With several new, joint Master or Dual Master programmes between Greek Higher Education Institutions and distinguished foreign universities being closed and passed into the “hands” of the National Authority for Higher Education (NTEAE) for accreditation, it is expected to be clarified in the next period of time which programs will receive approval, but also which ones will start operating from the upcoming academic year, 2026-27.

However, sources from the academic community, speaking to AP-MPA, estimated that the fairly “tight” schedule set by the internationalization funding program (funded by the Ministry of Education through the Recovery and Resilience Fund), combined with bureaucratic challenges that arose along the way, will result in about half of the 74 total approved programmes being operational by September.

Besides, the issue of the implementation of all the programs, as well as the creation of new ones, was also addressed at the recent Rectors’ Meeting, held from April 1 to April 4, 2026, chaired by the University of Piraeus. Among the findings of the Summit was that new funding instruments will be needed to implement all the international postgraduate programmes already approved, and to provide prospects for the creation of new ones.

Papaioannou: Critical role of joint master’s degrees

Speaking to APE-MPE, the Deputy Minister of Education, responsible for Higher Education, Nikos Papaioannou, noted that the relevant departments are proceeding with the procedures “with a view to ensuring quality and real added value”, as well as that “the approval procedures for advances are proceeding normally”.

Papaioannou stressed the “crucial role” of joint postgraduate programmes in the formation of a “modern and competitive academic environment” and reiterated that the aim of the internationalisation actions is “the substantial upgrading of studies”.

“We are investing steadily in quality, actively supporting the excellence and extroversion of Greek HEIs,” he stressed, adding: “At a time when Higher Education is called upon to respond to increased international challenges, it is the responsibility of all of us to ensure that every initiative that moves forward meets the highest academic standards.”

“With consistency and planning, we continue to build a university that is strong, reliable, and internationally competitive,”
He concluded.

It is recalled that the funding project, through which 74 programmes were initially approved for funding, bears the name “Universities of Excellence”, thus defining the strategic framework of the Greek State for an educational policy aimed at the internationalisation of Greek Higher Education and its leading role.

“Breath” for facilitating cooperation and challenges for Greek HEIs

It is worth noting that the total budget for funding the new joint postgraduate programmes amounts to €94 million, of which €80 million comes from the Recovery and Resilience Fund and €12 million from the National Public Investment Programme to cover VAT.

The academic community welcomed this funding with enthusiasm, as it would allow covering mainly part of the tuition fee gap between home and abroad, to develop innovative teaching methods, and to give international visibility to the programmes, making it possible to further deepen pre-existing partnerships between universities, as well as to establish new ones.

“The attraction of universities with the prestige and prestige of the names on the list of collaborating with Greek HEIs in this context is due both to the international recognition and prestige of the individual institutions, faculties and lecturers as well as the coordinated efforts made by bodies such as Study in Greece to make Greece an international hub for education and research”, Theodoros Papaioannou, executive director of Study in Greece (SiG), the NGO of Greek public HEIs for extroversion and internationalisation, told APE-MPA.

Theodoros Poirot, the director of the Greek Institute for Internationalisation and Internationalisation, is responsible for the promotion of the internationalisation of Greek students.

In fact, Papaioannou described the creation of joint international postgraduate programmes as “a strategic step towards a qualitative internationalisation that combines innovation with excellence”.

From the beginning, however, it had become clear that Greek public universities would have to face various kinds of challenges ahead of them, both organisational and in terms of the timetable for the implementation of what needs to be done in order to disburse the money coming from the Recovery Fund.

“There is still significant room for improvement in terms of simplification and automation of procedures as, sometimes, there are delays that jeopardize the final implementation of some of the programmes and, in my opinion, more emphasis and attention should also be given not only to the stage of creation of each programme, but also to the planning of its international promotion to attract students worthy of the quality of the academic product”, Mr. Papaioannou.

At this stage, the delays that exist are mainly due to delays of a bureaucratic nature on the part of foreign universities, although sources close to the academic world stress that the cooperation between universities is at a very good level, and the willingness to cooperate is clearly expressed.

Nevertheless, even in cases where the green light is given by the NIFAE, a “race” will begin in order for the postgraduate programmes that will receive accreditation to start the procedures for attracting students and organising the start of operations next September. This is because, according to the timetable, the HNSAE should have completed the accreditation process for these joint postgraduate programmes by the end of May.

Aim to expand the network of partnerships

A typical example of the above is the Athens University of Economics and Business, which had secured approval for three postgraduate programmes; however, at this stage, two are proceeding in order to start operating in September 2026, always subject to accreditation by the HEAEE.

“The two funded programmes are innovative and interdisciplinary and focus on cutting-edge areas with international impact and significant growth prospects,” Nancy Pouloudi, Vice Rector for International Cooperation and Development of the UBA, told APE-MPA.

As she said, the funding “makes a decisive contribution to their design and implementation, supporting bilateral cooperation for curriculum development using modern teaching methods, the international promotion of the programmes and the strengthening of educational infrastructure, particularly in support of distance education.”

One of the three programmes, however, “despite its approval and the intensive preparation and will of the parties involved”, Pouloudi stressed, “did not proceed at this stage.”

“The tight timeframe, differences in timelines and formal procedures between the collaborating institutions, as well as initial ambiguities in the funding terms did not allow the completion of the collaboration within the specific funding cycle, she explained.

However, the OPA, like other Greek public HEIs, continues to move forward with terms that will allow for the expansion of the network of collaborations.

As Ms. Pouloudi noted, in case there is a new funding programme, this cooperation will be able to be completed.
At the same time, outside of this funding programme, the UoA has already joined forces with the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and universities in Italy and France, for the development of a new joint innovative postgraduate programme in Sports Analytics.

At the same time, it is recalled that in the context of the international presence of Greek public universities, the operation and development of foreign-language undergraduate and postgraduate programmes continues.