Anna MITRAKI

Established in 1973, the University of Crete is a young public educational institution committed to excellence in research and teaching. The seat of the University is the Gallos Campus in Rethymnon, where the Schools of Philosophy, Education, Social, Economic & Political Sciences are located. The Voutes Campus in Heraklion is home to the School of Sciences & Technology and the School of Medicine, as well as a number of affiliated research-oriented infrastructures and facilities, including the University General Hospital. The University accepted its first students in 1977-78. Currently, over 18,000 undergraduates and 3000 postgraduate students are registered here. They are educated by an outward-looking academic faculty of around 450 members, supported by adjunct lecturers, post-doctoral researchers, laboratory staff and instructors, as well as around 300 technical and administrative staff. The international orientation of the University is reflected in its track record of collaborations with many of the leading research and educational institutions in Europe and worldwide, as well as active promotion of mobility and exchange programmes. Research and research training at all levels benefits also from the de facto regional cluster of research institutions i.e. the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH), the Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology & Aquaculture (IMBBC), the University General Hospital (PagNi) as well as the other HEIs in Crete. Reflecting its research activity and associated initiatives, the University of Crete is the first Greek University to have signed the EU Charter and the Code for the recruitment of researchers, and forms part of the Euraxess European network for the mobility of researchers. The University fully participates in quality assurance mechanisms both for its academic and administrative structures, and it is a strategic choice of the University that there will be an ongoing effort to meet quality in all its structures. Located on the island of Crete, a site rich in ancient and modern Mediterranean cultures, the University offers a vibrant social and intellectual environment for research and education.