The University of Patras (UP) was founded in 1964 and expanded after merging with the University of Western Greece, in 2013 and the Technological Educational Institute of Western Greece, in 2019.
It is the third largest University in Greece with more than 34,000 students, allocated in 7 schools (Natural Sciences, Engineering, Health sciences, Humanities and Social sciences, Economics and Business administration, Agricultural sciences and Health Rehabilitation sciences), 35 Departments and 6 cities (Patras, Agrinion, Messolonghi, Aigio, Pirgos and Amaliada).
In addition to recording scientific excellence, in fields like Biotechnology, Mechanics and Informatics, University departments support the creation and establishment of new research structures that promote innovative technological systems. The most famous being, Patras Science Park, one of the six science and technological parks of Greece. UP has the most active Library, in open source R&D projects. It is an early adopter of the Open Access movement in Greece and a member of the Consortium of the Greek Academic Libraries (HEAL Link) providing access to more than 14,000 electronic journals and resources and runs the Scholarly Communication Unit.
