History

The Department of Communication and Digital Media, of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, of the University of Western Macedonia was founded in 2019 (Official Government Gazette 70/2019). Although recently founded, the academic identity of the department can be traced back in a long journey that begins with the foundation of the first Department of Public Relations and Communication in Greece. Founded in the city of Kastoria, the department left a significant imprint in the country’s academic community. With an established position in the field of Communication, the Department evolved throughout the years by addressing the complexities and the constant challenges in the Communication academic discipline.

In 2013, the Department incorporates in its name the Digital Media aspect (renamed to “Department of Digital Media and Communication”) without however changing the scientific scope covered by its curriculum. Through this action the department strengthened its curriculum in the Digital Media domain, highlighting the important role of the new media developments in the science of Communication.

In 2010, the Department was included in the first 25 Departments in Greece that go through the HQA (Hellenic Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency) external evaluation process. The main findings reported in the evaluation are:

• The Department Curriculum is equivalent to other similar curricula offered by accredited Universities abroad.
• The employment rate in the labour market for the department graduates is high and a number of students get employed even before they obtain their degree.
• High quality research is conducted in the Department, and the research findings are integrated into the curriculum content

The external evaluation authorized the Department to design and organize an Interdepartmental Postgraduate Program (MA) entitled “Master in Public Relations and Marketing with New Technologies”, which was first offered in the academic year 2012-2013.

For many years, the Department has been one of the most attractive Departments of Higher Education, based on the preferences stated in the electronic applications submitted by the high school students taking part in the National Entry Examinations It is noteworthy that in the course of the 2017 Entry Examinations, the Department ranks 2nd among all Departments of Higher Education concerning the number of students that included it in their preferences. Specifically, that year the Department was chosen by 13,300 candidates. Furthermore, over the past years the Department is found with high statistical frequency amongst the first 30 departments in the country, again according to the candidate preferences stated in the electronic applications.

In 2017, the Lab of Digital Media and Strategic Communication (Official Government Gazzete 459 / 16-2-2017) is founded and started operating within the Department. The aim of the Lab is to conduct research and to implement development projects as well as to serve the Department’s research and educational needs in the field of Digital Media and Strategic Communication.

In its short period of operation, the Laboratory has carried out substantial and important work, it has shown considerable extroversion and has developed collaborations with important institutions in Greece, such as the French Institute of Thessaloniki, the Hellenic Foundation for Culture and the Thessaloniki International Book Fair. At the same time, the Llab is actively demonstrating its research orientation by submitting proposals to research program calls, aiming to utilize in their implementation academic knowledge, research expertise in business practice and innovation as well as an active interest in new research challenges.

In 2018, a new Postgraduate program is launched in collaboration with the Department of Preschool Education of the University of Western Macedonia entitled “Public Speech and Digital Media”.

In 2019 and with the 4610/2019 law the Department of Communication and Digital Media is founded in the School of Social Sciences and Humanities. The newly established department incorporates the academic community, the equipment and the Laboratory of the former Department of Digital Media and Communication. In this way, the Department and its successful course in the field of Communication that started in 1999 in the Technological Institution of Western Macedonia and continued over the years, is now reinforced with new opportunities and momentum by the School of Social Sciences and Humanities and the University of Western Macedonia.