Postgraduate Programme on Science Communication (EEP)

HOU > Postgraduate Programme on Science Communication (EEP)

Purpose – Description

Learning Outcomes

Admission requirements

Structure

Teaching Staff

Networking and Partnerships

Financial Contribution

Contact

Purpose:

The purpose of the Master’s Program, aimed at graduates of Universities and Technical Educational Institutes (TEI) who wish to engage professionally in the promotion and study of sciences and technology in the public domain, is:

To provide specialized knowledge about the nature of scientific work and technological innovation.
To familiarize students with the theory and practice of communication and its application to issues of public understanding of science and technology.
To cultivate skills in addressing critical techno-scientific problems and participating in decision-making in scientific and technological policy.

Objectives:

A fundamental goal of the Master’s program is to highlight the paths through which sciences and technology are formed. It approaches sciences and technology as human activities that occur within specific institutional, historical, and socio-political frameworks. Additionally, the program aims to demonstrate that public discourse on techno-scientific issues can be attractive, informative, and inspire both the general public and specific professional categories to actively engage with these issues. Another goal is to highlight the complex social relationships that constitute science, the risks that scientific practices and technological innovations can introduce into social activities, and the role that science plays in the formation and reproduction of social distinctions and cultural patterns. The Master’s program offers the opportunity to acquire specific skills that graduates can utilize professionally.

ECTS Credits

The total number of credits (ECTS) required for the award of the Postgraduate Diploma of Specialisation is 120 ECTS (30 ECTS per semester).

Classification according to Unesco code ISCED-2011

By level of study: 7

Classification according to Unesco code ISCED-2013

By field of education:

Classificationaccording to Unesco ISCED–2013: – by field of education: 0388 (‘Inter-disciplinary programmes and qualifications involving social sciences, journalism and information and arts and humanities’)

Duration of study

The minimum duration for the completion of the programme is two (2) years, i.e. four (4) semesters.

QUALITY POLICY *
QUALITY INDICATORS 2026 *

*The above files are currently available in Greek.

Learning Outcomes:

Expected learning outcomes for students in the Master’s Program include:

Developing skills in writing credible and documented articles and books for the public image of sciences and technology.
Developing skills in disseminating the results of scientific research to the general public and communicating with it.
Managing conflicting opinions and debates on controversial issues from the field of sciences and technology based on sound reasoning and existing data.
Utilizing the history and philosophy of sciences for shaping the public image of sciences and technology.
Understanding and managing the ways in which the production framework of techno-scientific knowledge is connected to broader cultural processes.
Using their education in designing and implementing educational programs in non-formal and informal education settings.
Creating documentaries and communication programs on science and technology.
Curating permanent and periodic science and technology exhibitions for museums and other cultural and educational institutions.
Managing science museums and technology centers, interactive exhibitions, and related non-formal education spaces.
Participating in expert committees for shaping scientific and technological policy.
Acting as representatives and public relations officers for scientific laboratories and technology centers.

The Post-graduate programme accepts graduates or higher institution diplomas. The programme is offered in Greek.

The knowledge of a foreign language and good computer-Internet skills would be useful for the successful participation in the programme.

Note:

Holders of a degree or diploma of higher education means graduates of Greek Universities or Polytechnics or Higher School of Fine Arts or Higher School of Pedagogical and Technological Education or Higher Technological Educational Institutions (ATEI) or those who hold academically equivalent first cycle degrees from recognized foreign educational institutions with the degrees awarded by the Greek Higher Educational Institutions, in accordance with the provisions of article 304 of Law No. 4957/2022 (Government Gazette 141/21.07.2022, vol.)

Clarification regarding foreign academic institutions

When evaluating an application to a Postgraduate Study Programme, the University will examine whether the candidate’s institution of study is included, or is eligible to be included, in the National Registry of Recognized Foreign Higher Education Institutions, and whether the candidate’s degree is included, or is eligible to be included, in the National Registry of Degree Types Awarded by Recognized Foreign Institutions. If the degree is listed under Article 307 of Law 4957/2022, the Hellenic Open University is required to request a “Certificate of Place of Study”, which must be issued and sent directly by the foreign university. If the certificate confirms that the place of study, or any part of the studies, took place within Greek territory, the degree cannot be recognized—unless the portion of studies completed in Greece was carried out at a public Higher Education Institution or at a recognized foreign educational institution, as defined in point (b) of Article 299 of Law 4957/2022.

