Athens University embraces online education

It is offering free online courses to citizens of the country’s islands and border regions

One of the groups most heavily impacted by the implementation of restrictive lockdown measures due to the spread of coronavirus in Europe has certainly been students – especially ones living far from urban centres and educational institutions.

With isolation policies in place, universities and schools across the continent have been shut down and have transferred most of their courses online. But what about those who were just about to enrol in a higher education institution? With many universities contemplating delays to enrolment procedures, odds are that many of those prospective students might get left behind.

Taking care of those in need

Athens University, however, is not about to let that happen. That is why it has announced an enrolment procedure for online classes. There is a total of 200 spots available and attending them will be completely free of charge.

Through this new programme, the university aims to bring in as many citizens of Greece’s islands and border regions into higher education. Therefore, due to the limited number of spots, priority will be given to applications coming from individuals living in one of the following areas: Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, West Macedonia, Epirus, the Ionian Islands and the North Aegean and South Aegean regions.

The goals of the programme is to bring higher educational possibilities and better the training thus improving the perspectives of citizens living in the country’s more remote regions, thus boosting regional competitiveness and cohesion.

By adapting to the current unprecedented circumstances and adopting modern methods, the University of Athens joins the ranks of many other institutions across Europe that have embraced their digital future. With people unable to leave their homes due to quarantine measures, it is only through technology that they can keep a semblance of their prior regular life.