Francophone University of Athens: A private university project with Sorbonne Paris Nord (France)

The French Sorbonne Paris Nord University (USPN) applied to the Greek Ministry of Education on 14/02/2025, together with its partner Idef (Institute for Francophone Studies) in Athens, to create the Francophone University of Athens, tells Olivier Oudar, Vice-Chairman of USPN's Academic Council, to News Tank on 03/03/2025.

This initiative follows a recent law in Greece which allows foreign universities to establish themselves in the country with private status. "The government wants to expand higher education provision, because today only 40% of high school graduates can access it, with very high selectivity", says Olivier Oudar.

A partner of USPN "for 30 years", Idef, which has college status, wants to take advantage of this law to become a university. "To do so, it must demonstrate a partnership with a foreign university for at least three courses and have premises on site. We already offer co-diploma degrees in law and sports, and we are going to offer a degree in economics and management at the start of the 2025 academic year. These courses are offered in Greek, English and French…