University of Western Macedonia

The University of Western Macedonia (UoWM; Greek: Πανεπιστήμιο Δυτικής Μακεδονίας) is a multi-campus university in Western Macedonia region of Greece. It was founded in Kozani in 2003 (Presidential Decree 92/11-4-2003). The University of Western Macedonia (UoWM) operates with 7 Schools and 22 Departments, located in 5 cities (Kozani, Florina, Kastoria, Ptolemaida, Grevena) in the Region of Western Macedonia.

History

The University of Western Macedonia was founded in Kozani in 2003 (Presidential Decree 92/11-4-2003). The first members of the Interim University Administration were appointed under the Ministerial Decision F 120.61/132/61865/B2/25-06-2003 of the Ministry of Education.

In 2015, after the first elections for a Rector, the University of Western Macedonia became a self-governing institution, and ran courses in 2 cities, Kozani and Florina, with 3 Schools (Education, Engineering and Fine Arts) and 6 Departments.

The University of Western Macedonia (UoWM) had originally been founded as a Center for Higher Technical Education (ΚΑΤΕ) of Kozani in 1976 by Presidential Decree 748/13-10-1976 (Government Gazette 272/A/14-10-1976), after re-established as Center for Higher Technical-Vocational Education (KATEE) of Kozani (1977–1983) by the Law 576/7-4-1977 (Government Gazette 102/A/13-4-1977).

Later in 1983, when Centres for Higher Technical-Vocational Education (KATEE) were replaced by Technological Educational Institutions by the Law 1404/1983 (Government Gazette 173/Α/24-11-1983), the Technological Educational Institute of Kozani (TEIKOZ) was established, which was later (1999) renamed to Technological Educational Institute of Western Macedonia (TEIWM), with 5 Schools and 11 Departments in 5 cities in Western Macedonia (the central campus was located in Kozani). In 2019, the University of Western Macedonia was merged with the Technological Educational Institute of Western Macedonia (Law 4610/2019, Government Gazette 70/A/7-5-2019). The new University of Western Macedonia runs 7 Schools and 21 Departments in 5 cities (Kozani, Florina, Kastoria, Ptolemaida, and Grevena). A new campus was constructed in the Active Urban Planning Zone (ZEP) of Kozani and started operating in September 2022.

Schools and departments

The new university runs 7 Schools and 21 Departments in 5 cities (Kozani, Florina, Kastoria, Ptolemaida, and Grevena) in Western Macedonia, offering undergraduate and postgraduate study programmes.

Research

Research is conducted by graduate students and members of the faculty, as well as associated researchers.

In April 2018, the students from the Hyperion Robotics team at the University of Western Macedonia presented an automated system with AI algorithms called "Cronus" claimed to be unbeatable at chess. The project took four months, the idea came from the Dean of the Polytechnic School, Professor Theodoros Theodoulides who is a chess player.

In March 2019, it was announced that the University of Western Macedonia, among 18 research institutes and companies from seven countries (Denmark, Greece, Spain, Norway, Poland, Portugal, and Switzerland), takes part in the project of European Commission's Horizon 2020 programme for research and training in 5G mobile networks, named TeamUp5G. Coordinated by UC3M, the project is being carried out, within the framework of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Innovative Training Networks, between the year 2019 and 2022.

Academic evaluation

In 2016 the external evaluation committee gave University of Western Macedonia a Positive evaluation.

An external evaluation of all academic departments in Greek universities was conducted by the Hellenic Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency (HQA).

Corruption

In April 2025 after an investigation by the National Transparency Authority, found that an individual employed illegally as adjunct teaching staff at public University of Western Macedonia (UoWM) from 2005 to 2017, for 18 years, without holding the required officially recognized university diploma qualification and without employment contracts for teaching and other work in the University. The individual is a close relative of a professor of a University, who was President of the University of Western Macedonia (UoWM). The evaluation process for adjunct teaching positions was conducted by an unauthorized committee. The individual reportedly inflated his evaluation score without submitting any supporting qualifications. Moreover, until 2020, the same individual also participated in publicly funded research projects at the university. The total budget of the research programs in which the individual was involved – under the supervision of his relative – amounted to €87,360.