The Interdisciplinary Postgraduate Program (IPMG) entitled “Special Education and New Technologies” was established in 2025 by decision of the two Senates of the collaborating universities, Limassol (03/05-11-2024) and West Attica (06/07-03-2025, Theme 7).

This MSc has been developed after the cooperation between the Departments of Education of the Faculty of Social and Humanistic Studies of the University of Limassol (Senate Decision 03/05-11-2024) and the Department of Biomedical Sciences of the Faculty of Health and Welfare Sciences of the PADA (Departmental Assembly Decision 18/21-11-24 issue 6).

The University of Limassol is an evolution of the Cyprus International Institute of Management (CIIM), a renowned business school that has been operating in Cyprus since 1990, when it was founded as a Private School of Higher Education, by a group of top executives of the Cypriot economy and renowned academics from leading universities abroad.

Hundreds of internationally renowned scientists from foreign universities and distinguished Cypriot academics have taught at CIIM. In the 33 years of CIIM’s operation, approximately 3,000 Cypriot and foreign students have studied in the 10 postgraduate programmes offered. A significant number of our graduates have received scholarships from the Republic of Cyprus and world governments, as well as from Cypriot and overseas organisations and companies. More than 500 CIIM graduates have occupied and continue to occupy managerial positions in the Public Service, Semi-Governmental Organisations, the Education Service and Local Government, while many hundreds of graduates are running organisations and businesses, not only in Cyprus but also abroad.

CIIM Innovations Ltd., the owner of CIIM, has applied to the authorities to convert CIIM into a university, in recognition of its more than 30 years of successful operation as a graduate school with international recognition and its gradual expansion into disciplines beyond business, including science and technologycomputers, economics and finance. After a rigorous evaluation by the IHU, CIIM was upgraded to a university, the University of Limassol (UoL). The opening date of the university is 1the September 2023.

The University of West Attica was established in March 2018 by Law 4521. The establishment of the University came about through the merger of the Technological Educational Institute (TEI) of Athens and the Technological Sector of the Piraeus Technological Institute (TEI) of Piraeus. In 2019, the National School of Public Health joined the newly established University.

The mission of the University of West Attica is to provide excellent quality education in the subjects it treats, to produce research achievements of international impact, while at the same time disseminating them to society, and to cultivate the arts and culture.

Aiming at high knowledge and the development of “wisdom”, the University of West Attica operates with high standards (educational – research) and meets to a large extent the particularly increased demands of a modern society for the creation of executives with a serious scientific and technocratic infrastructure.

The newly established university is the third largest in the country in terms of student numbers. It has an enrolment of about 57,800 undergraduate students, 5,500 postgraduate students and 780 doctoral candidates. The University of West Attica is hosted on three campuses within the Athens metropolitan area.

The Aigaleo Grove Campus is located within the administrative boundaries of the Municipality of Aigaleo, surrounded by Milos, Ag. Spyridonos, Dimitsanis and Edessis Streets. The University Campus of Ancient Eleonas is located in West Attica, in the Municipality of Egaleo, on P. Rallis and Thebes streets, within the boundaries of the historic olive grove of Athens, where the ancient Athenian philosophers taught. Finally, the Athens University Campus is located in the Municipality of Athens on Alexandra Avenue and is housed in the premises of the former National School of Public Health in a building of great historical value, which was declared a few years ago to be a listed building.

Today, the University of West Attica has a total of twenty-seven (27) departments, which are organized into six (6) faculties, covering a wide range of scientific fields: the School of Public Health, the School of Administrative, Economic and Social Sciences, the School of Food Sciences, the School of Health and Welfare Sciences, the School of Applied Arts and Culture and the School of Engineering. The disciplines of its faculties cover a wide range of contemporary scientific studies, including social, administrative and cultural sciences, and the arts and humanities.economic sciences, engineering, health and welfare sciences, food sciences and artistic studies.

The Department of Biomedical Sciences of the School of Health and Welfare Sciences of the University of West Attica has as its mission the provision of high quality Undergraduate and Postgraduate Studies, Research and Lifelong Learning, in order to train the appropriate scientific potential, who will possess high-level knowledge, skills and abilities in the science and technology of the broader field of Medical and Biological Biomedical Sciences, in Health Protection and Promotion, in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of diseases.

The Department of Biomedical Sciences treats subjects of the broad and constantly evolving scientific field of Biomedical Sciences and their Applications.

The Department of Education of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities of the Limassol University aims to lead the shaping of the future of education by offering modern and scientifically based programmes of study. It aims to develop and promote the knowledge, skills and values required to meet the challenges of the contemporary educational landscape.

The Department offers a transformative learning experience, incorporating innovative educational practices and methods that encourage creativity, critical thinking and collaboration among students. Through ongoing research and collaborations with educational institutions, the Department ensures that students acquire the knowledge and skills that will enable them to develop and implement solutions to the educational needs of our time.

At the same time, the Department promotes the use of technology and digitalisation in the field of education, utilising the latest digital tools and educational technologies to improve the learning process and ensure efficiency in education. Through these innovative approaches, the Department seeks to enable futureprofessionals in the field of education capableof successfully responding to the challenges and demands of the modern education system.