The Department is considered to be the main functional academic unit for the full coverage of a Scientific / Technological discipline. Necessary for the proper operation of the Department is its division into Sectors (Greek Law 4957/2022) and Directions, the cognitive subject of which includes related and/or complementary fields. For each Direction to deliver the most at research and educational levels, it is further subdivided into Labs.
Since 2018 (FEK B’/215/30.01.2018) the Department of Mechanical Engineering has two main Directions: Energy & Environment and Mechanical Structures & Installations. The two Directions of the Department each offer a set of courses that lead to corresponding degrees of specialization for graduates. More specifically:
- The Energy & Environment Direction coordinates and covers educational and research requirements for the study, the operation and the management of Heat, Mechanical, Nuclear and Renewable Energy systems, and of Environmental Technologies, as well. Emphasis is given to studies of Transport Phenomena, Combustion, Energy Production, Air-Conditioning and Fluid Dynamics problems.
- The Mechanical Engineering & Facilities Direction coordinates and covers educational and research requirements for the study, the design and the construction of Mechanical Structures and means of Transport, as well as of problems related to their control and operation. Emphasis is given to Technical Engineering, Technical Materials and Machining Technology.
Teaching and Research Academic Members (Faculty) are distributed in these two Directions throughout the Department, along with the Tenured Educational Full-Termed/Academic Grantees Staff (A.Y.) and the Hourly-waged Educational Staff, in addition to the Technical Laboratory Specialists Staff (E.T.E.P.).
Administratively, the Department includes single-person and collective bodies, which make decisions and offer steering related to the academic function of the Department. According to Law 4957/2022, the single-person bodies are elected while the collective ones are assembled ex-officio by the permanent members of the Department:
Single-person bodies
- The Chair of the Department and the Vice Chair of the Department, elected for a 2-year term.
- The Sector Directors (if Sectors have been formed), elected for a 2-year term.
Collective bodies
- The Department Assembly, composed of the Chair and the Vice Chair of the Department, the Sector Directors of the Department, D.E.P. members, and one delegate (by category) from the members of the E.E.P, E.D.I.P. and E.T.E.P., while 15% is composed of students’ representatives.
- The Board of Directors, composed of the Chair and the Deputy Chair of the Department, the Sector Directors, as well as one representative of and one delegate (by category) from the members of the E.E.P, E.D.I.P. and E.T.E.P. members.
- The Sector General Assembly, composed of the Director and the members of the pertinent Sector, while 15% is composed of students’ representatives.
It should be noted that, apart from the administrative bodies at the level of the Department, there are single-person and collective administrative bodies at the School level. Thus, in the Faculty of Mechanics:
- Single-person administrative body is the Dean, whose election is conducted by the Faculty members, by representatives of the students, as well as by representatives of the remaining staff of the Faculty, able by law to vote.
- Faculty collective body is the Faculty Board, which is composed of the Dean of the Faculty, the Chairs of the Departments, and one delegate (by category) from the members of the E.E.P, E.D.I.P. and E.T.E.P. of the Faculty, while 10% of it is composed of students’ delegates.
- Faculty collective body is also the Faculty General Assembly, which is composed of the Dean and the members of the Faculty, and one delegate (by category) from the members of the E.E.P., E.D.I.P. and E.T.E.P. of the Faculty, while 10% of it is composed of students’ delegates.