The team of the Circular Economy Research Center would like to welcome you to our website. We invite you to navigate through our work, connect with us and provide us with  your feedback as well as ideas that can help us become even better in researching the fascinating domain of Circular Economy. As a team we try through credible research and data driven outputs to produce knowledge that can add value to the initiated transition towards a circular and sustainable future. A fundamental goal for the Circular Economy Research Center is to be able to translate the scientific research into knowledge and education that can be infused through structured educational or vocational curriculums. This time we cannot afford to do it wrong, and in this respect the effort must be inclusive with all the productive members of the society and the economy engaged. It must also be a people-centric endeavor, that is why as an educational establishment and a research center we will strive to contribute to the generation of a broad spectrum of skillsets that can enable citizens and professionals to be better equipped for the planet saving transitional journey ahead of us. You can read here, simply put, some thoughts and reflections on the importance of Circular Economy.

The Circular Economy Centre (CEC) is part of the Cambridge Judge Business School (CJBS) at the University of Cambridge. CJBS is situated at the heart of Cambridge University with a 70+ strong faculty many of whom are world leaders in their area. CJBS is in the business of transformation – of individuals, of organisations and society by bringing together the latest thinking from academia and professional practice. CEC comprises a group of faculty who are the world authority in matters related to Circular Economy as displayed by their extensive publications in journals such as HBR and CMR. CEC’s mission is to become a leading international source of original and seminal research, expertise and knowledge on the circular economy and the particular policy and business contexts within which this system operates by synthesising shared research objectives and initiatives by both academic inputs as well as practitioners.

Bournemouth University (BU) is a major higher education and research institution in UK, and is currently in the top 500 of world universities (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2012). In IDEAL-CITIES BU participates with the Department of Computing & Informatics and more particular with the Cyber Security and SMART research groups. The Department of Computing has 37 academic members (full/ Associate professors, Senior Lecturers, and lecturers) and over 50 PhD students. The Department of Computing conducts research on a cyber security covering all domains with a special focus on communication security, system security, IoT security, digital forensics and data analytics. Members of the Department have received an extensive recognition by being involved in international impact activities such as being the Lead Editor of the ITU-T Recommendation on “Requirements and Functional Architecture of IoT-related Crowdsourced Systems”.

The Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH) is one of the largest research centers of Greece. FORTH has been ranked the 12th place in the 4th FP7 Monitoring Report of the 20 research organizations with the highest numbers of participations in FP7 signed grant agreements during the period 2007-2010. The Institute of Computer Science of FORTH, has a relatively long history and recognized tradition, in conducting basic and applied research, developing applications and products, providing services, and playing a leading role in Greece and internationally, in the fields of ICT.

Established in 1745, the Technische Universität Braunschweig (TUBS) is the oldest technical university in Germany with Carl Friedrich Gauß as one of its early students and lecturers. The Institute of Computer and Network Engineering (IDA) is internationally known as one of the pioneers in embedded system design automation, HW-SW co-design, and real-time analysis and optimization for networked systems. In the past 10 years, there was a major emphasis at IDA on timing analysis and optimization and security for networked embedded systems leading to a spin-off, Symtavision that meanwhile operates worldwide with major automotive OEMs and many suppliers as their customers. IDA also has more than 20 years of experience in the architecture and design of reliable computers and fault tolerant mass memories for space applications. Based on this work, embedded system reliability has become a second research focus. Further collaborative projects in multiprocessor systems-on-chip reliability are concerned with dependable networks-on-chip funded by the German BmBF and with reliable microkernels implemented on unreliable technologies for safety applications funded by the German DFG.

The Harokopio University of Athens (HUA) is a highly prestigious institution in the area of Information and Communication Technologies. The department of Informatics and Telematics of HUA team that will participate in SmartShip is the main driver and contributor to making HUA one of the four Greek Universities that have been continuously publishing work that is highly acknowledged and dispose impact levels that lie beyond or at the world average. The main objective of the HUA group is to conduct research and development in all areas related to telecommunication networks, services and applications. HUA has been participating in various EU funded R&D projects (Productive4.0, EMC2, THELXINOE, JMSE), as well as projects funded by Qatar National Research Fund (i-Doha, EMBIoT) and several national projects.

