University of Crete

University of Crete
Πανεπιστήμιο Κρήτης
Established 1973
Rector Odysseas Zoras
Academic staff
 548
Administrative staff
 420
Undergraduates 14,688
Postgraduates 2,099
Location Rethymnon and Heraklion, island of Crete, Greece
Campus Voutes-Heraklion, Galos-Rethymnon
Affiliations FORTH
Website http://www.uoc.gr

The University of Crete (UoC; Greek: Πανεπιστήμιο Κρήτης) is the principal higher education institution on the island of Crete, Greece, and one of the country's most academically acclaimed and reputable ones. The University ranked 51st in the The Times Higher Education (THE) annual list of the top 100 universities founded in the past 50 years.[1][2]

Overview

The University of Crete, is a multi-disciplinary, research-oriented institution, located in the cities of Rethymnon (official seat) and Heraklion, in the island of Crete. It is a University well known both nationally and internationally for its state of the art research, undergraduate curricula, and graduate programmes.[3][4][5] It is considered one of the best universities in Greece mainly due to its research influence: it ranks in the top 400 Universities of the World by The Times Higher Education list,[6] and also in the top 100 universities under 50 years by the QS World University Rankings.[7] It is notable that it achieves this distinction although it has less than 30% of the faculty members in comparison to other larger academic institutions in Greece.

The University of Crete was established in 1973 and started functioning in the academic year 1977-78. As all Universities in Greece, it is a public university and as such it operates under the supervision of the State and all its educational activities, as well as a part of its research activities, rely upon government funding. The supreme administrative body of the University is the senate, which is presided over by the Rector of the University. The Head of the University is the Rector who is assisted by three Vice-Rectors in the exercise of his duties; all four together form the institution's high authority. They are elected for a period of four years by the teaching staff and representatives of the student body. The current rector is Prof. Odysseas Zoras.

As of 2014, there is a student population of approximately 12,000 active students enrolled at the university (10,000 at the undergraduate level and 2,000 at the postgraduate level), more than 540 Faculty members as well as approximately 420 administrative staff.[8][9]

On several research topics the University of Crete collaborates closely with FO.R.T.H. The Natural History Museum of Crete, established in 1981 at Heraklion, is also part of the University of Crete.[10]

Although still very young, the University of Crete has already shown its commitment in the evolving process of European integration, and it operates as an integral member of the European Research and Education Areas. It is currently coordinating and participating in European Union programs and activities such as ERASMUS, LINGUA, TEMPUS etc. and has important links and cooperations with other Mediterranean and Eastern European countries as well as with many American universities and colleges, through international Programs.

The student union also operates a radio station.

Emblem of University of Crete

The emblem of University of Crete is based on a Hellenistic coin found in Gortyn (430-300 B.B.) and depicts Europa in reflecting stance while sitting on olive tree branches. The emblem was designed in a medal by the sculptor Aspasia Papadoperaki.[11]

Faculties and departments

The University of Crete is organized into Schools, which are composed of Departments with related disciplines.[12] University of Crete has 2 campuses (Galos in Rethymnon, Voutes in Heraklion).

Academic evaluation

An external evaluation of all academic departments in Greek universities was conducted by the Hellenic Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency (HQAA) in the years 2008-2014 and according to these results, the University of Crete, was characterized as a "Center of Excellence".[18] The reports are publicly available.[19]

References

  1. ↑ The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2015 - University of Crete Retrieved in 2016-01-09.
  2. ↑ University of Crete in THE global list of top 100 universities Newspaper article (english edition) Retrieved in 07-05-2014.
  3. ↑ External Evaluation Report - Department of Physics, University of Crete
  4. ↑ "Τα Νέα" article, 12 Feb 2009
  5. ↑ "Οι πρώτοι αξιολογητές στο Πανεπιστήμιο" Newspaper "Πατρίς", 20 Jan 2009
  6. ↑ Top 400 (351 to 400) - The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2011-2016
  7. ↑ Top 500 - QS World University Rankings 2012-2016
  8. ↑ Hellenic Statistical Authority (EL.STAT.), Report on Higher Education - Students, Institutes and Faculty Staff (2013/2014), press release, November 2015 (greek)
  9. ↑ "University of Crete - Facts and Figures". University of Crete. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
  10. ↑ The Natural History Museum of Crete, Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, The Biodiversity of Crete at the Yale Peabody Museum
  11. ↑ The emblem of University of Crete
  12. ↑ "Schools and Departments". University of Crete. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
  13. ↑ "University of Crete, School of Education". University of Crete. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
  14. ↑ "University of Crete, School of Philosophy". University of Crete. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
  15. ↑ "University of Crete, School of Social, Economic & Political Sciences". University of Crete. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
  16. ↑ "University of Crete, School of Sciences and Engineering". University of Crete. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
  17. ↑ "University of Crete, School of Medicine". University of Crete. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
  18. ↑ Hellenic Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency
  19. ↑ Internal Quality Assurance Unit - list of external evaluation reports 2008-2014. Retrieved in 07-05-2014.

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/8/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.