H.E. Mr. Nikos Christodoulides is the eighth President of the Republic of Cyprus.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Economics, Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies from the City University of New York, Queens College, and a Master’s degree in Political Science from New York University. He holds a doctorate from the Department of Political Science and Public Administration of the University of Athens.

He was a career diplomat between 1999 and 2018. He also served as Director of the Diplomatic Office of the President of the Republic of Cyprus (2013-2018) and as Government Spokesman (2014-2018). On 1st March 2018, he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, a position that he held until his resignation on 11 January 2022.

Prof. Didier Roux (Chair of the Board of Trustees and of the Board of Directors)
Delegate for Scientific Information and Communication of the French Academy of Sciences

Didier Roux currently serves as the Delegate for Scientific Information and Communication at the Académie des Sciences. Prof. Roux also served as the Vice President of Research & Development and Innovation and Director of Innovation of the Saint-Gobain Group in France and he is a member of the French Academy of Sciences.

A chemist by training, he has explored various facets of science and its interfaces (chemistry, physics, biology, industry, etc.) and has been awarded many prizes and distinctions including the Grand Prix IBM materials, the Grand Prix of the French Academy of Sciences Mergier Bourdeix and the Silver Medal of CNRS.

David Andelman is a professor of Condensed Matter Physics and Biophysics and the incumbent of the Moyses Nussenzveig chair in Statistical Physics at Tel Aviv University. His research interests include the theory of soft condensed matter, statistical and biological physics as well as environmental science and renewable energies. He serves as the head of the Breakthrough Research Grant (BRG) program of the Israel Science Foundation and also has served as the chair of the School of Physics at Tel Aviv University. He is a fellow of the American Physics Society and was awarded, among others, the Humboldt Research Award, the Bourke Award by the Royal Society, the Chinese Academy of Science Presidential International Fellowship, and the Henri de Rothschild Fellowship at the Curie Institute, Paris.

Michael Cates was previously Professor of Natural Philosophy and Royal Society Research Professor at the University of Edinburgh. He is renowned for his work over the past thirty years on problems on soft matter. He was rewarded the prestigious Dirac Medal and Prize of the Institute of Physics, the Pierre Gille de Gennes Lecture Prize of the European Physical Journal and the Weissenberg Award of the European Society of Rheology.

Nadia Makram Ebeid was the first Special Peace Envoy of the Secretary General of the Arab League. Ebeid was Egypt’s first Minister of the Environment for a period of five years and the first woman minister to hold this position in the Arab World. One of her most notable achievements was promoting environmental awareness as well as declaring the River Nile free from polluted industrial wastewater discharge.
Ebeid has a long-standing professional record with the United Nations in the field of international development cooperation. She also has academic pursuits since she was a visiting professor at George Washington University, USA.
She is likewise the chairperson and board member of various prestigious institutions and the holder of numerous international and national awards.

Dr Marina Ioannou Hasapi
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth

Dr Marina Ioannou Hasapi is the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth, since July 1st 2023. Dr. Marina Ioannou Hasapi holds a Ph.D. in Labor Relations, postgraduate degrees in both Business Administration (MBA) and in Public Sector Management (MPSM) and a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Finance. She has previously served as the acting Permanent Secretary of the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare, during 2021-2023 and has also served, for more than 27 years, in various positions of responsibility in the Department of Labour Relations of the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance.

Dr Marina Ioannou Hasapi has served as a member in various boards, such as the Board of the European Foundation of Living and Working Conditions, the Board of the Cyprus Organization for the Marking of Precious Metals (ASSAY), and the Board of the Cyprus Human Resources Management Association. Dr. Marina Ioannou Hasapi has also taught, for many years, Labour Relations, both at the University of Cyprus as well as at the Mediterranean Institute of Management.

