Senate Committee for Postgraduate Studies, NTUA. Strategic Planning and Implementation, 1991-1999

Presiding Member and Vice-Chair of the Committee. By law, the Chair is held by the Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs. During this period, the Rectors were N. Markatos and Th. Xanthopoulos.

The Second Community Support Framework initiated a new process for planning and financing new forms of postgraduate education. From 1991, a Senate executive committee was established at the National Technical University of Athens with representation from all Academic Departments to plan and organise postgraduate studies. With the initiative of the Postgraduate Studies Committee, the dialogue did not limit itself to funding opportunities. Facing the challenges of this new era, the discussion extended and deepened into key structural issues of education, including the relationship between postgraduate and undergraduate studies, research, doctoral studies, advanced training programmes, and lifelong learning. It mobilised the forces of the university community—I note particularly the constructive contribution of the Association of Postgraduate Students coordinated by V. Veskoukis—and opened channels of communication with national policy-making bodies. This period constituted one of the most fruitful of my tenure at the National Technical University of Athens.

The Most Significant Issues of That Era :

The adoption of two parallel axes of postgraduate studies:

A. For obtaining a doctoral degree, already in effect, with organisation and responsibility residing in Departments; and (B) for obtaining a postgraduate specialisation degree, with organisation and responsibility in interdepartmental or inter-university collaboration, incorporating a core of compulsory courses in both pathways. This was formalised through Senate Decision of 12 June 1992. We articulated the synergies and the significance of upgrading the doctoral pathway through policies strengthening fundamental research. We designed comprehensive regulations for postgraduate studies.

We submitted, during N. Markatos’ term as Rector and G. Tsamasfyrou’s term as Vice-Rector, nineteen interdepartmental and inter-university proposals for Postgraduate Specialisation Programmes for institutionalisation and funding, spanning three scientific sectors: Applied Sciences and Technology, Natural Sciences, and Social and Human Sciences. The programmes commenced operation in the academic year 1998–99. Now that more than twenty-five years have passed, it would be of considerable interest to evaluate the success of the initial objectives and their readiness within the continually evolving European research area and education space.

The complete process, synergies, steps, and prerequisites of the dual academic pathway are documented in the Regulation for Postgraduate Studies, published in the Official Gazette (1098, 5 September 2000), completed during Th. Xanthopoulos’ term as Rector.

Related Substantive Themes and Further Considerations

The rational co-ordination of undergraduate and postgraduate studies, combined with gradual deepening of scientific areas from undergraduate through postgraduate studies, the doctoral dissertation process, and postdoctoral research, requires flexibility in course attendance across different Departments and fields.

The relationship between research and education. The necessity of formulating national policy on research and postgraduate studies, which should evolve around strategically selected scientific sectors, is a matter that particularly occupied me at the National Technical University of Athens and later at the National Centre for Social Research. The structuring and strengthening of ‘networks’ of postgraduate studies and research, and the creation of ‘observatories’ for monitoring and evaluation, can mobilise human potential and infrastructure, thereby decisively supporting this strategy. The concept and function of ‘network’ concerns processes not yet extensively institutionalised in our country and relates to flexible course attendance and research conduct across multiple educational and research units.

To formulate long-term strategy for selecting and developing scientific fields essential to Greek society, we could envision universities, research centres, productive bodies, the Ministries of National Education and Development, Municipalities, and Communities collaborating, strengthening, and financing integrated educational-research cores. Institutionalising appropriate mechanisms for implementation, evaluation, and advancement of effort would constitute a process contributing, in the long term, to forming a realistic understanding of which scientific fields are critical for the country’s evolutionary path. This theme occupied me subsequently at the National Centre for Social Research (see EKKE reference 303, 22 March 2002).

My view is that in our country there are no ‘pure’ centres of research and educational excellence. There are, however, ‘pockets of excellence’—formed or potentially formed—whose synergy must be achieved. The planning of postgraduate studies and research can play a catalytic role in this direction. To achieve this, we require institutional regulations but also a new scientific and technological culture that will overcome the contradictions between universities, research centres, and policy-making bodies, contributing to a coherent institutional pathway. Such co-ordination is more necessary than ever, within the framework of the European research area and education space.