News & Events

Successful Event on Communication by the International Faculty and YMCA: the beginning of a promising cooperation

‘Communication’ was the main theme of the first event jointly organised by the International Faculty, CITY College and Thessaloniki’s YMCA, with Ms. Anna Sotiriadou, Head of our Computer Science Department, representing our Faculty with a particularly interesting and timely presentation. The event took place on 23 April 2015 at YMCA premises at the centre of Thessaloniki. Ms Sotiriadou discussed the topic ‘Communication and Technology: Our everyday routine has changed. So have we?’ underpinning the way technology has changed the way we communicate and questioning the qualities this type communication. The speech concluded with Ms Sotiriadou’s remark to use technology wisely and try to put a limit to the use of technology in our lives, a limit that will secure our human communication and relationships. The second speaker, Mr Christos Arampatzis, Consultant Health Psychologist, Sleep therapist N.G.H. USA who is YMCA’s associate, continued to approach the topic of ‘communication’ from psychology’s standpoint and commented that building self-awareness and inner communication leads to better relationships with others. The event was well-attended and concluded with the audience addressing a series of questions to both speakers leading to a fruitful discussion. This first event marked the beginning of a promising cooperation between the International Faculty and YMCA. Joint events and activities will be taking place throughout the year within the frame of social action in the community.  

27/04/2015

Neuromarketing demonstration for our MBA students

Your brain on marketing! Our Executive MBA students of the marketing track had the chance to participate in a very interesting neuromarketing demonstration performed in class by neuromarketing experts during the Annual Study Week in Thessaloniki. The demonstration took place by the Research Agency, Net Value. Our students had the opportunity to witness live how brain waves are measured with EEG (encephalogram) for marketing purposes and through the presentation of case studies discussed in depth many issues concerning neuromarketing in practice. Everyone involved was very excited about the demonstration and all agreed that neuromarketing is here to stay. Dr Ana Cruz and Dr Nikolaos Dimitriadis were particularly happy to see such enthusiastic reactions in their students’ faces... and in their brains!  The demonstration took place in the frame of ‘Brand Strategy’ unit, led by Dr Ana Cruz.

23/04/2015

Successful Workshop on Social Entrepreneurship by ASHOKA fellow

Mr. Christian Vanizette More than 140 participants had the opportunity to attend the Workshop on Social Entrepreneurship delivered by Mr. Christian Vanizette, Co-founder of Makesense.org and ASHOKA fellow. The event took place at our main campus in Thessaloniki on 20 April 2015 and was supported by Alexander Innovation Zone and the Marketing Club of the Thessaloniki Technological Institute (TEI) and Thessaloniki Smart Up Innovation Hub. The event drew a full house with students and representatives from companies and organisations attending and participating actively in the workshop. In the frame of the workshop, the ASHOKA team, led by Mr Vanizette, generated and run a very interesting simulated case of social entrepreneurship in which participants had the opportunity to take part and find solutions for real social problems. Ashoka is the largest network of social entrepreneurs worldwide, with nearly 3,000 Ashoka Fellows in 70 countries putting their system changing ideas into practice on a global scale. Mr Vanizette has fostered a global community of thousands of individuals and groups who share a common passion for social change and engage with the goal of solving specific challenges for social entrepreneurs. His carefully thought-through online and offline collaborative processes have allowed any social entrepreneur to submit a challenge to the MakeSense community and tap into its collective wisdom to obtain a satisfying solution within a few days. Dr Nikolaidis, Head of BAED commented: “The Business Administration and Economics Department is pleased - and always aims – to organise events like this workshop, aspiring to enhance social entrepreneurship and shape this kind of culture within our student community and the society in general. This is the only way we can achieve substantial changes in our society that are much needed indeed. Our cooperation with ASHOKA will continue to grow in an attempt for our students, alumni and businesses and organisations in our region to become acquainted with new entrepreneurship models.”   Co-organiser   Sponsors  

23/04/2015

Seminar on ‘Taking your career to the next level’ by Dr Szamosi in Bucharest

FREE ENTRANCE Book your place now: E: alina.toader@citycollege.sheffield.eu  

23/04/2015

Open Days, 15 - 16 May 2015 in Yerevan

Please register here Information and registration: T: +37494 029 449 E: lshahzadeyan@citycollege.sheffield.eu

23/04/2015

'Psychology for All' open seminar series

May 2015 The following events are going to take place in Greek.   FREE ENTRANCE Online Participation Form Watch the seminar live Information / Registrations: T: 2310 224 421 E: stververidou@citycollege.sheffield.eu

22/04/2015

MBA Students of Healthcare Track Visit ‘Arogi’ Rehabilitation Centre in Thessaloniki

During the Annual Study Week 2015 in Thessaloniki our MBA students following the healthcare track of the Executive MBA programme visited ‘Arogi’ rehabilitation centre as part of the unit ‘Healthcare Systems Policy and Economics’. Escorted by lecturers Dr Janet Harris and Dr Andrew Lee and the Director of the MBA programme, Mr George Efstathiadis, the students visited the premises of Arogi and met the CEO, the Scientific Manager as well as the Marketing Director of the center who discussed the business model, the industry and operations and challenges that they face. Our students found this visit particularly informative and had the opportunity to get inside information and the pulse of the healthcare industry in Greece.

