“The staff of the DPTH who gave their best by covering every need” said the rector Fotis Maris
According to the Minister of Education Kyriakos Pierrakakis, the upgrade plan that was recently legislated for the ITH will be implemented for all universities, with priority for regional ones
The Synod of Rectors of Greek Universities was successfully held from April 17 to 19 in Alexandroupoli, hosted by the Democritus University of Thrace and the rector of Fotis Maris. On Friday, April 19, the Plenary Session of the Synod was held with the presence of the Minister of Education, Religion & Sports Kyriakos Pierrakakis and the Secretary General of Higher Education Professor Odysseus Zoras.
Proposal Ropes for a common European degree
At the meeting of the Plenary of the Synod, on Thursday April 18, the central topic of discussion was internationalization and extroversion in Higher Education, which was attended by the vice-president of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, who in his introduction referred to the proposal for a common European degree that will be continuation of other successful policies of the European Union, such as the ERASMUS+ program.
The second thematic unit was the digital transformation of Higher Education. It was found that the need for further development of digital systems and the staffing of digital governance units with specialized human resources is a strong priority.
An increase in the regular budget is necessary
The Synod also discussed in-depth issues that concern the Greek public university and specific research and innovation, financial, student care, administrative and academic issues. In particular, issues concerning the strengthening of the self-government of Greek universities, the upgrading of student care services and the improvement of the security and protection conditions of the university community and infrastructure were discussed.
The systematic annual increase of the regular budget of the Universities was discussed and deemed necessary, as well as the treatment of understaffing by allocating new permanent academic and administrative staff positions. In the context of the immediate response to the problem, the acceleration of the approval process of the Organizations of the HEIs and the appropriate regulation of the participation of all kinds of administrative staff in the unified mobility system, taking into account the opinion of the University, was requested.
“I would like to publicly thank the rectors, vice-rectors, members of the Board of Administration, University officials, invited speakers, Ms. who with their participation (more than 200 in physical presence) gave so much momentum to the event. In particular, however, all the staff of the DPTH who gave their best by covering every need”, noted the rector of the Democritus University of Thrace, Fotis Maris, summarizing the work.
K. Pierrakakis: “Our goal is even better public universities”
At the Rectors’ Synod hosted in Alexandroupoli by the Democritus University of Thrace, the Minister of Education Kyriakos Pierrakakis had the opportunity to convey the Ministry’s will for cooperation with the rectory authorities. “The law we recently passed on public universities reflects our commitment to the continuous improvement of the operating framework of universities. We will continue to work closely with the rector’s authorities on all individual issues: from bureaucracy and student accommodation to the big picture, i.e. the practical support of public universities, but also the quality of higher education as a whole,” he noted.
According to the Minister of Education, the upgrade plan that was recently legislated for the IFT will be implemented for all universities, with priority given to regional ones. “Our support will also be reflected in additional actions, such as the strengthening of the student allowance and the slight increase in admissions,” he announced. “Our goal is to have even better, more modern, more extroverted and safer public Universities, which will invest in knowledge and be distinguished internationally in innovation. All together, we are building the future of Greece with confidence”, was the minister’s message.
