What is it

An innovative initiative of the University of Patras
(UPAT), running since 1 998
A programme offering scientific &- financial support to research carried out at UPAT
Awarding of fellowships for the implementation of competitive research projects
Support for both early stage (Ph.D. candidates &- postgraduate students) and experienced (postdoctoral level) researchers
A key priority of UPAT’s research policy for more than 20 years
To date, financed exclusively by UPAT’s own resources
Transparent and fair evaluation of proposals
Electronic submission &- evaluation platform

Objectives

Supporting basic research at UPAT
Supporting UPAT's professors to strengthen their research activities
Supporting professional development and enhancing career development prospects for young researchers
Supporting research in fields that are not broadly funded by national or international research programmes
Augmenting the quality of postgraduate studies at UPAT

In Numbers

18

Calls for proposals

513

Projects implemented

1686

Proposals submitted

2491

Scientific articles published

12.916.353

Total funding

124

Master theses Completed

313

Ph.D. theses completed

1135

Fellowship holders

Indicative projects’ results

Department of Civil Engineering
Scientific Coordinator: Prof. Ath. Dimas

State-of-the-art approaches were followed to study the development of a coastal seabed morphology caused by the movement of sediment during wave crashing (Ph.D. research, 20 I O call). The results of the project were exploited in the submission of two proposals, which were funded by a European and a national research programme (Marie Curie FP7 Initial Training Network, 2013-2017, €3,734,000 total funding, €786,000 of which to the University of Patras, and ARISTEIA I, 201 2-2016, € 175,000 funding granted to the University of Patras).

Department of Philology
Scientific Coordinator: Prof. Argyris Archakls

Through the analysis of their narrative talks, the social identities being developed by young people living in the city of Patras during their everyday social life were investigated.(Ph.D. research, 2000 call).
The project resulted in the publication of a book (by a British publishing house) and 21 articles (12 in international peer-reviewed journals and 9 in international conference proceedings). In addition, the project contributed to the academic development of its fellows: Sophia Lampropoulou is now a Senior Lecturer in English Language at the University of Liverpool (UK) and Olga V erveri is now a Lecturer in Education Studies at Liverpool Hope University (UK).

Department of Pharmacy
Scientific Coordinator: Prof. G. Spyroulias

In collaboration with the Pediatric Unit of Patras’ University Hospital, modern NMR techniques were applied for the metabolomics analysis of infants’ urine samples, in order to identify inborn errors of their metabolism (post-doctoral research, 2013 call). The project’s results have direct applications on the early diagnosis of infants’ congenital diseases, as well as on the detection and quantification of biomarkers in a broad spectrum of body fluids and tissues.

Department of Material Science
Scientific Coordinator: Assoc. Prof. S. Baskoutas

Innovative computational algorithms were developed for parallel calculations in the design and study of optical and electronic properties of semiconductor nanostructured materials (Ph.D. research, 2010 call). Eight papers were published in high impact peer-reviewed journals, which have already received a significant number of citations.
The project’s fellow Zaiping Zeng continued his research as a postdoctoral researcher at the Laboratoire de Simulation Atomistique, CEA, Grenoble (France), where he was selected among 80 candidates; he was recently appointed as Associate Professor at Henan University (China).

Department of Economics
Scientific Coordinator: Assoc. Prof. I. Venetls

A thorough analysis was conducted on the impact of structural changes on the instability of financial asset performance (Ph.D. Research, 2009 call). Within the project, a set of fruitful collaborations were developed with foreign universities and banking institutions (Aston University, University of London, Lloyds Bank, Barclays). Building on the experience gained from the project, the fellow Vassiliki Hatzikostanti currently participates in an international research programme aiming at developing innovative tools for the analysis of big data coming from Internet use.

Testimonials

Main characteristics

Extroversion
Wide
dissemination of
research outcomes
Development and application
of innovative solutions
Limiting the brain drain
phenomenon

External evaluation

Fellow Researchers

0%
The Programme contributed significantly or very significantly, to the development of their scientific expertise
0%
The Programme had a positive impact on their subsequent academic development and record

Scientific Coordinators

0%
The Programme contributed to the formation of a research team and the development of research activities
0%
Participation in the Programme aided the acquisition of additional funding
0%
The Programme contributed to the development of strong scientific collaborations
0%
After the end of the Programme, they maintain some kind of academic/scientific cooperation with their projects’ fellows

Fellowships

Doctoral studies

Addressed to UPAT’s registered Ph.D. candidates

Postsdoctoral studies

Addressed to Ph.D. holders who wish to further develop their research at UPAT at a postdoctoral level