With a strong institutional voice and targeted interventions, the Association of Hellenic Information Technology Enterprises (SETPE) made a dynamic contribution to the 13th Technology Forum and TechSaloniki X, two major events focusing on technology, innovation, the labour market and Thessaloniki’s ICT ecosystem, held on 22 and 23 May 2026.

SETPE was represented at both events by the Chairman of the BoD, Anastasios Manos, who highlighted the role of software development companies in shaping a more mature, collaborative and outward-looking technology environment in Greece.

The 13th Technology Forum, held on Friday 22 May 2026 at Warehouse D of the Port of Thessaloniki (OLTH), under the central theme “From Lab to Market: Innovating Through Entrepreneurship”, focused on the transition of research from the laboratory to real-world applications, the transformation of knowledge into applied solutions, and the connection of innovation with entrepreneurship and productive growth.

As part of the event, Mr Manos participated in a roundtable discussion entitled “How can young professionals coexist and collaborate creatively with modern AI tools, rather than be replaced by them?”. The discussion focused on the new skills required in the era of Artificial Intelligence, as well as on how AI tools can serve as supportive resources for young professionals, without diminishing the importance of experience, critical thinking and in-depth understanding.

Referring to the ways in which businesses are now called upon to assess the skills of prospective employees, the Chairman of the BoD of SETPE highlighted that the critical factor is not simply whether a candidate can use an Artificial Intelligence tool, but whether they can evaluate its output, identify errors, improve existing code and understand the logic behind the proposed technical solution. As he noted, the added value of AI tools does not lie solely in generating new code, but primarily in their ability to support the correction, enhancement and acceleration of work, provided that the user possesses the necessary critical thinking skills.

At the same time, Mr Manos emphasised that the speed at which Artificial Intelligence generates technical solutions is creating new conditions for the training of junior developers. On the one hand, the time required to complete tasks and access functional solutions is being significantly reduced. On the other hand, however, there is a risk that the experiential learning process may be weakened — the knowledge acquired by a young developer through mistakes, failures, testing and the gradual understanding of challenges. “We gain something and we lose something,” Mr Manos noted, highlighting the need for young professionals not to remain mere users of tools, but to develop into professionals with judgement, experience and a sense of responsibility.

The same panel also featured Stavros Kalafatis, Deputy Minister of Development responsible for Research and Innovation, who referred, among other topics, to the significant public investments made in the development of AI infrastructure.

Similarly, at TechSaloniki X, the 10th anniversary edition of the event connecting talent, young scientists and professionals with leading technology companies, which took place on Friday 22 May and Saturday 23 May 2026 at Warehouse C of the Port of Thessaloniki (OLTH), the Chairman of the BoD of SETPE participated in a roundtable discussion entitled “Connecting the Dots: Data, Gaps and Growth in the Local Technology Ecosystem”.

His contribution focused on the need to strengthen synergies among the organisations that form the region’s technology and productive ecosystem. Mr Manos noted that, in recent years, the scope for collaboration in Thessaloniki and Central Macedonia has expanded significantly, creating more favourable conditions for the growth of the sector, the retention and attraction of human capital, as well as the provision of greater opportunities for technology companies.

He placed particular emphasis on the need for the so-called “triple” or “quadruple helix” — namely the collaboration between businesses, the academic and research community, public authorities and society — not to remain merely a theoretical framework, but to become a practical mechanism for generating tangible results. As he noted, the key point is not to determine which organisation belongs to which part of the ecosystem, but to build genuine bridges of cooperation through joint initiatives, data sharing, the identification of gaps and targeted interventions for the development of the local technology market.

A key highlight of the discussion was the public invitation extended by the Greek European Commissioner, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, to the SETPE Board of Directors to visit Brussels, accompanied by representatives of its member companies, in order to be informed about European funding sources and new business opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises. Mr Tzitzikostas also undertook to facilitate the arrangement of a meeting with the European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, Ekaterina Zaharieva.

SETPE’s parallel presence at the 13th Technology Forum and TechSaloniki X reflects its consistent strategic commitment to strengthening the interconnection between technology, research, entrepreneurship and human capital, as well as highlighting software development companies as key drivers of digital transformation, competitiveness and the international outlook of the Greek economy.