Standards Unboxed!

Overview:
The event will open with a horizontal theme focused on the importance of standardization and will take place on March 2026. 

This opening session will provide a comprehensive overview of what standards are, why they matter and how they impact various facets of everyday life. Key topics will include the role of standards in ensuring safety, promoting innovation, facilitating international trade, and enhancing quality of life. The session aims to set the stage for a deeper understanding of how standards form the backbone of modern economies and contribute to sustainable development.
Once the horizontal theme is concluded, three parallel breakout sessions will follow, focusing on the relationship of standards with Research & Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Industry Standards Application.
Breakout Sessions:
a. Standardization in support of Research & Innovation – “From Ideas to Standards – How innovation shapes and is shaped by standardization”.
b. Standards & Entrepreneurship – “Start Smart: From Startup to Standout – Empowering Entrepreneurs through Standards”.
c. Standards Application in Industry – “Standards: Boosting Industry Advantage”.

A brief outline of each of the above sessions follows:
a. Standardisation in Research & Innovation – “From Ideas to Standards – How innovation shapes and is shaped by standardization”
Brief outline:
The scope of this section is raising awareness about how standardization can enable research and innovation to create a real-world impact.
Through an interactive session that includes ideas sharing, real successful examples sharing and working in teams, participants will explore how research outcomes can be transformed into standards.
The session will demonstrate how research results can move beyond the labs and become trusted, scalable, and widely adopted solutions that support both market needs and European policy priorities.
b. Standards & Entrepreneurship – “Start Smart: From Startup to Standout – Empowering Entrepreneurs through Standards”.

Brief outline:
This session is tailored to entrepreneurs, startups and small business leaders. It will address how understanding and leveraging standards can give entrepreneurs a competitive edge. From product development to market entry and international expansion, the discussion will focus on how startups can integrate standards into their business models to ensure quality, build trust and open up new market opportunities. This session will also emphasize on the benefits of various management systems standards in relation to quality, project management etc.
The session will also highlight practical tools, resources, and case studies of entrepreneurial success stories linked to standardization. Additionally, we will aim for collaboration with the Centre for Entrepreneurship, of the University of Cyprus, in order to explore how standards empowerentrepreneurs by offering tools that support scalability, sustainability, innovation and compliance.
c. Standards Application in Industry – “Standards: Boosting Industry Advantage”.

Brief outline:
This section will present key insights and practical tools to illustrate the benefits of applying standards within the industrial environment. The focus will be on highlighting the importance and advantages of standards, not only in industry but also across all sectors of economic and social activity. The primary objective is to demonstrate how the effective application of standards can strengthen competitiveness, ensure quality and safety, assist in conformity assessment and compliance, and ultimately enhance the value and reputation of business brands, by ensuring at the same time consumer safety and environmental responsibility.