Former food market in Nicosia becomes CYENS technology hub: how it fights brain drain

From an abandoned market to a research centre

In the heart of the old city of Nicosia, the capital of the Republic of Cyprus, the CYENS Centre of Excellence is at work, specialising in interactive media, intelligent systems and emerging technologies. It is housed in a former food market building and is partly funded by the EU. This was reported in an Euronews article published on 30 October 2026.

Scale and areas of work

The centre employs about 110 people — mostly researchers, developers and technicians working in interdisciplinary teams, as well as in related startups and spin-offs. They are involved in more than 50 projects, mainly European ones, but also supported by local, national and industry grants.

Concrete developments

Among the centre's projects are interactive city maps of Nicosia with real-time data on traffic, noise and pollution, as well as virtual reconstructions of historical monuments with restricted access. Panayiotis Charalambous's team is also preparing a project for a theatre museum, where children will be able to create their own scenarios with actor avatars.

Spin-offs: sensors and biomechanics

The spin-off Senssos is developing sensors for monitoring the interaction of body movements and muscles; co-founder Christos Ioannou explains that the company's own hardware was created as a cheaper and easier-to-install alternative to commercial systems — for rehabilitation and training at home or at work. Another spin-off, the biomechanics company Darefore, produces sensors that are already helping professional athletes: they measure step frequency, ground contact time and heart rate in real time. Darefore's chief technology officer Panayiotis Kyriakou notes that an athlete can receive feedback during a run even without a coach, and later analyse the data with a coach or doctor.

Role in Cyprus's economy

The centre was created as a regional hub for technology and knowledge transfer. According to CYENS chief executive Yiorgos Chrysanthou, it has become a tool for combating brain drain in Cyprus — a small EU country with highly qualified engineers and researchers. 'Cyprus is a small place, and we cannot really compete with heavy industry,' he said, adding that the only way to move the economy beyond tourism is to preserve and expand the critical mass of talent needed to create technology-driven economic activity.

Practical applications in Nicosia

The Nicosia Municipality was one of the founders of the centre, and mayor Haralambos Prountzos chairs its board of directors. City services are already using a number of solutions: the DumpMapper platform helps track illegal dumps, even tiny ones — according to managing director Andreas Kamilaris, the technology identified 98 cases in an area of 50 square kilometres. The Cyprus Trees Initiative project, according to its coordinator Penelope Vaskou, helps municipal staff plan tree pruning and planting and work on reducing the urban heat island effect. Engineer Haris Psallidopoulos, in turn, helps farmers use AI-based virtual reality applications; he noted that farmers were open to technology but were unaware of its availability.