Prof. Massimo Inguscio
Professor, University of Florence, Former President of the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche of Italy (CNR)

Prof Massimo Inguscio is an Italian physicist, Professor at the University of Florence. He was President of the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche of Italy (National Research Council) from February 2016 until February 2021. He is a member of the Academia Europaea, the Istituto Lombardo and the Accademia dei Lincei (2008) and Fellow of the American Physical Society (2006) and the Optical Society of America (2002). In 2005 he received the Grand Prix Scientifique of the Académie des Sciences and the Institut de France (Fondation Simon e Cino del Duca), in 2004 the Premio Enrico Fermi, in 2004 a Humboldt Research Prize and in 1995 the Laser Optronics Prize of the Italian Physical Society. In 2009 he received an Advanced Grant from the European Research Council. For 2014 he was awarded the Herbert Walther Prize.

Dr Michel Jarraud - Chair of the EEWRC SEP
Secretary General Emeritus, World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

Mrs Demetra Karantokis
Executive President Karantokis Group

Demetra Karantokis is the Executive President of the Karantokis Group (Construction, Hospitality, Real Estate and Waste Management).
She has served in various Boards and Committees such as the Cyprus Broadcasting Council, the Council for Women’s Rights, the Executive Committee of OEV, Vice President of the Electricity Authority (EAC).
Currently she is the Vice President of the Cyprus Tourist Association (STEK), member of the Council of the University of Technology (TEPAK) and member of the Council of OEV.
She is the Recipient of the KEVE Business Leader Award 2021.

Mr. Kyriacos Kokkinos
CEO of the Cyprus Research and Educational Foundation

Kyriacos Kokkinos is former Minister for Research, Innovation (R&I) and Digital Policy (until February 2023), Republic of Cyprus. He previously served as the National Chief Scientist and Chairman of the Board for Research & Innovation Foundation RIF. He is a distinguished professional with more than 30 years of experience in Executive Strategic Management, Technology and Consulting, served at senior Executive roles in global corporations -such as IBM Europe and PwC- and served at Board level of many organisations. He is now serving at Board level of private corporations as well as he is the founder and chairman of Business Insights Consulting.

He is the recipient of numerous esteemed awards and recognitions for professional excellence. He holds an MSc and BSc degrees in Electrical Engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology NJIT (USA) and Executive MBA from Henley Management College (UK).

Mrs Soula Kythreotou-Zavou
Former Member of the Educational Service Commission
President of the Cultural Foundation of Troodos Mountain Communities

Soula Kythreotou Zavou studied English Literature at the American University of Beirut and Political Sciences  and Public Administration at the National and Kapodistrian  University .She served as  a member of the  Educational Service Commission  and as a member and Vice-President of the Cyprus Theatrical Organization.
Μrs Zavou was appointed by the Council of Ministers in 2022 President of the Cultural Foundation of Troodos Mountain Communities  and Co-Chair of the Bi-Communal Technical Committee for Gender Equality (2019) .She is a  member of the Leadership Council of SDSN Cyprus and Vice -President of the Board of Directors of the Association of Friends of the Cyprus Institute. Mrs Zavou is also the Honorary President of the International Association for the Promotion of Women in Europe (AIPFE) - Cyprus Council and Honorary President of the American University of Beirut Alumni Association. Mrs Zavou was the writer and presenter of a series of programs on the ‘’Political Parties in Cyprus’’on Logos TV and the author of the book ‘’The political Parties in Cyprus in the 20th century’’. Her activities involve many other cultural, educational and charity organizations.

Prof. Stavros Malas (Ex officio)
President of The Cyprus Institute

Prof. Stavros Malas holds a BSc and PhD in Genetics from University College London. Subsequent to his postgraduate studies, he worked for the Medical Research Council-Clinical Sciences Centre at Imperial College. In 2001, he moved to Cyprus and joined the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics (CING) where he established a research group and the first transgenic animal facility in the country. He has expertise in developing transgenic animal models, embryonic brain development, stem cell biology and molecular genetics.
Over the last twenty years he has undertaken many EC advisory roles in policy development: Special Advisor to Commissioner for Health, elected first President of the Innovative Medicines Initiative-States Representatives Group, member of the European Strategy Forum for Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) and member of the Program Committee for Health. In 2012, he led a European project which developed a strategy for Innovative Health care provision about “Building an Open Innovation ecosystem in Europe for healthcare”. Professor Malas served as Minister of Health of the Republic of Cyprus and, during the Cyprus Presidency of the European Union, as Chair of both the European Council of Ministers of Health and the Competitiveness Council for Research.
Stavros Malas previously held the position of Professor of Genetics and Development at the University of Nicosia and led the effort for establishing the first Veterinary Medicine Program in Cyprus as Dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine. He assumed the position of President of The Cyprus Institute on February 1st, 2023.

