Agricultural University of Athens
Agricultural University of Athens (AUA) is the 3rd oldest University in Greece and the leading institution of higher education and science in the field of Agriculture in country. AUA campus is composed of 6 Departments, 28 building complexes, 44 fully equipped laboratories, 55 auditoriums and teaching rooms, a modern library, computer clusters extensive agricultural facilities (13 greenhouses, arboretum, vineyard, experimental fields, flower garden, cowshed, sheep pen, chicken coop, dairy installations, aquaculture tanks). AUA counts 185 academic and 300 supportive staff, 6,700 undergraduate students, 450 MSc students and 360 PhD students. Since 1920, AUA has been making valuable contributions to Greek and European economic development and policy-making, by conducting basic and applied research in agricultural sciences and by producing high quality graduates and cutting edge scientific knowledge. AUA is fulfilling a basic role as a valuable advisor of the State in agricultural and environmental issues and it is actively participating in projects on rural development. AUA contributes consistently to Greek and European primary sector development by training undergraduate and postgraduate students in different fields of agriculture, by providing short training courses for young people in agricultural production and entrepreneurship. AUA conducts 1/3 of the agricultural research in Greece. Since 2002, AUA has undertaken over 1100 research projects. During 2010, it managed 438 research projects funded by EU, National Strategic Reference Framework (ESPA) and other public and private sources. About 25% of these were multi-partner large-scale EU projects. Between 2007 and 2009, AUA managed approx. €8 million/year in research funds. Last 4 years AUA has participated, as a leader or partner in >60 EU projects (TEMPUS, ERASMUS, LIFE, EU projects: FP5, FP6, FP7, Horizon 2020). For the academic year 2016/17, AUA has signed over 165 bilateral agreements with partner institutions from the Erasmus+ Programme countries. AUA contributions address a wide range of issues related to food safety and environmental protection: food quality and safety, plant health, organic farming, alternative energy sources, biotechnological applications in agriculture, information and communications technology.
Role in the project:
AUA will be responsible together with the staff from Agricultural University of Tirana for WP 4: Establish of diagnostic and training hubs (or spots) at partner universities. AUA will have members in all WPs and actively contribute in the activities of all WPs. The Laboratory of Plant Pathology of AUA that will coordinate the WP 4, is an academic laboratory dedicated in training and research in Plant Health. In the field of basic and applied research, the last 5 years, PP has implemented more than 12 projects (2/3 of which funded by EU) on training and research on plant health of economically important crops and the development of innovative sustainable and precision agriculture crop protection strategies. AUA will participate in mobility of PhD students and teaching staff by accepting incoming students and staff to conduct part of their research study or enrol to a PhD course. AUA will send teachers and PhD students to partner institutions to conduct investigation, take courses or short term trainings at host institution. The key AUA persons involved in this project have all the necessary scientific training and teaching experience to successfully complete the program.
Key staff involved in the project :
- Assoc. Prof. Dimitrios Tsitsigiannis, PhD Contact
- Prof. Epaminondas Paplomatas, PhD Contact
- Assoc. Prof. Polymnia Antoniou, PhD Contact
- Ass. Prof. Sotirios Tjamos Contact
- Lecturer Konstantinos Aliferis, PhD Contact
- Assoc. prof. Ioannis Giannakou, PhD Contact
Students:
- Maria Iliadi, M.Sc.
- Christina Lagogianni, M.Sc.
