University of Ioannina

University of Ioannina
Πανεπιστήμιο Ιωαννίνων

Seal of the University of Ioannina
(Sceptre finial, probably from a status of Zeus)
Established 1964 – School of Philosophy
1970 – became independent from the Aristotle University
Type Public
Chancellor Triantafyllos A.D. Albanis
Vice-Chancellor Georgios Kapsalis
Isaac E. Lagaris
Venetsanos Mavreas
Students 17,040
Undergraduates 13,523
Postgraduates 1,300
2,217
Location Ioannina, Epirus, Greece
Campus 3.4 km²
Affiliations Balkan Universities Network
Website www.uoi.gr

University of Ioannina (Greek: Πανεπιστήμιο Ιωαννίνων, Panepistimio Ioanninon) is a university lying in the plains 5 km southwest of Ioannina, Greece. The campus is linked to the town by Greek National Road 5. It now hosts over 20,000 students in 17 faculties (2006). The university was founded in 1964, as a charter of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and became an independent university in 1970. University of Ioannina is one of the leading academic institutions in Greece.[1][2][3][4]

University Campus

View of the entrance to the campus

The University Campus is located 6 km from the centre of Ioannina and is one of the largest University campuses in Greece. It can be easily reached from the city either by public transportation or by car.

It covers a total area of almost 850 acres (3.4 km2) with many green open spaces which surround the four main building complexes.

These buildings cover an area of 170,000 m2, consisting of lecture halls, offices, laboratories, libraries, amphitheaters, etc. Large classes are held in auditoriums, while scientific meetings and exhibitions are held in the Conference Centre located in the newly constructed Medical Sciences complex.

In addition to these, two large building complexes accommodate the Student Residence Halls, both being close to the Student Union building; a multi-purpose building that houses the student restaurant and a large Hall of Ceremonies together with "Phegos"; a restaurant where the academic community and visitors can enjoy well-prepared meals or celebrate special occasions, such as the graduation day.

One of the most attractive places of the campus is the old Monastery of Dourouti, an 18th-century building, which is currently being renovated in order to serve as a guest house for visitors of the University.

Schools and departments

Academic Excellence and Rankings

In 1977, Ioannina Medical School was founded, that evolved fast in one of the most prominent Medical schools in Greece, with distinct faculty and well-recognized research activities.

According to 2010 rankings published in Springer's journal Scientometrics,[4] the Physics department at the University of Ioannina is ranked #2 in Greece, the Material Science department #3, and the Chemistry department #4.

According to the 2014 Leiden rankings,[1] the University of Ioannina is ranked #1 in Greece in Medical Sciences, #2 in Natural Sciences, #2 in Math, Computer Science and Engineering, #2 in Life Sciences, #3 in Earth and Environmental Sciences, and #2 overall.

State Academic Evaluation

An external evaluation of all academic departments in Greek universities is being conducted by the Hellenic Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency (HQAA).[5] The following Ioannina departments have been evaluated.

Research Institutes

Ioannina Biomedical Research Institute

The Biomedical Research Institute (BRI) was founded in 1998. It was operating as an autonomous institute until 2001, under the name "Ioannina Biomedical Research Institute" (IBRI). From September 2001, the Institute was merged with the "Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas" (FORTH), and its new name is "Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas / Biomedical Research Institute". This merger offers new possibilities to the Institute, since FORTH is one of the most prominent foundations for research and technology in Greece, with an international reputation. BRI has three research directions: Molecular Medicine, Biomedical Technology, and Molecular Epidemiology. In order to fulfill the above research aims the Institute has already established collaborations with the Medical School of the University of Ioannina, as well as with other Departments of the University, the University Hospital, and the other Institutes of FORTH.

Institute of Transportation & Telecommunications

The University of Ioannina has become allied with the regional local authorities and industrial partners to establish a major Institute of Transportation & Telecommunication in Igoumenitsa. The Institute brings together academic and industrial expertise in an effort to find solutions to transportation and telecommunication difficulties that are perceived to be among the most intractable in the area. The expertise in different fields of transportation and telecommunication will be concentrated in research, consultancy and regional development.

University Library and Information Centre

Front View of the University Library and Information Centre

The University of Ioannina has the largest, in terms of effective surface area (14,500 sq. m. divided into six storeys), single library in Greece, which has been named the "The University of Ioannina Library and Information Centre" due to the wide use of information technology.

The equipment of the "The University of Ioannina Library and Information Centre" meets all international specifications regarding Academic Libraries and includes 31 workstations, 504 reading stations, a contemporary 120-seat auditorium, an Art Gallery Exhibition Room, a Seminar Room with a seating capacity of 20 people, 12 carrels, etc.

Users are able to make full use of the library, checking availability on the online library catalogue (OPAC) and benefiting from the photocopying, reservations and online services. The professionally qualified librarians run introductory training sessions on information handling techniques and assist the users with their enquiries.

The Library's services include: book loaning from its own collection or from other libraries in Greece (Interlibrary Loan), reading rooms, access to international information sources via the Internet, as well as to digitised material of the University of Ioannina, electronic catalogue databases, access to Greek and foreign library catalogues, use of photocopy machines, etc.