Marc Mézard is a theoretical physicist. He received a PhD from École Normale Supérieure in Paris, did a post-doc in Rome, and became the head of statistical physics group in Paris-Sud University. Since 2012 and 2022 he was the Director of École Normale Supérieure. His main field of research is statistical physics and its use in various branches of science – biology, economics and finance, information theory, computer science, statistics and signal processing. In recent years, his research has focused on information processing in neural networks.

Prof Mézard has received the Lars Onsager prize of the American Physical Society, the Humboldt Gay-Lussac prize, the silver medal of CNRS, and the Ampere prize of the French Academy of Sciences. He is a member of the European Academy of Sciences.

Dr Popi Nicolaidou Kanari served as Minister of Health between March 2023 and January 2024. She was the president of Karaiskakio Foundation, a diagnostic and research centre in Heamatooncology from 2011 until March 2023. She served on the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Cancer Research Institute from July 2017 until March 2023. She was previously the director of the State General Laboratory / Ministry of Health, an umbrella of analytical laboratories covering the areas of food, environment, forensic toxicology and pharmaceuticals.

She served as a Chairperson of the European Advisory Group of the Official Medicines Control Laboratories Network and as the president of the European section of the American Association of Official Analytical Chemists. She served the European Food Safety Authority Advisory Forum for several years and was a Member of the EU Programme Committee on Food Security Sustainable Agriculture of the Horizon 2020. She also acted as an NCP (National Contact Point) on Environment and Health of the WHO Working Group of European Environment and Health Task Force. In 2020, she was appointed as a member of the Council of the European University in Cyprus.

Wajih Owais served as Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and as Minister of Education. He was elected Vice President and then President of the Jordan University of Science and Technology. Prof. Owais chaired and shared several international committees, including the Arab Regional Secretary – Committee on Science and Technology in Developing Countries (COSTED-UNESCO)

Dr. George Pamboridis is a corporate lawyer dealing mostly with matters related to Mergers and acquisitions, corporate law, international tax planning, but also Energy law. His extensive shipping background ranks him as one of the leading lawyers in matters of International Shipping regulation. He has also taught International Shipping Law and Energy Law at the University of Cyprus. He was appointed by the President of the Republic of Cyprus on in July 2015 as the Minister of Health, a position he held until the completion of his term in February 2018. He is currently the Senior Partner of Pamboridis LLC.

Natasa Pilides served as Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Cyprus between July 2020 and March 2023. During her term, she implemented a multifaceted strategy for green energy transition and support and promotion of entrepreneurship and exports, securing €590m in funding for the period 2021-2027 (compared to €121m in the period 2014-2020) and issuing funding programmes of more than €265m in the years 2021 and 2022 for business competitiveness, technological and energy upgrades. Previously, she was appointed as the first Deputy Minister of Shipping of the Republic of Cyprus, a role which she took up with the inception of the Shipping Deputy Ministry on 1 March 2018. Natasa has also served as the Director General of Invest Cyprus, the arm of the government responsible for investment promotion, investor support and facilitation of reform.

Natasa's work experience includes more than fifteen years in the private sector. She served as a Director and Regional Chief Operating Officer at Baker Tilly in South East Europe, while for 9 years she worked at PwC, in Cyprus, Milan and London the areas of audit and tax consulting.
Natasa graduated from Oxford University with a first-class honours degree with distinction in Modern Languages and Literature (French and Italian). She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW) and a member of the Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC).

Janez Potočnik was the Director of the Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development, Ljubljana. He was the head of the Negotiating Team for Accession of Slovenia to the EU. He also served as Director of Government Office for European Affairs, Minister Councillor at the Office of the Prime Minister and Minister responsible for European Affairs.

