University of Piraeus (UniPi; Greek: Πανεπιστήμιο Πειραιώς, abbr. ΠαΠει) is a Greek public university located in Piraeus, Athens, Greece with a total of ten academic departments focused mainly on Business Management, Computer science, Economics, Finance and Maritime Studies.[5]
This university is the second-oldest business school established in Greece, while the Department of Banking and Financial Management is the country's oldest academic department in the area of finance.[6]
History
The university was founded in 1938 by the Industrialists and Tradesmen Association under the name "School for Industrial Studies" and its original aim was the advanced training of managerial executives. In 1945, it was renamed to the "Higher School for Industrial Studies", while in 1958 it was renamed again as the "Graduate School for Industrial Studies" and its seat was established in Piraeus. Since then the university has evolved from its original sole focus on business management and added additional academic fields, such as economics, finance, maritime studies, informatics, and statistics. In 1966, it became a public university, and in 1989, it received its present name.[7]
The university is one of the two public universities in Greece that offer an Executive M.B.A. programme. Additionally, there are numerous postgraduate programmes that offer an M.B.A. or a M.Sc. degree upon completion, such as in Actuarial Science and Risk Management, Accounting, Finance, Banking, Maritime Economics, Business Administration, Marketing, Applied Statistics, Economic and Business Strategy, ICT and so on.[35]
The University of Piraeus' Department of International and European Studies, offers two postgraduate programmes (Master of Science - MSc) taught in English language titled American Studies: Politics, Strategy and Economics[36][37][38][39][40][41][42] and Energy: Strategy, Law and Economics.[43]
Research and openness
The institution is home to the University of Piraeus Research Center (UPRC) which was founded in 1989.[44]
In addition, many cooperation agreements under the Erasmus +, as well as other bilateral cooperation agreements and inter-university provided, exchange of students and staff, exchange of teaching and research material and conduct joint research projects and conferences. Moreover, the university is a member of international organizations such as European University Association, AACSB, International Association of Universities, etc.
The University of Piraeus signed a cooperation protocol[45] with the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels[46] on 26 July 2022 with the aim of the joint action of possibilities of two parts to the promotion of their purposes. It also has made a cooperation agreement[47][48] with the Piraeus Chamber of Commerce and Industry[49] on 11 April 2023 where with the Quantitative Analysis in Shipping of the University of Piraeus co-organised a conference on the topic Ports, Transport and Logistics – New Skills and Modern Experiential Education, where more than 100 companies expressed interest, with most of them signing the cooperation.
Academic evaluation
In 2016 the external evaluation committee gave University of Piraeus a Positive evaluation.[5]
An external evaluation of all academic departments in Greek universities was conducted by the Hellenic Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency (HQA) in 2008–2014.[50][51]
Governance
The university is managed by the Rectorial Council and the Senate.[52]
The Senate consists of the rector, the two vice-rectors, the departments' chairpersons, one representative from each department's student body, two representatives from the postgraduate students and special postgraduate scholars, one representative from the assistant tutors and scientific contributors, one representative from the special teaching staff, one representative from the administrative staff, and one representative from the special administrative technical staff. There are also representatives of the associate professors, the assistant professors and the lecturers.
^ ab"University of Piraeus – External Evaluation Report"(PDF). 2016. Archived from the original(PDF) on 11 December 2019. University of Piraeus offers some unique programs in the undergraduate and Masters level that specifically address the needs of the economy, specific needs of important industries and those of the public sector. The university has no living accommodation facilities. Specific strategies should be incorporated in the mission statement associated with specific measurable goals and objectives. The institution does not appear to have strategic goals prioritized, nor to have them broken down into measurable objectives and outcomes. The EEC recommends that the University should reduce its admissions to the doctoral programs. There is no formal research strategy in this university at present. There seems to be insufficient coordination between departmental units and Schools and the University as a whole.
