In the context of the internationalization and interconnection of the academic work produced at the University of Patras, the Foundation has developed a partnership with Imperial College London, one of the leading academic and research institutions worldwide.

The initiative was shaped by the contribution of a member of the University of Patras’ Board of Governors, Mrs. Machi Georgakopoulou, the responsible Vice-Rector for Strategic Internationalization and Extroversion of the University of Patras, Professor Dionissios Mantzavinos, as well as the Professor of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Technology Athanasios Skodra.

“Building on our relationship with the academic staff at Imperial College – my colleague Professor Athanasios Skodras from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Technology at the University of Patras and myself as an Imperial graduate – we cultivated the idea of our students benefiting from a series of 4 or 5 graduate programs, which in the UK are usually 12 months in duration,” he tells protothema.gr, Vice Dean for Internationalization, Professor Dionissios Mantzavinos.

They are usually taught in 12 months, but in some cases, they are usually in 12 months.

In more detail, “our students from this particular Electrical Engineering department, having completed the first four years of study, will be doing their fifth and final year courses at Imperial College as a postgraduate course.

They will then go on to complete their fifth and final year of study at the College of Engineering as an undergraduate course.

In Britain, the curriculum along with the master’s degree is four years for engineers – while in ours, five – our students will be admitted for the master’s degree after they have completed the four years of study at the University of Patras – even though they have not yet received a degree. Therefore, after completing their fifth year in the UK, on returning to Greece, they will receive the Diploma in Electrical Engineering and after a short time, having also met the requirements for the Imperial Master’s degree, they will also receive the Master’s degree from England. This scheme is excellent because essentially with the one-year course they will get two degrees – the diploma they would have got anyway plus a master’s,” he concludes.

The “thorns”

Although at the academic level, there are no problems, there are two ‘thorns’ of an economic nature, according to Professor Mangavino: “Tuition fees are exorbitant – around £40,000. For the first two students, who will start in September 2025, we have already solved the problem – from Imperial’s point of view, because due to Brexit they have lost half of their students, they decided to cover half of the tuition fees, i.e. £20,000 for European students.”

He goes on: “And we, for our part, as the University of Patras, have decided, at least for this year, to cover the rest, so two of our students will go to do a master’s degree in Great Britain for free. It should be noted that we already have the first three applications from Greek students – we can cover two, and we will see what we can do for the third – while all three, have received an offer – “conditional offer”, as it is called – from Imperial. The student’s side will only be responsible for their living expenses. We hope to send up to five students on this program, subject to securing the necessary funding.”

Regarding finding a solution to the funding issue, Prof. Dionissios Mantzavinos appears optimistic, as the subject of electrical engineering, like computer science, has a high employability in the labor market. “We are looking forward to the support of companies, mainly in the UK and beyond, who would like to fund these excellent graduates so that they can absorb them subsequently.”

As noted, the collaboration is expected to further enhance the academic and research activity of the two institutions. It focuses on common areas of scientific interest, with the aim of developing innovative research programs, exchanging scientific knowledge, and expanding educational opportunities for students and researchers. At the same time, new prospects for international collaborations are expected to be created, enhancing the extroversion of the University of Patras and its networking with one of the world’s leading universities.

About the partnerships between Greek and foreign universities for joint postgraduate programs

On the occasion of the recent announcement of the Ministry of Education about partnerships between Greek and foreign universities for joint postgraduate programs, the indicative list includes two proposals from the University of Patras.

The indicative list includes two proposals from two universities in Greece.

According to the Vice-Rector for Internationalization, Professor Dionissios Mantzavinos, “Of the total number of proposals submitted by Greek universities, 33 are with American universities, 82 with European universities, and the rest are with universities in Oceania and Asia.

The University of Patras submitted nine proposals: four with Cypriot universities – the University of Nicosia and the European University of Cyprus – two with American, two with European – in Rome – and one with the Azerbaijan University of Economics. In the list, only the two proposals with American universities have been included.”