Frederick University honoured four innovative projects with a significant impact on the environment, health, education and society. The Michael Frederickou Awards, presented annually in memory of the University’s founder, recognise and reward excellence in teaching, research and contribution to the community. In the category “Actions Promoting the Sustainable Development Goals”, the teams and individuals awarded opened new paths towards meaningful and hopeful change.

The European project EMMERA, coordinated and inspired by Dr Angelos Menelaou, Chair of the Department of Maritime Transport and Commerce at Frederick University, aims to address marine pollution in the Eastern Mediterranean. EMMERA is developing a modern risk assessment methodology to enhance understanding of threats and ensure prompt notification in the event of pollution. Its digital platform has been approved by the Government of Cyprus as the unified digital tool for collecting and analysing data from all competent services. Its management will be undertaken by the Deputy Ministry of Shipping from January 1, 2026. In addition to the Frederick University team, the project involves the University of Piraeus, the University of Haifa, the Cyprus Ports Authority and the Elefsis Port Authority. From Frederick University, participants also included Dr Andreas Constantinides, Dr Michalis Makrominas, Dr Demetris Kletou, Dr Sergey Propravko, Carol Bailey and Michel Christensen.

One of the Sustainable Development Goals is the equitable safeguarding of health and well-being. In this category, Dr Konstantinos Michael, a doctoral graduate of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Frederick University, was awarded. His doctoral research, supervised by Professor Yiannis Parpottas, was recognised as one of the finest studies in its field and achieved results with significant impact on medicine and patients. Specifically, his research led to the development of a specialised and innovative tool for assessing the size of residual thyroid tissue after thyroid removal. This assessment supports sound clinical decision-making for appropriate treatment, benefiting patients, and is already in use at the Bank of Cyprus Oncology Centre, where Dr Michael works as a Senior Medical Physicist in the Departments of Nuclear Medicine and Radiodiagnostics.

In the same category, for “Actions Promoting the Sustainable Development Goals”, three students of the Department of Architecture at Frederick University were honoured for presenting a comprehensive proposal for the redevelopment of the abandoned village of Fasli in the Akamas region, taking into account the environmental sensitivity of the area. Guided by course lecturers Byron Ioannou, Agni Grigoriou and Penelope Vasquez Chatzilyra, students Yasemi Eleftheraki, Alexandra Karamerou and Niki Theodorakopoulou collaborated with the Commissioner for the Environment, the Department of Town Planning and Housing and the Community Authorities to present a sustainable, human-centred settlement that respects local heritage and meets contemporary needs.

Finally, Eurycleia Karagiannidou, a postgraduate alumna of the Master’s Programme in the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Historic Structures at Frederick University’s Department of Architecture, was awarded for her innovative contribution to the design of educational programmes that bridge the archaeological past with the present. Employing modern interdisciplinary methods, the programmes she developed offer children an experiential approach to cultural heritage, fostering empathy, intercultural understanding and a sense of identity.

Frederick University has linked its vision and mission to the promotion of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a commitment recognised for the third consecutive year by the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, which named it the top university in Cyprus for advancing the SDGs in research, teaching, policy-making and societal engagement.