The University of York in the UK has announced its application to establish a European branch campus, named CITY, in Greece.
“I welcome the Greek government’s decision to support the establishment of foreign university branch campuses in Greece. I am pleased to announce that the University of York its applying to establish its Europe branch campus, CITY, in Thessaloniki and Athens, aiming to contribute to the advancement of higher education and to establish Greece as an international education hub,” said Professor Charlie Jeffery, vice chancellor and president of the University of York, in an official statement.
CITY College, based in Thessaloniki, has been part of the University of York’s international network for several years, with students and alumni from over 60 countries. CITY College will transition into the University of York Europe Campus, CITY U.L.E.
The new institution, University of York Europe Campus, CITY U.L.E., will operate as a non-state, non-profit university legal entity, with central offices and campuses in Thessaloniki and additional premises in Athens.
As part of its strategic expansion, the new European branch campus will also establish a hub for computer science studies in Athens, featuring modern facilities specifically designed for technology-driven education and innovation.
In its initial phase, the branch campus will offer a diverse range of undergraduate and postgraduate programs across three schools. All schools and departments will be based at the main Thessaloniki campus, with the Department of Computer Science also operating in Athens.
The three schools are School of Business Studies, School of Sciences (comprising the Departments of Computer Science and Psychology), and School of Law and Humanities.
Last year, Greece passed a law allowing non-state, non-profit universities to operate in the country.
At the time, PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that the new law created “a framework so that non-state, non-profit institutions can finally operate in our country. The new provisions thus acquire a catalytically modernizing and European dimension.”
He added that it would offer young Greeks more opportunities to stay in their country to study instead of moving abroad, and it would put Greece on the international educational map.
Last month, France’s Sorbonne Paris Nord University became the first foreign institution to announce the opening of a private university in Greece under a the new law.
The university submitted its application to Greece’s Ministry of Education on Friday, seeking approval to establish the “French University of Greece—International Campus Sorbonne Paris Nord.”
The university is a public university based in Paris, and one of the thirteen universities that succeeded the University of Paris in 1968. It is a multidisciplinary university located in the north of the French capital, in the municipalities of Villetaneuse, Saint-Denis, La Plaine Saint-Denis, Bobigny and Argenteuil.
