Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh), Greece

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki is the largest University in Greece and in Balkans. The main campus is located in the centre of the city of Thessaloniki, and covers an area of about 33.4 hectares. It comprises 7 faculties which consist of 33 schools, 5 faculties which consist of one school each, as well as 4 independent schools. Some educational and administrative facilities are located off campus for practical and operational reasons. A number of these facilities are located outside the city of Thessaloniki or even in other cities. About 81,500 students study at the Aristotle University (72,140 in undergraduate programmes and 8,360 in postgraduate programmes). There are 2,150 faculty members: 739 professors, 435 associate professors, 634 assistant professors, and 342 lecturers. There are also 11 teaching assistants, 58 research fellows, 248 members of the Special Laboratory Teaching Personnel (S.L.T.P.), 69 of whom belong to category Ι and 179 to category ΙΙ, as well as 15 foreign language teachers and 4 foreign instructors. Faculty members are also assisted by 213 members of the Special Technical Laboratory Personnel (S.T.L.P.). AUTh ranks first among Greek higher education institutions in terms of mobility. In addition, since 2015, Aristotle University runs an Erasmus+ ICM programme in the framework of which 60 agreements have been signed with universities in 29 countries all over the world. AUTH participates in 25 HORIZON 2020 projects in diverse research areas. Ever mindful of rapid change and progress, AUTH constantly update its strategy, policies and everyday practices, in order to meet contemporary local and global demands. The University has been able to determine its strengths and weaknesses and to adopt a holistic internationalization strategy.

The Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences (DPESS) focuses on the promotion of active and healthy lifestyle throughout the lifespan. The DPESS specializes in: a) the social-psychological study of substance use, exercise participation, and lifestyle change across the lifespan, and b) the design and application of health promotion and behaviour change interventions. DPESS has successfully completed 6 projects funded by the World Anti-Doping Agency and 2 projects funded by the International Olympic Committee on the use of doping and nutritional supplements by adolescent and adult athletes, and participates as national coordinator in several ongoing multi-national projects anti-doping and sport integrity funded by the Erasmus+ Sport programme of the European Commission.