Welcome to the University of Macedonia in Thessaloniki - A short guide to the student life

Continuing my “Promoting Erasmus and studying abroad” pages, I now introduce you to the University of Macedonia in Thessaloniki. Let’s suppose that you are an Erasmus student or in general a student planning to study abroad for a semester or so. What are the factors that you would take into consideration before choosing your next destination and university? How would you organize your background research? What are the things that you’d love to know about your university in advance? Here’s a short research I did about one of the biggest universities in Greece that welcomes thousands of Erasmus students every year.

Background info; The University of Macedonia was founded in 1990 and it's the evolution of the Higher Industry School of Thessaloniki, which was founded in 1948. In its sixth decade of operation, the University of Macedonia, the continuity of the historical Graduate School of Industrial Studies of Thessaloniki, is a modern state Higher Education institution, renowned for the ambience of quality, freedom, democracy, meritocracy and individual development it provides to all its members: students, Academic and Research Staff and university employees.

Location; The University of Macedonia is located in Thessaloniki, 156, Egnatia Street. It is housed in a group of buildings of approximately 35.000 square meters. There are various amphitheaters, teaching and seminar rooms, laboratories, tele-conference rooms, offices as well as the administration section, a restaurant, which operates during the academic year, a gymnasium, a University Press and a book-store; In addition there is a main Conference Hall, which has already become one of the most contemporary Conference Centers, and hosts important cultural events of the city.

The life in the city; Thessaloniki offers unique student life experiences. With such a multicultural mix and various backgrounds of people that you meet in this place, there is no way that any student will not truly benefit from a rich social life combined with his/her academic development. The warm climate and the seaside will create unforgettable memories for your student life. Also known for its young population, Thessaloniki offers a wide variety of leisure and nightlife activities for all tastes. Worried about food? You can stop right here… at every corner, on every street you will find places to eat and the local delicacies will change your perspective on anything that you knew about food! Even more, as the summer approaches towards the end of each academic year, you will be lucky enough to be so close to the famous beaches of Chalkidiki!At the same time winter in Greece will definitely not dissapoint you since you have multiple getaways!! Finally, the long night walks by the seaside or in the upper (old) city with the view of entire Thessaloniki will be your ultimate benchmark for a place where you would like to go for your studies!

The library; The Library of the University of Macedonia was founded in 1962, but it started lending books to the professors in 1965. A room in 45, Niki Avenue was it's first location, but after several relocations, in 1990 the collection was transfered from 45, Tsimiski Road to its today's location (University semifloor). The Library of University of Macedonia is a modern academic library which aims to offer essential educational and reference work, responding to the demands of a dynamically arising academic institute, such as the University of Macedonia.

Accomodation suggestions;

Important info;

Average rent- 270euros. Monthly transportation subscription; 30euros. Monthly food cost; 115euros. Average lunch price at a restaurant; 10euros. Average Fitness subscription; 25euros. Beer Price at a bar; 3-4 euros. Pack your bags and choose Thessaloniki as your Erasmus destination! Enjoy!

...and of course do not forget to join the local ESN community!

The aim of ESN UoM Thessaloniki is to improve the mobility-experience of all the exchange students studying in our city. One of our main objectives is to improve the social and personal integration of the exchange students. We try to ensure that every Erasmus student coming for an exchange is warmly welcomed, receives all the information he/she needs and gets rapidly involved in the local student life.