Mission and Vision

The mission of the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering is to provide high-quality education, achieve excellence in research and innovation, and promote knowledge and technology to contribute to the development of industry and local society in the following three pillars.

Education

An initial pillar of the Department's mission is to train engineers with a strong background in the fundamentals of Mechanical Engineering combined with the acquisition of practical experiences, so that they are well qualified to face modern technological problems and challenges. The training is implemented so that the graduates of the Department are able to use critical thinking, develop creative solutions to technological problems and at the same time be flexible in terms of new developments and requirements in the field. Also, through career guidance and networking with industry, students are guided for their first career steps and decisions. Finally, they are encouraged to operate outside the conventional framework (“out of the box”) in order to develop an innovative and entrepreneurial way of thinking.

Research and Innovation

The second pillar of the Department's mission is excellence and distinction in the international arena. The Department is establishing an upward and strong presence in research activities by conducting cutting-edge research in key branches of Mechanical Engineering and developing interdisciplinary research collaborations with international centers of research excellence and innovation. The Department's research activities focus on cutting-edge areas such as: Manufacturing, Dynamic and Intelligent Systems, Energy, Biomedical Engineering, Computational Engineering and Artificial Intelligence Technologies, Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology.

Contribution to industry and society

The third pillar of the Department's mission is cooperation with local and international industry, the transfer of know-how and the promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship. Also, a priority is the Department's contribution to improving the quality of life of the local community through partnerships with entities and organizations for training, transfer of know-how and offering consulting services.

Objectives and Actions

Strategic Objective 1: Enhancing competitiveness and international recognition among the world's leading Universities
Excellence in learning and teaching
  • Reinforcement of mechanisms for continuous internal evaluation and improvement of teaching quality.
  • Improving the academic staff / student ratio.
  • Improvement and creation of new teaching laboratories. Better utilization of teaching laboratories with the aim of improving the students' ability to apply their knowledge in practice.
  • Creation of work experience mechanisms and its organic connection with study programs.
  • Strengthening the attraction of excellent students.
  • Cultivating critical thinking and strengthening student participation in university life.
  • Teaching support through the participation of postgraduate students in the teaching and experimental process.
  • Adoption of modern forms of teaching (e.g. distance education and hybrid teaching).
Development of research and innovation
  • Strengthening the attraction of excellent students, researchers and members of academic staff.
  • Strengthening, support and sustainable development of research.
  • Creating a critical mass of human resources and infrastructure in specific cutting-edge research fields in which Cyprus has comparative advantages and from which Cyprus can benefit financially.
  • Interconnection of research activity with innovation, entrepreneurship and the needs of society.
  • Create the necessary infrastructure to enable competitive research in areas of interest at the department, faculty, university and regional levels.
Internationalization
  • Development of international partnerships to enhance the mobility of students, graduates and academics of the Department (e.g. Erasmus+, International Networks & Organizations, Universities, international work experience).
  • Development of international mobility actions, research collaborations and promotion of science (e.g. organization / hosting of conferences, summer schools).
  • Attracting foreign language students.
  • Creating a research and innovation brand name.
Liaise with industry and other external organisations
  • Development of strategic partnerships with universities, research centers, institutes and companies.
  • Creation of institutions and infrastructures for the exploitation of research results (patents) and transfer to the market (cooperatives, spin-offs and start-ups) with the aim of benefiting the university and society.
  • Development of professional education and training programs and provision of consulting services in the public and private sector.
Strengthening the employability of students
  • Development of students' knowledge, skills and abilities with an emphasis on research disposition, ethos, creativity, entrepreneurship and key lifelong learning competencies.
  • Continuous upgrading of existing and offering new study programs. Connecting them with the expectations of the international labor market and the knowledge society.
  • Upgrading the language abilities, communication skills and professional networking of our students.
  • Preparing graduates for the new work environment of the 4th industrial revolution.

Strategic Objective 2: Economic empowerment and sustainability
Development of new sources of income
  • Searching for new and strengthening existing sources of income (attracting donations, sponsorships and external funding for research and other actions).
  • Utilization of research results and their transfer to the market and industry.
  • Strengthening the Department's relationship with its graduates.
Effective management of resources and reserves
  • Creation of a resource optimization plan with regular internal audits.
Strengthening and renewal of human resources
  • Enhancing the Department's ability to continue attracting internationally competitive staff with substantial potential for creative contribution.

Strategic Objective 3: Carrier of culture and innovation
Entrepreneurship development
  • Highlighting and promoting the attraction of scientific conferences.
  • Creation of an innovation ecosystem around the University of Cyprus with the aim of supporting the entrepreneurial efforts of students and graduates (creating seed grants, attracting investors) and creating goodwill in the local community.
Substantial intervention in society
  • Utilization of science in the context of state decision-making processes, efforts for substantial change for the benefit of the citizen and in every effort to strengthen meritocracy (reason, thought, research, ethics, methodology, data...).
  • Promotion of scientific culture through scientific communication and public participation activities.
  • Community consultation mechanism and lifelong learning programmes.

Strategic Objective 4: Sectoral development and infrastructure strengthening
Strengthening infrastructure
  • Optimum utilization of the University's infrastructure and surrounding areas.
  • Partnerships with local universities for optimal use of available infrastructure and maximization of social benefit.
  • Development of a long-term infrastructure maintenance strategy.