Prof. Jeffrey Sachs
Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University; Director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network

Professor Sachs served as the Director of the Earth Institute from 2002 to 2016. He was appointed University Professor at Columbia University in 2016, and also serves as Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University. He is Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on the Sustainable Development Goals, and previously advised both UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Sustainable Development Goals and Millennium Development Goals and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the Millennium Development Goals. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis in Laxenburg, Austria. Sachs is Director of both the Center for Sustainable Development, and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network under the auspices of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Mr Robert-Jan Smits
President of the Executive Board, Eindhoven University of Technology

Robert-Jan Smits is the President of the Eindhoven University of Technology (since May 2019). Prior to this, he was the Director-General of Research and Innovation at the European Commission (2010-2018). In this capacity he was the architect of Horizon 2020, the 80 billion EU Research and Innovation program. Smits has also been instrumental in shaping the successor program Horizon Europe (budget: 95 billion). In his last year in Brussels, Robert-Jan Smits was the Open Access Envoy of the European Commission and developed concrete policy proposals aimed to ensure that all academic publications resulting from publicly funded research are widely available and accessible through Open Access.
Smits has received several recognitions and awards for his contribution to European science and innovation. He received the Academy Medal of the Royal Dutch Academy, the Excellence in Global Science Award in South Africa, the Medal of Honour of the KU Leuven.
He holds an honorary degree from Edinburgh University, is a honorary member of Academia Europaea and is a Fellow of the International Science Council.

Prof. Stavros Thomadakis
Emeritus Professor of Financial Economics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Educated at Yale, he obtained his PhD from the Sloan School of Management, MIT. Has taught at US universities (MIT, CUNY), and researched (visiting scholar) at Stern School of Business, NYU and the School of Management at Yale.
His research interests cover governance of global markets, financial theory and history of markets and market regulation.
He has authored numerous scholarly articles and many press publications. He has authored, co-authored, and edited several books in his areas of interest.

His public and international service positions, and his institutional experience include:

  - Member of the Greek Council of Economic Advisers (1981-1984)
  - Chairman of the Hellenic Capital Market Commission (1996-2004).
  - Chairman, Expert Group on EU “Market Abuse Directive” (2000-2003)
  - Inaugural Chairman, Public Interest Oversight Board (2005-2011), overseeing global standards for auditors and accountants.
  - Inaugural Chairman of the University of the Aegean (2013-16)
  - Chairman of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (2015 to December 31, 2021).
  - Many Board memberships of international and national bodies

He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Cyprus Institute since 2019.

Dr Yiannis Toumazis
Former Deputy Minister of Culture of the Republic of Cyprus

Mr Andreas Zachariades
Permanent Secretary, Directorate General Growth, Ministry of Finance

Andreas was appointed Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance on September 1, 2020 and in addition to the duties of this position, he was appointed as Acting Permanent Secretary of the Directorate General Growth, for the period from 01/07/2023 to 1/11/2025.
He studied Economics and Accounting at the University of Southampton, graduating in 1991. He worked for the Audit Firm KPMG in the United Kingdom and became a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) in 1994. He served as Head of the fiscal management unit of the Ministry of Labor and Social Insurance, in the Internal Audit Directorate and in the Public Procurement Directorate of the Treasury of the Republic. In 2006 he was appointed Director of Internal Audit at the newly established Internal Audit Service of the Republic. From November 3, 2010 until his appointment, he served as Deputy Accountant General of the Republic.
On January 27, 2017, he was appointed by the Council of Ministers as a Member of the Cyprus Gaming and Casino Supervision Authority and on June 20, 2017 as Vice-President of the Public Supervision Commission of the Audit Profession.

Dan-Olof Riska is an Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of Helsinki. He has served as Treasurer and as President of the Finnish Society of Science and Letters. He also served as Vice President of the CERN Council, as well as Director of the Helsinki Institute of Physics. His research experience covers a wide field of theoretical and applied physics, including geophysics. He is a fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Science, the Finnish Society of Science and Letters, the Finnish Academy of Technical Sciences, the Finnish Academy of Science, as well as of the American Physical Society. He has served as vice president of the European Academies Science Advisory Council and on scientific advisory committees in several countries and the editorial boards of several scientific journals.

