First professional graduate program in Greece in partnership with the university NTU– and the GEK TERNA group companies – that is a fact. Name of the interdepartmental program “Management of infrastructure and construction projects”. OUR HEK TERNA will fund postgraduate studies for 30 young engineers who will be selected on the basis of excellence criteria. In addition to the important results that the partnership of the two bodies is expected to bring, the decision to organize a professional master’s degree has a high political symbolism. “NTUA as an academic organization and GEK TERNA as a funder and provider of advanced professional know-how are collaborating to purposefully enhance the knowledge of qualified engineers, focusing on the appropriate mix of technical and administrative skills and their relationship to the professional activities of managing infrastructure projects and facilities,” – said the rector of NTUA Andreas Buduwis, during yesterday’s presentation of the program, which was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Panagiotis Pikrammenos. “The program claims to be a catalyst and pilot for such actions that will lead to the use and preservation of scientific potential, combined with the staffing of enterprises that serve the development of the country,” Mr. Buduvy added. According to “K”, other professional master’s degrees are already being planned at AUTH. Mr. Buduvy’s reference is valuable because it implies the reaction that exists in universities to partnerships with the private sector that “the time is not far off when such events will occur in their physical space.” The event was organized not at NTUA, but at the Institute for Biomedical Research of the Academy of Athens (IIBEAA).

“This is a historic moment as for the first time the new legal framework, Law 4957/22, is used. A professional master’s program is being created with the aim of training the staff of a collaborating institution, which takes over the financing of the organization and operation of the program,” said Minister of Education Niki Kerameos, describing the definition of a professional master’s degree.

According to NTUA Vice-Chancellor Evangelos I. Sapuntzakis, the master’s degree will begin in October next year after 30 students are certified, who will be selected based on the degree, grades in their respective master’s courses, and a letter of recommendation. . The condition is that they have completed their degree within the previous five years. Up to 5 GEK TERNA engineers will be trained in an 18-month postgraduate course. Its completion requires attendance and a successful 10-course examination, attendance at a series of lectures and technical visits, and preparation of a postgraduate thesis.

“Investing in the Future”

GEK TERNA Group President and CEO Giorgos Peristeris mentioned the industry’s need for a new generation of engineers with multi-level knowledge and training: “We are investing in Greece, we are investing in the future. Today, perhaps more than ever, we feel that this business principle of ours is being put to its most literal application. We do not make any donations to NTUA. We are investing in the future of our industry and our country. We invest in the most realistic image of our future, in our children,” he stressed.

For his part, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Kostas Karamanlis focused on the development of the construction sector after a period of collapse. In particular, he stated that “the backlog of large construction groups exceeded 10 billion euros in 2022, and according to forecasts for 2023, it will reach 15 billion euros. In other words, we are talking about record levels both in the industry as a whole and individually for each group or company. In fact, according to the IOBE study, the percentage of construction contribution will reach 8.1% of GDP in 2025, while in 2020 it was only 4%. So, we are experiencing a new infrastructure spring.”