Library users include all members of the academic community of the University of Ioannina, namely: members of the academic, research and administrative staff, students, postgraduate students, postdoctoral researchers, visiting Professors and exchange students. The Library services are also accessible to the general public.

The library is governed by a set of regulations to which every user must conform. These are accessible at the website http://www.lib.uoi.gr.

At present, the University Library is a well-stocked library housing substantial collections of books, journals and related material that cover the fields of: Medicine, Chemistry, Physics, Biological Applications and Technologies, Materials Science and Engineering, Economics, Computer Science, Plastic Arts and Art Sciences, Primary and Pre-School Education, Philosophy, Education and Psychology. The bibliographical processing and incorporation of material housed at present at the Seminar Rooms of the Departments of Philology and History & Archaeology, as well as the library of the Department of Mathematics, is planned to be concluded within 2006.

In the immediate future, special emphasis will be placed on the development of a Student Collection, which will include multiple copies of books related to the course lectures delivered in all Departments, on the creation of a collection of talking books (specially designed for visually impaired people), etc.

The University Library has a substantial collection of scientific books and textbooks, scientific journals, newspapers, all kinds of digital and audiovisual material, encyclopaedias, dictionaries, indexes, books that can be borrowed by students, as well as electronic information sources which support the educational and research needs of the academic community of the University of Ioannina. The library also owns a significant collection in Braille as well as equipment that can be used by visually impaired people.

Its collections also include a significant number of scientific journals and databases of the Hellenic Academic Libraries Link (HEALLINK), which can be accessed via the Internet, as well as a collection of digitised documents (journal articles, books, etc.) which are produced by the expert librarians.

Student Welfare

University of Ioannina numbers today more than 17,000 students.[20] Among them there are approximately 13.500 undergraduate students. A number of organised postgraduate study programmes are on offer that combine taught and research elements both at Master's and Doctoral level. Approximately 1.300 students are involved in full-time study mode progressing to a Master's degree, while more than 2,200 students are currently pursuing their studies at Doctoral level.[20] The postgraduate student population is increasing yearly.

Catering

The Student Refectory of the University provides meals to all undergraduate and postgraduate students on a full-board (breakfast, lunch, dinner) daily basis. The Student Refectory is conveniently located on campus and covers an area of approximately 4,500 sq. m. The Refectory is open daily between 1 September and 30 June, and has a 14-day break over the Christmas and Easter vacations. It is open 275 days a year and has the capacity to serve at least 4,000 students a day.

Accommodation

The Halls of Residence is the place to create strong bonds of friendship, to meet people from different back grounds and cultures and to enjoy the sense of community. The Halls house almost 650 students on two different sites, while a number of rooms has been adapted for disabled students. All accommodation is mixed, with a number of standard rooms (with shared bathroom facilities) or en suite rooms. The majority of rooms are single study-bedrooms although there are some shared rooms (two or three people).

Certain residences are reserved mainly for exchange students (i.e. Erasmus), and all requests for accommodation are satisfied on a first-come first-served space-available basis.

Erasmus Programme

The University of Ioannina currently has formal exchange agreements with a large number of Universities - in mainland Europe - through the well-established Erasmus programme of the European Commission. The University of Ioannina welcomes foreign students who wish to expand their academic horizons by spending a semester or a year studying in Ioannina.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Leiden Ranking 2014". Centre for Science and Technology Studies of Leiden University.
  2. ↑ "Greece Overall Ranking". URAP - University Ranking by Academic Performance.
  3. ↑ "Ranking Web of Universities". Webometrics.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Ranking university departments using the mean h-index". Scientometrics (2010) 82:211–216, Springer.
  5. ↑ Hellenic Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency
  6. ↑ HQAA Final Report - Department of Physics, University of Ioannina, 2010
  7. ↑ HQAA Final Report - Department of Mathematics, University of Ioannina, 2011
  8. ↑ HQAA Final Report - Department of Chemistry, University of Ioannina, 2011
  9. ↑ HQAA Final Report - Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Ioannina, 2011
  10. ↑ HQAA Final Report - Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Ioannina, 2011
  11. ↑ HQAA Final Report - Department of Biological Applications and Technologies, University of Ioannina, 2011
  12. ↑ HQAA Final Report - Department of Medicine, University of Ioannina, 2013
  13. ↑ HQAA Final Report - Department of Primary School Education, University of Ioannina, 2013
  14. ↑ HQAA Final Report - Department of Pre-School Education, University of Ioannina, 2013
  15. ↑ HQAA Final Report - Department of Plilosophy, Education & Archaeology, University of Ioannina, 2013
  16. ↑ HQAA Final Report - Department of Philology, University of Ioannina, 2014
  17. ↑ HQAA Final Report - Department of History and Archaeology, University of Ioannina, 2014
  18. ↑ HQAA Final Report - Department of Economics, University of Ioannina, 2014
  19. ↑ HQAA Final Report - Department of Plastic Arts and Arts Sciences, University of Ioannina, 2014
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 http://www.uoi.gr/en/foundation.php

External links

Coordinates: 39°37′03″N 20°50′27″E / 39.61750°N 20.84083°E