Who We Are
The International Conference on Applied Economics and Financial Issues (AEFI) is co-organized by the Department of Economics of the University of Piraeus and the Department of Economics of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Both universities have a rich history.The University of Piraeus is located in Piraeus, Greece’s main port, approximately 12 km from the center of Athens. The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki is situated in Thessaloniki, the second-largest city and port in Greece after Athens. Thessaloniki is located in northern Greece, approximately 500 km from Piraeus.
Piraeus
Thessaloniki
University of Piraeus
The University of Piraeus was founded in 1938 as the “School of Industrial Studies”, by the Association of Industrialists and Craftsmen, in collaboration with the Association of Societes Anonymes of Greece, with the purpose of “systematic, theoretical and practical of managerial personnel”. 8 decades later its operations have expanded, training more than 15.000 students in 4 Schools and 10 Academic Departments.
The Department of Economics of the University of Piraeus has been at the forefront of our institution even before it became a university, forming the core of the curriculum of the “School of Industrial Studies”, which was aspiring to provide “economics and managerial education to executives of the private sector, public services and non-profit organization” from its conception. Operating independently for more than 4 decades, the Department of Economics is continuing this mission, offering degrees at the bachelor, master and PhD level. Its educational purpose is carried out by a faculty skilled in in teaching as well as research, finding themselves at the top 10% of economics authors. The Department of Economics places great importance on cooperation with other universities and organizations in Greece and abroad, on creating Links with the Labor Market through internships and other types of collaborations, and on the values of Excellence in Research and Education, Social Responsibility and Contribution to Society and the Economy. Research constitutes one of our department’s main pillars, a commitment that is reflect in the quality of our faculty’s published works. Most of our faculty’s research is focused on applying economic tools to understand real world problems. Empirical research may identify economic patterns, test theoretical models of behaviour, propose and test new business models for building strategic advantage, or evaluate the effectiveness of alternative economic policies. Theoretical research may shed new light on the behaviour and interaction of economic agents, establish new conceptual frameworks for studying markets and economic institutions, or lead to new statistical and analytic tools. (https://www.unipi.gr/en/department-of-economics/)
Aristotle University
Eleftherios Venizelos was the first politician to start efforts to found a university in Thessaloniki at a time when Northern Greece had just been liberated and when reinforcing the “New Territories,” as the newly liberated areas were then called, emerged as a national need. Plans provided also for founding a university in Smyrna. However, the Asia Minor disaster thwarted these plans. It was due to the initiative taken by the government of Alexandros Papanastasiou that the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki was founded in 1925. After considerable discussion, the founding act of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (no. 3341/14-6-25) was signed on June 5th, 1925 by the constitutional assembly of the time, and was published in the Government Gazette on June 22nd, 1925. During the first stage of its operation (1926–1950), the development focused on those schools which were generally accepted as constituting one educational institute, namely the Faculty of Philosophy, the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, the Faculty of Law and Economics, the School of Theology and the Medical School.
The School of Economics is the largest School in Aristotle University. Our graduates have gone on to work in the Public, Private and Higher Education sectors and some of them also got involved in politics. The School of Political and Economic Sciences was one of the first academic units that marked the foundation of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 1925. It started to operate in the academic year 1928-9 within the Faculty of Law and Economic Sciences. According to the reform of the disciplines in 1971, Political Science was incorporated in the School of Law, while Economic Sciences constituted the focus of the School of Economics. The School of Economics, part of the Faculty of Law, Economics and Political Sciences, aims to promote research and teaching in the field of economics as well as offer high-quality education.
The programmes of the School train students in a wide variety of disciplines related to economics, providing them with the tools necessary to meet the current and future needs of modern society and economy. Courses provide students with advanced knowledge in economics and business management (https://www.auth.gr/en/school/econ-en/)