The 2nd Research Symposium organized by the University of Western Macedonia was successfully held on the 12th and 13th June 2025, at the ZEP Campus in Kozani.
The University showcased the outcomes of its significant research activity over the last three years, presented to the public the knowledge being generated within its academic community and clearly expressed its ambition to emerge as a leading university in the fourfold mission of knowledge-research-green innovation-contribution to society.
During his speech on the second day of the Symposium, the Rector of the University of Western Macedonia, Professor Theodoros Theodoulidis, emphasized: “Our University is in a trajectory of rapid growth and broad extroversion, achieving high performance and steadily rising in the international rankings in terms of research output […].
Today, we are all participating in the Symposium’s proceedings to share the research contributions of our colleagues and to strengthen our bonds as an academic family. Nevertheless, we still have a long way to go to reach our goals and realize our vision.
In this direction, as an institution we are actively engaged in the development of a comprehensive research ecosystem in Western Macedonia, through flagship projects such as the Technology Park, already approved for funding, as well as the establishment of living labs as key nodes withing the Innovation Zone. These initiatives are part of a broader development plan for the University, based on three strategic pillars: the completion of an ambitious infrastructure programme, extroversion and internationalization, and the University’s connection to entrepreneurship”.
It is worth noting that in 2019, the total number of publications from the two institutions (the former Technological Educational Institute and the University) stood at 262, while in 2024 that number soared to 735. Likewise, the citations of these publications were 6154 in 2019 and 14700 in 2024. Furthermore, 13 faculty members of the University of Western Macedonia are now included in the prestigious Stanford University list of the top 2% most influential scientists worldwide.
These figures clearly demonstrate the remarkable academic and research progress of the University, underscoring its growing presence in the global scientific community.
The symposium also featured a keynote speech by Professor Stamatios Angelopoulos, Rector of the International Hellenic University, who stated: “Public universities must adopt a more development-oriented role, research should be more targeted and aligned with the real needs of the economy and should actively promote entrepreneurship and innovation.” Another invited speaker was Dr. Panagiotis Kavouras, Physicist (MSc, PhD) and expert in research integrity, open science, and science communication at HEAL-Link, who noted that “there is a growing trend across Europe and globally to move away from evaluating researchers and institutions purely on quantity and instead shift toward more qualitative performance indicators.”
Throughout the two-day event, companies from various scientific and technological sectors offered opportunities for B2B meetings job interviews, and CV submissions.
Warm thanks are extended to the companies: Balkan Electric, Faria Renewables, Agrohellas, PPC Group, EY, Hellas Gold, Metamind Innovations, ELTEK, KEBE S.A., Agrino, Epiros, Minerva Marine, DESFA, B&T and COMPONUS, for their participation and active contribution to the event.
University of Western Macedonia
