EREVNITIKO PANEPISTIMIAKO INSTITOUTO SYSTIMATON EPIKOINONION KAI YPOLOGISTON

Their core work

ICCS is the research institute of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), specializing in ICT systems — from networking and cloud infrastructure to artificial intelligence, IoT, and cybersecurity. They build the software platforms, data architectures, and intelligent systems that sit inside larger EU research projects, providing technical muscle across domains like smart grids, transport, health, and border security. With 211 H2020 projects and over EUR 109 million in EC funding, they function as one of Greece's primary technology integration hubs, translating academic research into deployable systems for energy management, digital twins, and secure data processing.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 period (2015–2018), ICCS focused on cloud computing infrastructure, data security frameworks, energy efficiency in smart grids, and optical networking — essentially building the plumbing of digital systems. From 2019 onward, their work shifted decisively toward AI/machine learning, IoT, blockchain, and digital twins, reflecting the broader European push toward intelligent, autonomous systems. The transition from "how to move and store data securely" to "how to make systems learn, predict, and self-configure" is clearly visible in their keyword evolution.

ICCS is converging on AI-driven digital twins with embedded security and privacy — expect them to pursue projects combining IoT sensing, machine learning inference at the edge, and blockchain-based trust in sectors like energy and manufacturing.

How they like to work

ICCS operates as both a project leader and a high-demand technical partner: they coordinated 59 projects (28%) while participating in 149, showing they can drive consortia but are equally valued as contributors. With 2,417 unique partners across 51 countries, they are a genuine network hub — one of the most connected research organizations in Greece. Their presence across 16 different H2020 pillars suggests they are the kind of partner that consortium builders call when they need reliable ICT integration capacity, regardless of the application domain.

With 2,417 unique consortium partners spanning 51 countries, ICCS has one of the widest collaboration networks among Greek research organizations. Their reach is thoroughly pan-European with global extensions, particularly through EU-Japan collaborations (BigClouT) and climate-linked international projects (CD-LINKS).

What sets them apart

ICCS is rare in combining deep telecom and networking roots with modern AI and cybersecurity capabilities — they can build the full stack from optical network layer to intelligent application. Their affiliation with NTUA gives them access to engineering talent across disciplines, making them unusually versatile for a single institute. For consortium builders, they are a low-risk, high-capacity Greek partner who can absorb significant work packages in ICT, having managed an average of 30+ concurrent H2020 projects per year.

Highlights from their portfolio

• NEPHELE
  Coordinator of a EUR 696K project on software-defined optical networking — demonstrates their ability to lead complex telecom architecture research.
• NOBEL GRID
  EUR 920K participation in smart grid business models — their largest single-project funding and a bridge between their ICT and energy expertise.
• BabyRobot
  Coordinator of a child-robot interaction project (EUR 656K) — shows unexpected reach into social robotics and human-computer interaction beyond their core ICT profile.