Cyprus The Road Ahead July 2013

26 Cyprus: The Road Ahead July 2013
keen to develop projects in e-Government,
e-Business, e-Learning, e-Inclusion and e-
Health. The Cypriot government also offers
financial incentives for innovative small
and medium-sized enterprises setting up on
the island. With the support of a growing research
community, Cyprus aims to become a
centre of excellence for technology training.
Both Cyprus University of Technology and
the University of Cyprus provide highly qualified
computer graduates to meet the sector’s
growing demand, while the Cyprus Institute
is engaged in several ground-breaking and
technologically innovative projects.
Education
With an average annual increase of 10.5% in
the total number of tertiary students in the
last five years, and with almost a third of all
tertiary students studying in Cyprus coming
from abroad, there is a great opportunity for
new universities, colleges and research institutes
to be initiated in Cyprus. The education
sector continues to offer investment opportunities
through the construction of campuses
of foreign universities in Cyprus and in the
provision of short (two-year) vocational and
technical training courses. Currently there
is a gap with little available for the non-academic
students leaving high school and although
a recent EU-funded pilot programme
has attempted to bridge this gap, there are
still significant opportunities for private
sector involvement. Three areas of education
that are currently experiencing a great deal
of growth are oil and gas, health and online
education. Oil and gas management is attracting
much interest given Cyprus’ natural
gas reserves and the arrival of foreign companies
working in the field. In health education,
The University of Nicosia is currently in
the second year of offering a medical degree
through the University of London, St. George's
Medical School. This is the first medical programme
in Cyprus and has attracted students
from around the world. Online education is
an increasing global trend and the University
of Nicosia is working towards this venture.
Other areas of potential educational investment
are in electromechanical engineering,
photovoltaics, car mechanics and domestic
gas engineering.
Health and Medical
In the medical sector there are investment
possibilities in the improvement of e-Health
services to the public sector, specialised
medical services and the development of rehabilitation
centres. Approximately 60,000
health travellers visited Cyprus in 2010, with
the overwhelming majority coming from
the UK, followed by Germany, Israel and the
Middle East, Sweden and Italy. The EU Cross
Border Healthcare Directive, approved in
2011, has resulted in an increase of individuals
looking for alternative health tourism
destinations. Cyprus has been promoting
the development of this sector and offers opportunities
for partnerships between private
companies and local government. Several
investment opportunities exist to build and
transfer or operate centres offering care in
fields including pathology, general chirurgical,
heart operation, plastic chirurgical, ophthalmology,
gastroenterology, paediatrics,
otorhinolaryngology, obstetrics and gynaecology,
urology and orthopaedics. Particular
interest has been shown in centres providing
specialised services from cardiac surgery
interventions, kidney transplants and renal
insufficiency care to oncology services, surgical
remedial or aesthetic surgeries and
neurosurgery. There is also good scope for
the establishment of rehabilitative services
for patients with mental health issues, respiratory
problems and for people who need
long recovery after surgery. Other areas of
opportunity include the provision of preventive
and diagnostic tests and dental treatments.
Research and
Technology
Research and technology has been expanding
from a low base with two key initiatives
– the Cyprus Institute and the Technological
University of Cyprus. The Cyprus Institute
was founded in 2005 and now has links to
several world-class research institutes. It
has founded three research centres to date,
focusing on energy, environment and water,
computation-based science and technology
and technology in archaeology. The new
Technological University of Cyprus was established
in 2007 with research focusing
on geotechnical sciences, the environment,
engineering and technology, health sciences,
management and economics, applied
arts and communication. The planned
Technology Park and the promotion of incubators
also offer an expanding range of
opportunities for research and development
investment. n