The Graduate Program in European Regional Development Management (ERDM) trains students in the applied aspects of European regional development policy and prepares competent experts for the public and private sectors in Europe. The program aspires to prepare competent professionals and experts for the design, financing, management and implementation of development programs and improve the capacity of policy actors and consulting firms to support the goals and delivery mechanisms of development policy.
The Program combines online and asynchronous education methods in order to achieve an effective use of resources and allow students from distant places and diverse environments to exploit relevant knowledge bases. The program adopts a ‘smart’ education philosophy combining interactive and experience-based methods with frontier knowledge from different development experiences and practices. To this end, ERDM utilizes highly recognized and specialized faculty from the two supporting Universities and invited international experts from the Academia, the European Institutions, the Advisory and the Policymaking.
The University of Thessaly was established in 1984 and has been operating since 1988. Its central location in Greece, along with the large number of academic departments it hosts, make it one of the most important universities in the country and provide it with strong prospects for further development in the coming years. The Department of Planning and Regional Development of the School of Engineering is located very close to the city center.
The University of Athens was founded in May 1837, with its first premises housed in the residence of architect Stamatios Kleanthis, at the foot of the Acropolis — a building that today hosts the History Museum of the University of Athens. It was the first university not only in the newly established Greek state but also in the independent Balkan states. Initially named the “Othonian University,” it was later renamed the “National University” following the exile of King Othon.