PM announces foundation of new international university in northern Greece

The prime minister made the announcement during a meeting with representatives of educational institutions at his Thessaloniki office, in meeting before attending the official opening of the first completed metro station in the city.

The new international university will be formed through the collaboration of the Technological Educational Institutes (TEI) of Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia and Eastern Macedonia-Thrace, as well as the current International University.

It will be a primarily outward-looking university with foreign language courses which, based on the significant work already produced by its human personnel in the four institutions of which it is constituted, will cover a range of subjects of knowledge, linked with both international affairs and local and regional specialisations," Tsipras said.

"A great new university with its gaze turned to the future," the prime minister added, noting that it is a project that will help northern Greece be part of the new era that the government is planning for Greek universities, where they are a noteworthy educational hub in Europe.

The meeting was attended by Education Minister Costas Gavroglou, Deputy Macedonia-Thrace Minister Katerina Notopoulou, the head of the PM's office in Thessaloniki and representatives of the four educational institutes involved.