UAE asks for Greek university know-how
Authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have invited two distinguished Greek universities, the Athens University of Economics and Business and the University of Piraeus, to organize local postgraduate courses in finance and business administration, sources have told Kathimerini. The aim is for the Greek institutions to import their academic know-how and educate would-be business executives in order to boost the UAE’s goal of strengthening its clout as an international financial center, the same sources revealed. «The proposal befits the outward-looking approach that Greek universities have started adopting,» Athanassios Kyriazis, general secretary of the Education Ministry, told Kathimerini. According to ministry figures, the past six years have seen a 54 percent increase in students taking postgraduate university courses, from 50,057 to 77,167. Of these, 39,455 students are studying for a master’s degree, while 37,712 are doing a doctorate. Greek universities run a total of 463 postgraduate programs which cover a broader spectrum of subjects than those offered by foreign colleges in Greece. According to the Hellenic Colleges Association, private colleges in Greece cooperating with foreign universities offered a total of 95 master’s courses last year, chiefly in finance, economics and business. There are currently around 2,500 students undertaking postgraduate studies in private colleges in Greece, according to the association’s president, Constantinos Karkanias.
