CYENS Centre of Excellence (formerly known as RISE) is the first research centre in Cyprus focusing on interactive media, smart systems and emerging technologies aiming to become a Centre of Excellence empowering knowledge and technology transfer in the region. It is a joint venture between the three public universities of Cyprus (University of Cyprus, Cyprus University of Technology, Open University of Cyprus), the Municipality of Nicosia, and two renowned international partners, the Max Planck Institute for Informatics (MPI) from Germany and University College London (UCL) from the UK. CYENS will be an integrator of academic research and industrial innovation, towards the sustainable fueling of scientific, technological and socio-economic growth of Cyprus and Europe. The Centre sets out to meet the challenge with a total potential funding of over 30 million Euros for the first seven years, from a Horizon 2020 Team Action and multiple other sources including the Government of Cyprus, and a business plan for long-term sustainability and growth. Hosting CYENS in the historic heart of Nicosia is part of the strategy of the city to foster the development of an inclusive innovation and creativity ecosystem. CYENS will be catalytic in this respect by complementing other infrastructures and services in this area while mobilizing significant knowledge networks and social capital. Further, it will provide a solid scientific base that will encourage the development and application of new technologies and innovative entrepreneurship and will also offer support to the start up community and established innovation companies.