University of Novi Sad Faculty of Sciences is an educational and research institution with 5 departments, around 600 employees and 6000 students, comprising education and research in the following disciplines: chemistry, biochemistry, environmental protection, biology, ecology, physics, computer science, mathematics, geography, and tourism.

The University of Manchester is one of the UK’s leading universities with a strong presence in the top World University Rankings consistently ranked amonst the 10 best Universities in Europe. It is currently ranked 29th in the world (9th in Europe) in the QS World University Rankings and 35th in the word (7th in Europe) in the Academic Ranking of World Universities (Shanghai ranking).

IBM Israel Science and Technology, better known as IBM Research – Haifa, was first established in 1972. Since then, the lab has conducted decades of research vital to IBM’s success. The lab is one of 9 research laboratories located outside of the United States, and has close working relationships with IBM Israel and its twin research laboratory in Zurich.

AEGIS IT RESEARCH is a research and development company based in the UK. Its aim is to foster world-class computer science research in Europe. We have created a highly effective research team consisting of talented researchers from all over the world. Our areas of expertise include forensic analysis, visualization systems, Geographical Information Systems, secure embedded platforms, access control and network security systems, privacy preserving systems, and so on.

Centro Ricerche Fiat is one of the main private research centres in Italy. It was founded in 1978, with the mission to develop and transfer innovative products, processes and methodologies in order to improve the competitiveness of the products of FCA (FIAT Chrysler Automobiles).

Software AG offers the first end-to-end Digital Business Platform, based on open standards, with integration, process management, in-memory data, adaptive application development, real-time analytics and enterprise architecture management as core building blocks. The modular platform allows users to develop the next generation of application systems to build their digital future, today.

BlueSoft, with 15 years of experiece in the IT industry, more than 400 highly qualified specialists and more than 350 successfully completed projects, provides a full range of IT services and dedicated software with experience in a wide range of business-oriented solutions. It has been supporting clients for more than 15 years. The main fields of operations of BlueSsoft are IT system integration (BPM, SOA, ESB, MCCM), Cloud Services, Enterprise Architecture, Consulting services, Web & Mobile Apps, Big Data and advanced data analysis and management. Within abovementioned domains BlueSsoft delivers services including functional and non-functional requirements gathering from E2E perspective, APIs’ design and standardization, advanced data analytics & cloud computing, distributed data processing, design and delivery of highly available and reliable mechanisms, both cloud based and hybrid (cloud architecture, services, infrastructure, security & privacy on AWS, Cloud Foundry), automated platform monitoring & scaling, backend design, implementation & deployment automation (CI/CD), multichannel cloud application development (web & mobile).

CaixaBank is the third largest financial institution in Spain and it is currently the leading force in Spanish retail banking. CaixaBank has a network of more than 5,000 branches, more than 9,500 ATMs, and a workforce of over 32,400 employees. CaixaBank has the largest customer base in Spain – 14 million people – and is the main bank for 1 in every 4 Spanish customers.

Deloitte Belgium is the undisputed leader to deliver ICT security advisory services for EU European Union (EU) Institutions. With a team which comprises more than 300 ICT security and risk advisory professionals certified from international professional bodies, Deloitte has been providing services to the European Commission and other European Union (EU) Institutions for more than a quarter of a century. The services are ranging from strategic services like cyber Strategy and Transformation and Cyber Risk Management to very technical and operational services including Vulnerability Management and Incident Response & Recovery, or analysis of trends and risks related to IoT.

Epsilon Malta Ltd was established in 2005. The Company is the artefact of a series of European Commission RTD projects (and Nationally funded projects). Epsilon Malta Ltd is today an independent SME that holds all IPR and technology patents of all its products and industry solutions. Based also on the know-how of its establishing shareholders, it provides expertise, services and is engaged into delivery of products/solutions (h/w, s/w, platforms). Expertise is available within the company and allied fully independent organizations of shareholders, as AvionTek GmbH (M. Bonazountas) and EPSILON Int’l SA (D. Kallidromitou).

