green Alternatives for European Autonomy (GAEA)
Green Alternatives for European Autonomy (GAEA) is an Open Innovation Program, where Mantis BI acts as the Lead Partner under the Horizon Europe framework. The Program is designed for students with or without an innovative idea and researchers who want to transform their research results into a startup that can contribute to the European Energy Autonomy. The program consists of multiple phases, beginning with the Pre-Acceleration phase where individuals or already established teams participate to formulate the perfect-fit teams, generate innovative ideas, and work on their startup concept. Teams will have the opportunity to participate in Pitching Competitions in 8 European countries.
During the program, teams will receive entrepreneurial support (1:1 mentoring, Design Thinking Labs, Bootcamp Trainings, etc.) from a pool of experts in the field aiming to connect the entrepreneurial journey from the innovative idea generation to the startup establishment of 5 ventures and the first sales of the product/service of each one of them. Only solutions contributing to the European Energy Autonomy will be accepted, whilst for the innovators’ assistance 12 innovation areas have been defined by experts in the field.
The program was launched in mid-2023 and will last until September 2025. An Open Call for submissions will last until 17/04/2024 for the Phase 1: Idea Generation & Regional Innovation Competitions.
Apply Now
NETHELIX
The NETHELIX project is a HORIZON 2020 Programme aiming to transform the mining industry by testing and implementing innovative solutions that address the operational requirements of practitioners, thereby enhancing capability development and innovation management in a realistic mining environment. Following the long-lasting collaboration between EIT RawMaterials with Mantis BI, the latter undertook the communication and dissemination activities and the community building around the program’s mission to revolutionize the mining industry by optimizing mineral extraction while minimizing its environmental impact.
BoostUp! South East 2023
Collaborating with EIT Manufacturing, Mantis BI undertook the startup scouting, promotion, and dissemination activities for BoostUp! South East 2023, which is an Open Innovation Program for startups in the manufacturing sector. Having collected more than 40 startup applications from Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Moldova, North Macedonia, Romania, and Turkey, Mantis BI held the Grand Final of the Program taking place on November 2023 in Athens, which operated as the stage-gate selection procedure for the best 10 competing startups to proceed in the next phase and receive a growth package service support by EIT Manufacturing aiming to internationalize and scale their business.
EIT RawMaterials Lab2Market Cohort 2
Following the successful run of the pilot Cohort and committed to delivering more than 15 spin-off companies in the raw materials value chain by 2025, Mantis BI launched the 2nd Cohort for Lab2Market. The initiative is an open innovation program focusing on creating multidisciplinary (Business, Marketing, Finance, etc.) teams, including at least one member from the Master’s or Ph.D. student currently studying, a topic related to the raw materials value chain, at a European University. The teams will receive entrepreneurial (1:1 mentoring, Design Thinking Labs, Bootcamp Trainings, etc.) and financial support for up to 9 months aiming to connect the entrepreneurial journey from the innovative idea generation to the startup establishment and the first sales of the product/service of each startup.
Apply Now
Studies & Tech Projects
Elevate EIT RawMaterials
Following our multiple-sided collaboration with EIT RawMaterials, Mantis BI undertook the development of a digital infrastructure utilizing its Innovation Management Software (Mantis IMS), to meet the needs of managing the pan-European startup portfolio and operating as the main platform for most of EIT RawMaterials’ main innovation programs (Booster Call, RM Accelerator, Lab2Market). The initiative namely “Elevate EIT RawMaterials” is complemented with a data visualization tool to support the monitoring of the innovation programs as well as the startup’s progress through the years.
Elevate Greece
Since the initial launch in 2020 of the governmental initiative of “Elevate Greece” – the National Startup Registry, Mantis BI continues its collaboration with the Ministry of Development and Investments as the software provider for the platform that digitally supports the procedures of submission, evaluation, and monitoring of startups in Greece. Through the years more than 830 companies have been accepted in the Registry, and officially acknowledged as startups.
Innovation Portfolio @ Democritus University of Thrace (DUTh)
Following our multiple-sided collaboration with the Democritus University of Thrace (DUTh) during 2023, Mantis BI provided its Innovation Management Software (Mantis IMS) to create a digital innovation portfolio that aims to showcase the technologies offered and spin-off companies created in the University. DUTh lab representatives utilize the platform to showcase the services that their lab can provide, the technologies and patents they can license as well as the spin-offs they have established.
Intellectual Property & Innovation Registry @ Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh)
Mantis BI undertook the innovation study to define the procedures and the operation model of the Intellectual Property (IP) & Innovation Registry of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh) Technology Transfer Office (TTO), while also providing its Innovation Management Software (Mantis IMS) to digitally support the operation of it. The Registry aims to act as the gate to connect large corporations and industry players with AUTh researchers and their innovations and commercially exploitable intellectual property (e.g. patents) while also assisting in the promotion of the research results and spin-offs of AUTh.
Mantis Innovation Management Software (Mantis IMS)
→ Walk – AUTh Innovation Accelerator
→ Schneider Electric “Beyond Green Skills” Graduate Program
→ University of West Macedonia (UoWM)
Our Innovation Management Software was once again selected by multiple organizations as the main tool to optimize the processes for their innovation activities. The key players that licensed our software were the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh) to support its newly established Accelerator named Walk – AUTh Innovation Accelerator and all its innovation programs that run for the community of AUTh, the Schneider Electric Greece to support its yearly based Graduate Program “Beyond Green Skills” as well as the University of West Macedonia (UoWM) to support its innovation programs to come. Mantis BI is committed to providing all the necessary tools and methodology to amplify the innovation capacity of Greece and respectively Europe and will continue our efforts to enhance the collaborations between the players of the Quintuple Helix.
Feasibility Study
→ Innovation Hub of the Democritus University of Thrace (DUTh)
→ Entrepreneurship Center of the University of Piraeus (UniPi)
Following our multiple-sided collaboration with the academia in Greece, Mantis BI undertook the feasibility study for the Innovation Hub of the Democritus University of Thrace and the Entrepreneurship Center of the University of Piraeus aiming to showcase to the executives of the technology transfer offices the way to continue their activities as the innovation support structures of their universities while maintaining a financially sustainable operation. Together tens of funding opportunities were identified that can contribute to both meeting the strategic objectives of the University and supporting the collaboration enhancement with the industry as well as other European institutes.
Retrospecting our 2023 we can make one and only one New Year’s Resolution …
2024 will be a year with x2 Innovation x10 new ventures and x∞ memorable moments together with the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem both in Greece and Europe… we promise