The Postgraduate Programme “Science Communication” is structured in four (4) academic semesters. For the award of the Postgraduate Degree, the successful completion of nine (9) units and the writing of an original Master’s Dissertation is required.

Structure / Units
1st Semester

2nd Semester

3rd Semester

4th Semester

EEPPD Masters Dissertation

Instructions for the selection of units.

Students may choose from one (1) to three (3) units per semester.

The units of each semester must be selected according to the prerequisites of each theme in order to avoid learning gaps and to enable students to better meet the requirements of the next theme based on the knowledge acquired from the previous prerequisite(s).

In the first semester, if they wish to choose one (1) unit then they are required to register for EEP11. If they wish to choose two (2) units, then they must compulsorily declare EEP11 and EEP12. If they wish to choose three (3) units, then they must declare EEP11, EEP12 and EEP13.

Then the subsequent semesters’ units must be selected according to the prerequisites of each unit. A prerequisite for the declaration of the 2nd and 3rd semester units is the successful completion of the two subjects EEP11 and EEP12.

Otherwise, the following applies: during the declaration process, the subjects of the previous semester must be exhausted first and then the subjects of the next semester must be declared or the remaining subjects of one semester must be declared together with the subjects of the next semester, until the maximum number of three (3) subjects is reached.

The successful completion of nine (9) units of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd semesters is required for the declaration of the Master’s Dissertation.

DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMME OF STUDIES
Georgios Vlachakis, Professor of the Hellenic Open University
e-mail: gvlachakis@eap.gr

EEP11	FILIPPOUPOLITI	ANASTASIA	CV
ΕΕP12	ATHANASAKIS	DIMITRIOS	CV
ΕΕP13	KOKKINOS	CHARALAMPOS	CV
ΕΕP21	PETAKOS	DIMITRIS	CV
ΕΕP22	FILIPPOUPOLITI	ANASTASIA	CV
ΕΕP23	POULAKIDAKOS	STAMATIS	CV
ΕΕP31	MANIATI	ELENI	CV
ΕΕP32	MIXAILIDI	EMILIA	CV
ΕΕP33	LAZOS	PANAGIOTIS	CV

The role of the Programme’s Advisory Board is purely consultative, with its primary mission being to serve as a dynamic link between the Programme, society, and the labor market. Within this framework, the Board provides well-documented information, specialized recommendations, and strategic guidance on issues related to educational policy and career prospects, systematically complementing the data and feedback that the Programme gathers from other academic institutions and relevant bodies.

In particular, it actively contributes to the adaptation and modernization of the Programme by proposing targeted actions that enhance its responsiveness to the continuously evolving demands of the labor market across its respective fields of study, as well as to emerging economic, technological, and scientific challenges, while at the same time playing a substantive role in shaping and updating its strategic objectives.

Current composition of the external Advisory Board

Manolis Varouchas Video Games Museum Founder and Director of the Video Games Museum, Heraklion, Crete.	Penni Theologi-Gkouti ICOM-GREECE PhD, President of the Hellenic National Committee of the International Council of Museums (ICOM-GREECE) and Director of the Science and Technology Museum, University of Patras.
Efthymios Nikolaidis National Hellenic Research Foundation Emeritus Research Director, Institute of Historical Research, National Hellenic Research Foundation.	Maria Xanthoudaki CREI · Milan PhD, Director of the Center for Research on Informal Education (CREI), National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci, Milan, Italy.
Maria Rentetzi Friedrich-Alexander University Professor, Chair of Science, Technology and Gender Studies, Friedrich-Alexander University, Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany.	Charalampos Tsekeris National Centre for Social Research Researcher (Grade B) at the Institute of Social Research, specializing in Sociology of the Internet.
Panagiotis Charitos CERN · Switzerland PhD, European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Switzerland.