The Barcelona Supercomputing Center was established in 2005 and is the Spanish national supercomputing facility and a hosting member of the PRACE distributed supercomputing infrastructure. The Center houses MareNostrum, one of the most powerful supercomputers in Europe. The mission of BSC is to research, develop and manage information technologies in order to facilitate scientific progress.

Atos is a leader in digital services with 2014 pro forma annual revenue of circa €12 billion and 100,000 employees in 72 countries. Serving a global client base, the Group provides Consulting & Systems Integration services, Managed Services & BPO, Cloud operations, Big Data & Cyber-security solutions, as well as transnational services through Worldline, the European leader in the payments and transnational services industry.

Nodalpoint Systems is an Oracle Platinum Specialized Partner focusing on designing, implementing and delivering solutions using the Oracle technology portfolio and Oracle Reference and Enterprise Technology architectures. Nodalpoint Systems’ services delivery organization focuses on operating focused, cohesive teams of experienced consultants and implementers that can support the full technology project lifecycle. Our team members deeply understand both the organizational and technological challenges involved in the balanced compilation and therefore successful adoption of SOA / BPM architecture and technology in both Cloud and On-Premise Environments. Nodalpoint has built a dedicated Big Data and Predictive Analytics team of professional Data Scientists & Big Data Engineers, with both solid theoretical background (PhD level, several academic publications) and hands-on experience in the related tools & technologies. The team is currently developing innovative solutions in the areas of large-scale recommended systems and deep learning applications in medical imaging.

Cablenet founded in 2003, offers telecommunication and entertainment services to the corporate and retail market. There are 230 employees in 3 cities. Developed the only wholly-owned independent network in Cyprus with 22.5Gbps International Capacity over redundant cable systems and currently 55,000+ retail subscribers. Cablenet is a member of all major European Internet Exchanges: LINX, DE-CIX and AMS-IX. It directly peers with over 500 providers from over 52 countries worldwide. Cablenet operates a privately owned Hybrid Fiber Coaxial network, using the latest DOS 3.0 cable technology offering telephony and digital video service delivering crystal-clear images and mind-blowing high-definition channels. The backbone optical fiber network within Cyprus is fully redundant and interlinks the four (4) major cities in Cyprus both at IP level as well as SDH. Multi-fiber metro rings are in operation in major civic centers in Cyprus, providing redundancy.

Information Technology for Market Leadership (ITML) is a fast-growing company composed of a hierarchical team of multi-experienced electrical and computer engineers, who have been conducting research at an international level (R&D projects in the area of ICT) in all areas related to telecommunication networks and services, energy efficiency, transportation and security. ITML also has a team of technical project managers and software engineers who are experts in the design and development of management functionality, software and hardware prototypes for: a) Future networks, architectures and services (including the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing), b) Energyaware applications c) Intelligent transportation systems and d) Innovative security systems and applications. ITML provides innovative, tailor-made software solutions to enterprises, in the Web and Mobile domain and solutions cover a very wide range of applications for any customized application pertaining to enterprise needs.

Telefónica I+D is the research and development company of Telefónica Group. It was founded in 1988 and its mission is to contribute to the Group’s competitiveness and modernity through technological innovation. With this aim, the company applies new ideas, concepts and practices in addition to developing product and advanced services.

Danaos Shipping is the ships manager of Danaos Corporation, a leading international owner of 60 containerships. Danaos charters containerships to a geographically diverse group of liner companies, including most of the largest ones. Danaos has established its reputation by providing first class operation service to many of the world’s major liner companies. Danaos has been engaging in rich research activity participating in several related EU projects through Danaos Research Center (DRC), an active research and development department. Danaos Research center is laureate member of FRANZ EDELMAN academy and winner of the homonymous 2012 award (the highest worldwide distinction in operations Research).