Edouard Brézin is currently an Emeritus Professor at the École Normale Supérieure, France and has previously served as President of the French National Academy of Sciences in numerous scientific administrative positions including the Presidency of the Administrative Council of CNRS. He is the recipient of many distinctions and international awards, including the Dirac Medal for his scientific contributions to theoretical physics. In 2012 he was presented with the Grand Cross of the order of Merit of Cyprus for his contribution in Sciences in the country and wider region and in 2013 he was named as "Commander of the French Legion of Honor", one of the highest distinctions of the French Republic.

Ruth Arnon, a prominent immunologist, served as President of the Israeli Academy of Sciences and Humanities and is currently The Paul Ehrlich Professor of Immunology at the Weizmann Institute of Science. Her scientific research has focused on the development of advanced vaccines, cancer research and parasitic diseases. She jointly developed Copaxone, a drug prescribed for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.

Philippe Busquin served as the European Commissioner of Research (1999-2004) and as a Member of the European Parliament (2004-2009). He was the chairman of the Science and Technology Options Assessment Panel. He is minister of State since 1992 and now he is the chairman of the National Institute for Radioelements (IRE) in Belgium.

George Georghiou is the former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defense. Mr. Georghiou held the same position for eight years (2010-2018) with the Directorate General for European Programmes, Coordination and Development. He served as Secretary to the Council of Ministers (2009-2013) whilst he held various positions on numerous Boards. Amongst others he was Chairman of the Board of the Research Promotion Foundation, Chairman of the Committee of the Cyprus Innovation Award of the Cyprus Employers and Industrialists Federation and member of the Boards of Cyprus Airways, the Human Resource Development Agency, the Statistical Council and the Kaimakli Cooperative Bank. He has extensive experience on issues of research, defence, environment, regional development and management of EU funds.

Anastasios Giannitsis is Professor Emeritus of the University of Athens and Chairman of LAMDA Development. He served as Chief Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister of Greece (1994-2000) and served different terms as Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, a Foreign Affairs Minister and Minister of Interior. He was Professor of Development and International Economics, University of Athens and Chairman of Hellenic Petroleum Co.

Susan Greenfield, CBE, is a prominent neuroscientist and member of the House of Lords in the UK. She heads a multi-disciplinary research group exploring novel brain mechanisms linked to neurodegenerative diseases such Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. She is a Senior Research Fellow at Lincoln College, Oxford. She is the recipient of numerous international awards and distinctions, including the Ordre National de la Legion d’Honneur.

Hany Helal served as Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Egypt. He is a Professor of Engineering at Cairo University and served as the Head of Singor University in Alexandria, Egypt.

Joshua Jortner is an Emeritus Professor of Chemistry and former Heinemann Professor of Chemistry at the Tel Aviv University. He is a member and former President of the Israeli Academy of Sciences and the Humanities, and has served in many administrative posts including the founding Chairmanship of the Israel National Science Foundation. He received numerous awards and honorary distinctions including the Wolf Prize in Chemistry.

Ioli Kalavrezou is the Dumbarton Oaks Professor of Byzantine Art, Early Christian and Byzantine at the Department of History of Art and Architecture, Harvard University, where she also served as Chair for six years. She has held professorships at UCLA and the Humbold University, Munich. Her research and publications focus on the arts of the empire of Byzantium

Petros Kareklas was previously the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice and Public Order of the Republic of Cyprus. Dr Kareklas also held this position in the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Education and Culture. He has served in a managerial position in the Employers and Industrialists Federation (OEB).

Symeon Kassianides is the founder, CEO and Chairman of the Hyperion Systems Engineering Group. He has over 20 years of experience in project execution and management in the process and manufacturing industries. He also serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Natural Gas Public Company, Cyprus and as director on the Board of the Employers and Industrialists Federation.

Linda Katehi served as the sixth Chancellor of the University of California, Davis. Professor Katehi is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and has previously served as board member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, as chair of the President’s Committee for the National Medal of Science and National Medal of Technology and Innovation, and as a member of the Kauffman National Panel for Entrepreneurship.

Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and as Minister of Communications and Works of the Republic of Cyprus. She has served as Ambassador of Cyprus to the US and as Ambassador to Brazil, Lebanon, Jordan and Sweden. She was also accredited to the World Bank, the IMF, ICAO and the Organization of American States.

Anastasios Paul Leventis has been involved in international activities which encourage sustainable models of development. He is a Founder Trustee of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation; Honorary Vice-President of BirdLife International; a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society; a member of the Board of Trustees of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture; a Trustee of the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest Trust; a Board Member of the Cambridge Conservation Initiative.

Edmee Leventis is a member of the Board of Directors of the A G Leventis Foundation and many other cultural, philanthropic and charity organizations in London and in Cyprus. She has served as the Ambassadress of Cyprus to UNESCO.

Manthos Mavrommatis is the General Manager of Mavrommatis Pumps. He is currently the Chairman of the University of Cyprus Council, a Board member of the Cyprus International Institute of Management and has previously served at the Board of the Research Promotion Foundation. . He served as Chairman of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Dr Moleskis formerly served as Permanent Secretary of the Planning Bureau of Cyprus. He has also served as the Secretary of the Council of Ministers, as Chairman of the Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation and as member of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Development Bank.

Prof. Moniz, a Nuclear Physicist, served as Secretary of Energy, USA under the administration of President Barack Obama. He currently holds the positions of 'Cecil and Ida Green Distinguished Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems' at MIT and has previously served as Director of MIT's Energy Initiative. He is the recipient of many prizes and awards including the Grand Cross Medal of the Archbishop Makarios III for his contribution in the development of Research and Education in Cyprus.

Andreas Pittas is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Medochemie Ltd. He is a member of a number of scientific committees and organizations overseas, such as the British Association of Pharmaceutical Physicians and he has been Vice President of the European Generic Medicines Association (Brussels).

Herwig Schopper is a Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of Hamburg. He served as Director General of CERN, Geneva and as Director of the DESY Laboratory, Hamburg. He was the first President of the International Interim Council of the SESAME International Laboratory, Jordan. Prof. Schopper has received numerous distinctions and awards including the Tate Medal of the American Institute of Physics, the UNESCO Albert Einstein Gold Medal and the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Cyprus.

Ismail Serageldin was the Founding Director of The Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA), the new Library of Alexandria and is currently Emeritus Librarian and member of the Board of Trustees. He is the advisor to the Egyptian Prime Minister on matters related to culture, science and museums. Prof. Serageldin serves as Chair or Member of a number of advisory committees for academic, research, scientific and international institutions and civil society efforts.

Khaled Toukan is currently the Director General of the Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East - SESAME in Jordan. Prof. Toukan served as Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources of Jordan. He has also served as Chairman of the Department of Industrial Engineering at the University of Jordan and President of the Al-Balqa Applied University.

Harold Varmus, co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for studies of the genetic basis of cancer, is a Professor of Medicine, Cornel University. He served as Director of the US National Cancer Institute and of the National Institutes for Health. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine, and is involved with several initiatives to promote science and health in developing countries.

Mrs. Androulla Vassiliou served as European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth and as Commissioner for Health. She was twice elected to the Cypriot House of Representatives and as a Parliamentarian she was an active member of the European Affairs Committee and represented the Cyprus Parliament as an alternate member at the Convention on the Future of Europe. 

She was involved in the United Nations Association of Cyprus, being elected as President of it for four consecutive terms. In 1991 she was elected President of the World Federation of United Nations Associations and re-elected for two terms before being made an honorary president.

In Cyprus she has held many important posts and is on the Board of many public and private companies.

H.E. Dr Vassiliou, Doctor in Economics, was the third President of the Republic of Cyprus between 1988 and 1993. He also served as member of the House of Representatives. In 1998, he was appointed as Chief Negotiator for Cyprus' accession to the European Union, responsible for all the work of harmonization and the adoption and implementation of the acquis communautaire.

Sotirios Zackheos serves as the Executive Director of the Russian Commercial Bank in Cyprus. He served as a Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has been honored by the Greek Republic with the Grand Cross of the Order of the Phoenix and also honored by the Slovenian Republic with the Golden Order for Services in the Diplomatic and International Field.