Syros

The DPSD Beyond Group is a non-profit, independent and self-organised initiative launched by (undergraduate and postgraduate) students of the Department of Product & Systems Design Engineering, aiming at self-determination regarding issues of design training. Since 2010 the group has been organising events every Friday including students’ lectures (based on mutual learning and similar educational models) and also internal lectures by professional designers, design studios and enterprises of the branch, esteemed colleagues, etc. The group’s activities also include projections, discussions, workshops, master classes, side self-funding projects and a variety of lectures about design. The essence of this initiative is based on open learning according to which access to knowledge is an inalienable right belonging to all and should therefore be generously disseminated to others.

E-mail: beyond@syros.aegean.gr

Facebook

The idea of “My Aegean” originated by a group of University of the Aegean students, initially in the winter of 2002 and mainly in the spring of 2003. The aim of this initiative was to create a network portal for the whole of the Aegean University community and the aspiration was to create a vehicle which will encourage and promote direct, collective and qualitative communication and information exchange, without geographical restrictions, among all members of the Aegean community (students, academic and research staff, as well as administrative, technical or other personnel), to serve as a common point of reference, as a scheme which will stimulate and facilitate interaction among all the members of the university. It operates within the cultural groups of the Department of Product and Systems Design Engineering (the founding members’ home department), progressively evolving into a wider team of students from various departments and campuses of the university, offering the possibility of open participation, through the relevant web portal. Additionally, with time, this network portal has grown to provide a firm ground for action, and numerous activities have been fostered and has significantly contributed to the projection of the University, thus making it more widely known to the public. It has gradually come to act as a springboard for creative collaboration and exchange of ideas among a great number of people, both within and outside the University of the Aegean, with the aim of promoting culture and encouraging a qualitative, fruitful means of interaction.

This initiative is participatory, voluntary and non-profit, by students for students (graduates and anyone interested as well). Throughout the years, a ​​set of services are built and developed such as: e-Magazine with a variety of columns, a supporting infrastructure for Radio Stations, a Forum platform that facilitates discussions around various topics for everyday life, society, university, news, as well as Open Repositories for hosting audiovisual material (photos, videos, archives), thus offering ways for people and student teams to utilize, disseminate and preserve events and activities from everyday life at the university and the Aegean. Occasionally, the community / portal My.Aegean.gr together with collaborations and with other organizations or student groups also carries out local actions, such as documentary screenings, festival-type events or exhibitions, seminars, speeches. Among all, it actively participates in projects that promote open standards and technologies (e.g. FOSS Communities, Creative Commons). During past years, it supported part of the dissemination needs of the “Cultural Week” festival that was organized by the University of the Aegean (it also maintains a website / historical archive with audiovisual material of the festival), while it has also contributed as partner to large cultural and educational festivals such as “AnimaSyros Animation Festival”, “Medieval Festival of Rhodes”, or the “Athens Video / Digital Arts Festival” as well as in information and career exhibitions, such as an exhibition for “Education and Work” regarding career opportunities, reinforcing the extroversion of the university itself , its courses and departments and its people. A number of initiatives or ideas have also emerged from the wider community, with a rich presence inside and outside Greece.

This set of efforts and activities, through this collective action of “MyAegean”, is somehow a substantial move towards a development of initiatives based on a sense of “belonging” and an awareness that could emerge under this concept, in a single academic family without geographical restrictions. An ever-evolving effort to potentially act as a cradle of free thought, creation, application of scientific knowledge and culture. Anyone can freely participate, as long as they respect and accept the values ​​and core principles of the effort, fostering their creativity and skills.

Email: myaegean@aegean.gr  & official web portal site  

The TEDx University of the Aegean came back to Ermoupolis, Syros for a third consecutive year, on 18 March 2017 at the Apollo Theatre,  with a refreshed mood for ideas worth spreading and committed to the vision to unite the islands of the University the Aegean under a common cause.  Apart from the main events which took place in Syros, Chios, Samos, Lesvos and Rhodes, a number of parallel events through livestreaming, workshops, exhibitions and activities were also organised, debunking geographical distances in practice and transferring the experience of the TEDx University of the Aegean to the Aegean islands. Stay tuned for more information.

Website 

The Cinema Group is an active students’ group which organises film projections and tributes to specific directors, actors or thematic areas. Film projections are organised every Tuesday.

E-mail: dpsd12029@syros.aegean.gr

E-mail: dpsdtheater@syros.aegean.gr