Presentation
The Department of Planning and Regional Development, of the School of Engineering, is located near the centre of the city of Volos – a modern, lively, medium-sized city with a population of 120.000 inhabitants. Volos is at an approximately equal distance from the country’s two main urban centres Athens and Thessaloniki. The city is located at the foot of Mt. Pelion, a mountain of exceptional natural beauty. With many well-preserved traditional villages, it is a combination of outstanding landscapes for winter and summer tourism. The refreshing natural environment and culture are of great importance for the development of a fast growing academic community in Volos.
The history of the Volos area goes back to prehistoric times. The first prehistoric human settlements in Europe were found in the neighbouring towns of Dimini and Sesklo. Northeast of the city is the town of Iolkos which is associated with the legends of the Expedition of the Argonauts and Homer’s epics. In this century, Volos has made a name for itself as an industrial and commercial centre in central Greece, with the third largest port in the country. In the 1950s, a major earthquake destroyed a large part of Volos including many of the remarkable neo-classical buildings. Today the Municipality of Volos endeavours to preserve and develop new uses for the few remaining industrial or historic buildings. Some of those buildings now house University facilities.
The School of Engineering of the University of Thessaly consists of five departments: the DPRD, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Computer Engineering, Telecommunications and Networks, Civil Engineering and Architecture. The offices, classrooms and laboratory facilities are housed at the “Pedion Areos” campus at the city’ s southern entrance. The campus incorporates old industrial buildings which have been restored together with new structures. It is a perfect example of a successful return to new use of the city’s industrial past. The DPRD’s new building is in operation since the beginning of 2000.
Pedion Areos, and the surrounding area, is being reshaped. In addition to the new buildings and the outdoor space of the school there is already a large seaside park, which includes a Municipal exhibition centre and an indoor athletic centre. The Krafsidonas stream flows through the campus.
Transportation from the university to the centre of Volos is quick and easy. The campus is a 15 minute walk from downtown. There is also a reliable bus service and easy accessibility for cars. The centre of Volos, where many students live, is a thriving commercial area with a strong cultural community. The Volos Municipal Regional Theatre with one thousand seats and the largest stage in the Balkans, is a continuation of a long theatrical tradition. The Centre of Music Theatre was founded in 1994, in the context of the National Cultural Network of Cities, and organises an annual international meeting of music theatre. The city is famous for its large number of traditional fish taverns. Together with Mt. Pelion it has become an attractive tourist destination.
Main Objective
The Department’s Curriculum has a duration of ten (10) semesters, and includes mandatory and elective courses that cover the scope of the subject of Spatial Planning and Regional Development.
To obtain the diploma you need:
- successful attendance of forty-two (42) mandatory courses,
- successful attendance of ten (10) optional courses,
- the elaboration of a dissertation, which takes place in two (2) semesters and is worth thirty (30) ECTS credits and
- a two-month Internship, worth ten (10) ECTS credits, in addition to the required three hundred (300) ECTS credits required for obtaining the diploma.
Learning Outcomes
The learning aims and outcomes of the Department of Planning and Regional Development degree curriculum are structured along the following axes, which also represent the general objectives of the study programme:
- A broader understanding of the ‘Human and Space’ relationship and of the overall complexity it entails.
- A coordinated and goal-oriented engagement with the facticity of the above relationship probing its manifestations from a variety of perspectives.
- The development of theory and practice in all areas pertaining to the above so that students obtain the requisite knowledge, skills and abilities for a comprehensive command of the subject.
The general objectives break down to the following specific goals:
(a) Development of the ability to investigate and critically analyse advanced knowledge in the fields studied and researched in the Department;
(b) Development of the ability to interpret the defining parameters applying to the phenomena of spatial analysis and design; and
(c) Devising new theoretical and methodological tools for promoting research on the economic, socio-political and environmental dimensions of spatial organisation and transformation.
In this context, it is intended that students acquire knowledge, skills and abilities as below:
1. Knowledge
- Awareness and understanding of human-made and natural environments, as of knowledge regarding aspects of spatial analysis.
- Scientific analysis and classification of the information obtained both from the broader environment of an area under study as from directly relevant or more general bibliographical sources.
- More specifically, the Department’s curriculum offers knowledge on urban and spatial planning, physical and human geography, geographical information management, human activities location, spatial development planning, natural resources management, project and programme management, et al, all crucial for understanding and dealing with spatial problems, designing and applying spatial interventions.
2. Skills
- Provision of services in the fields of analysis, design, implementation and evaluation of policies and programmes of spatial intervention involving aspects of urban and spatial planning, financial planning, consultation and decision-making processes.
- Application of the most advanced methods and tools for recording and analysing all spatial parameters, as provided by Geographical Information Systems, quantitative econometric methods and decision-making instruments.
- Methodology development in addressing research questions and elaboration of proposals to meet needs identified in situational analysis.
- Development, display and presentation, in text dissevered in thematic sections, graphs and tables, of the phases inhering a methodological project, with all the elements attesting to scientific rigour.
3. Abilities
- Perception of the performance of the human-made and natural environment with all its deficiencies and malfunctions with the aim of elaborating proposals for achieving its optimal efficiency.
- Through adherence to scientific precepts, ability to analyse and organise spatial entities from the scale of the broader region to that of building design.
- Advocacy of substantiated proposals on spatial development, urban governance and planning.