CERTH / HIT / ITI

About CENTRE FOR RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY HELLAS (CERTH)

The Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH, www.certh.gr) is one of the largest research centres in Greece. It was founded in 2000 and is located in Thessaloniki, Greece. The mission of CERTH is to promote the triplet Research – Development – Innovation by conducting high quality scientific research and developing innovative products and services while building strong partnerships with industry (national and international) and strong collaborations with research centres and universities in Greece and abroad. CERTH consists of five (5) Institutes and the Central Directorate and is governed by its Board of Directors.

CERTH has participated successfully in more than 1,000 competitive research projects (with a total budget exceeding 423 M€ and involving more than 1,100 international partner organizations) financed by the European Union (EU), leading industries from USA, Japan and Europe and the Greek Government. Four spin-off companies have been already launched through CERTH research activities. CERTH is listed among the Top-20 Research Centres of the EU with the highest participation in FP7 competitive research grants for the period 2007-2012 (16th place, up from 18th in 2011). CERTH has received numerous awards and distinctions such as: the European Commissions’ Descartes Prize (2006), the European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant (2010), the 1st Prize in the Microsoft International Contest (2010) and many more.

Since 2003, CERTH has been appointed by the General Secretariat for Research and Technology (GSRT) as the coordinator of the Greek EURAXESS Network, a European initiative aiming at offering personalised assistance to mobile researchers. In 2008, CERTH was among the first Greek research organisations to undersign and accept the principles of the Charter and Code for researchers while at the same time CERTH’s representatives were members of the Greek delegation at the Steering Group for Human Resources and Mobility (SG HRM).

Its latest achievement in the field of human resources is the “HR EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH” logo awarded by the EC in April 2012 as a proof that CERTH is committed to offer the best possible working conditions, regardless the socioeconomic environment, and at the same time work towards the realisation of the European Research Area (Innovation Union, Commitment #4). CERTH is involved in strong and long-term collaborations with significant international partners. In SHOW, CERTH participates with two of its Institutes (Hellenic Institute of Transport – HIT) and (Information Technologies Institute – ITI).

About Hellenic Institute of Transport (HIT)

Established in 2000, the Hellenic Institute of Transport is the Greek National Institute for the promotion of Transport Research and Policy support. It focuses on applied research in all fields and modes of Transport, providing input for policy formulation, documentation of major trends and impacts, formulation of operational rules and procedures, improvement of the operation and management in the field of Transport.

It has been recognised as a centre of excellence in several fields and is a well-recognised source of innovation and entrepreneurship in the field of transport in Europe, thus achieving one of the key objectives of CERTH. The Institute cooperates with local, private and public bodies and other institutions in Europe and inter-nationally and represents Greece in various International trade and scientific fora.

About the Information Technologies Institute (ITI)

CERTH/ITI is one of the leading Institutions of Greece in the fields of Informatics, Telematics and Telecommunications, with long experience in numerous European and national R&D projects.

It is active in a large number of research domains such as Energy Efficiency, Security and Surveillance, Image and Signal Processing, Computer & Cognitive Vision, Human Computer Interaction, Virtual and Augmented Reality, Machine Learning & Deep Learning, Multimedia, Visual and Data Analytics, Database and Information Systems and Social Media Analysis.

Since its establishment, CERTH/ITI has participated in more than 175 research projects funded by the European Commission (IST FP5-FP6-FP7 & H2020) and more than 160 research projects funded by Greek National Research Programmes and Consulting Subcontracts with the Private Sector (I&T Industry).

ITI currently has 216 employees including Scientific Personnel (Researchers, Collaborating faculty members, Postdoctoral Research Fellows, Postgraduate Research Fellows, and Research Assistants), Administrative and Technical Staff.