Located in Greece, is a dynamic institution that has made remarkable strides since its establishment. With 22 Departments spread across five cities in West Macedonia region, UoWM is redefining its role and status within the Greek academic landscape through innovative processes, curricula, functions, and attitudes.
With the incredible experience of being a part of more than 700 projects, UoWM brings a wealth of invaluable experience and expertise to the table, thus making it a perfect partner for the ROAMING Project and a great leader for Work Package 3: Development and Enhancement of IROs.
Dr Eleni Griva is a Professor of Applied Linguistics, Bilingualism and Τeaching Greek as a second/foreign language in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (Department of Primary Education) at the University of Western Macedonia – Greece.
She has been the Director of the Research Institute of Greek Language of the Research Center “TEMENUS” at the University of Western Macedonia, for the last four years, and she is the deputy director of the Interdepartmental Master Program in Teaching Greek Language.
Her research interests include: Teaching Greek as a second/foreign language, Bilingualism/multilingualism, Education of immigrant children, Methods and Materials in Bilingual/SL Education, Language learning strategies, Alternative Assessment in language learning, Intercultural Communication.
She has been the Coordinator of educational projects and training programs for teachers of Greek as a second / foreign language in Greece and Abroad and she has organized or co-organized 15 scientific conferences on topics related to Education, Language Education, Intercultural Communication.
Dr Griva is the author or co-author of 10 books and the editor or co-editor of 10 collected editions and has more than 250 publications in the fields of Language Τeaching, Early Bilingualism, Inclusive Education, Intercultural Communication, Language Learning Strategies in multilingual contexts, Alternative methods of Language Assessment, which appear in various international and national refereed journals, collected editions and conference proceedings.
Aikaterini Blanta is Lecturer of English for Specific and Academic Purposes at the Department of Accounting and Finance at the University of Western Macedonia. She is also Erasmus+ Institutional Coordinator and Head of Erasmus Office at the same University. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature from Aristotle University and a Master’s of Education in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (M.Ed. in TESOL) from Hellenic Open University. Moreover, she is a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Foreign Languages, Translation and Interpreting, Ionian University.
She has excellent knowledge of English and French (level C2) as well as basic knowledge of Italian and German (level Α2). Her research interests include English Language Teaching Methodology, Teaching English for Specific and Academic Purposes, Course Design and Evaluation, Assessment in Language Learning, Educational Technology, Intercultural Communication, Internationalisation of Higher Education, Adult Education and Lifelong Learning.
Aikaterini Blanta has been teaching English in the private and public sector for 36 years. From 1987 to 1990 she taught at Anatolia College and North College in Thessaloniki. From 1990 to 2019 she was Lecturer of English for Specific and Academic Purposes at the Technological Education Institution of Western Macedonia. Also, she was Head of Erasmus Office and Institutional Erasmus+ & ECTS Coordinator for 9 years. From 2011 to 2013 she was Vice Director of the Center for Foreign Languages at the same Institution. In addition, she worked as Examiner for the State Certificate of Language Proficiency. She also participated in meetings, seminars and international conferences in Greece and Europe and visited several European Higher Education Institutions within the framework of the Erasmus+ programme.
Christina Petaloti is a Chemist holding an MSc in Environmental Chemistry, both from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She has served for 2 years as the Head of the Unit of Financial and Administrative Support of the Special Account for Research Grants of the University of Western Macedonia (UOWM). Currently, she is the Head of Public and International Relationships Department of UOWM.
During the years 2000-2004 she was participating in national research programs, as a member of the Environmental Control Laboratory (Department of Chemistry, AUTH). During the years 2004-2010 she was working as a Chemist at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Western Macedonia and she has participated in several national and international research programs. She has taught Chemistry/Chemical Technology for several years at the University of Applied Sciences of Western Macedonia as well as at the University of Applied Sciences of Larisa.
Malamati Tzonou received her BA Honours in English Language and Literature, from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, in 2003. In 2005, she received an MA in Translation Studies, specialized in Technical, Commercial and Audio-visual Translation, from the University of Manchester, UK, and in 2007, the Diploma in Translation from the Chartered Institute of Linguists – London, (DipTrans), in General Translation, Literature and Science.
During her time in Manchester, she was working as a Project Manager and as a Course Coordinator for Ashley Educational Trust. On her return to Greece, apart from working as a freelance translator for several years, she taught English Terminology at the University of Western Macedonia, as well as at the Technological Educational Institute of Western Macedonia, where she also held the position of Erasmus coordinator. From 2013 until 2021, she worked in the administration office of the Public Institute of Vocational Training and, currently, she is working at the Public and International Relations Department of the University of Western Macedonia.