ETAIRIA DIACHIRISIS KAI ANAPTIXIS EPISTIMONIKOU KAI TECHNOLOGIKOU PARKOU KRITIS AE

Their core work

EDAP SA is the managing company of the Science & Technology Park of Crete, based in Heraklion. It runs the physical and operational infrastructure that hosts research groups, spin-offs and training activities on the island — offering lab space, incubation services and administrative support for EU-funded research. In Horizon 2020, its role has been to serve as a host organisation and training site for Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellows and staff exchanges, rather than performing primary research itself. For a partner, the value is access to a structured Greek research hub with established links to the FORTH ecosystem and Mediterranean research networks.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Across 2019-2021 the organisation consistently engaged with MSCA mobility schemes, but the thematic focus broadened. The earlier projects (aDDRess, HealthAge) centred on molecular biology and biomedicine — chromatin, DNA repair, ageing and neurodegeneration. The more recent participation (EUREST-RISE) shifts toward population-level public health and regulatory science, signalling a widening of the hosted research agenda beyond the life-sciences lab bench.

Movement from hosting molecular biomedical training toward also supporting policy-oriented and international staff-exchange projects, suggesting openness to non-biomedical consortia.

How they like to work

EDAP consistently joins as a partner or third-party participant, never as coordinator, which is typical of a science-park operator providing infrastructure rather than driving scientific direction. Across just three projects they have already worked with 43 different partners across 18 countries, indicating a hub-like pattern where each project brings a fresh international network rather than repeat collaborations. Working with them means gaining a Greek hosting anchor inside a consortium, not a scientific lead partner.

43 unique consortium partners spread across 18 countries, reached through only three MSCA projects — a strong pan-European footprint. The network skews toward EU life-sciences and public-health institutes linked through Marie Curie training programmes.

What sets them apart

EDAP is not a research producer but the operator of one of Greece's main research parks, giving consortia a ready-made Greek host site with lab, administrative and training infrastructure on Crete. Compared with Greek universities or institutes that compete on scientific depth, EDAP competes on logistics, hosting capacity and proximity to the FORTH research ecosystem. It is an attractive partner when a consortium needs a Greek secondment location, MSCA training site or physical foothold in the Eastern Mediterranean rather than a scientific work-package leader.

Highlights from their portfolio

• aDDRess
  MSCA-ITN training network connecting EDAP to a pan-European chromatin and DNA-repair research community.
• HealthAge
  Positions the park inside cutting-edge lifespan and neurodegeneration research through a structured doctoral training programme.
• EUREST-RISE
  Marks a thematic broadening into tobacco regulatory science and public-health policy via international staff exchanges.