21/04/2015

Healthcare Seminar at the Ministry of Health in Kosovo by Dr Harris

Dr Janet Harris, from the University of Sheffield, UK delivered an insightful seminar on ‘Healthcare Management’ at the Ministry of Health in Prishtina, Kosovo. The event took place successfully on Friday, 17 April 2015. The seminar was well-attended by representatives from the Ministry of Health, hospitals and academics from Medical Faculty in Prishtina. Dr Harris is an expert in healthcare management and works at the School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) of The University of Sheffield. She is also the Director of the MSc in International Health Management and Leadership and module leader of 'Current Issues in Healthcare' module which is delivered in the frame of the MBA Healthcare track of our Executive MBA programme.

21/04/2015

Interview with our alumni, Karathanasi sisters, presenting their new venture: Guts & Tales

Eleni and Stephania Karathanasi both graduated from the International Faculty, CITY College, after completing the MA in Marketing, Advertising & Public Relations at the International Faculty and then set off to Amsterdam to chase their dreams. As students, except for their academic performance, both sisters stand out for their creative mind, extrovert and dynamic personalities, team spirit and positive attitude. Today, except for building a career in marketing and advertising, Eleni and Stephania have set up a quite original venture, Guts and Tales. We found them and they told us all about it. It seems like Karathanasi sisters have guts and definitely will have a lot more tales to say in the future!   What was your route after your graduation and up until you launched Guts & Tales? E: After graduation I moved back to Amsterdam where I started working at the EMEA headquarters of Starbucks. I worked two years in the Marketing Department for Starbucks Netherlands before I made the transition to the agency world. I wanted to be on the other side of the fence, at the core of creativity. I got approached for a job at Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam as a Producer Assistant and absolutely loved it! Unfortunately due to the economic crisis and unforeseen budget cuts I soon had to leave WK. I moved to a design agency, Design Bridge, in an account manager role and after 1,5 year, WK approached me again to come back as a Jr. Producer. It didn’t take me long to take them up on that offer. That’s where I am right now, full time working and setting up Guts & Tales in parallel.   S: One week after submitting my Master dissertation, I moved back to Amsterdam. I didn’t take any time off and started applying for jobs all over the world. It was AKQA Amsterdam, an international digital advertising agency, that hired me right away. I’ve been working there for 1,5 year now - officially an Account Executive but mainly supporting the strategy team. We set up Guts & Tales simultaneously, in the evenings and our weekends.     What does this new venture involve? Guts & Tales is an interview-based platform where we share real stories of people who took a leap of faith from making a living to making a life. A UN ambassador that built her own fair trade fashion brand with no budget, an architect that is now a food designer. Our aim is to inspire, motivate and give those practical handles most people don’t have access to. We want to provide the how as this is the biggest obstacle we face once we start thinking about changing direction.   How did you come up with the idea? E: There seem to be two camps in my circle of friends. People pursuing a career based on what they truly want to do and people pursuing a career based on external factors. I wondered why the majority of people belong to the second camp and were actually living a live that didn’t fulfil them. They* seemed to be living towards the weekends, the next holiday, sabbaticals or their next pay rises. What a shame that so many talents remain undiscovered, dreams un-chased and ideas undeveloped! What a waste of our beautiful lives! So, we figured why don’t we share the knowledge of the first group of people with the second group so they can start making steps towards a life that really makes them happy. *“they” – I was belonging in this category as well. When I went back to myself and asked myself the honest question of what I really want to do in my life I figured I want to meet inspiring people, write and share knowledge to help people. That was the start of the idea.   S: At the starting point of my career, it was quite a shock to see that for most people, making a living and making a life are two fundamentally different things. I believe that there is great knowledge to be shared from those who don’t belong to this group. Guts & Tales is the answer to that.   What do you wish to achieve through Guts & Tales? Help, inspire and motivate people all around the world to kick out the fear and encourage them to start living their lives to the fullest. We would love nothing more than to share stories of people all over the world from different continents, backgrounds and opportunities. Ultimately, hopefully Guts & Tales can be a story itself, from an interview-based website to an online and offline platform that can help achieve people what they truly want in life.   Do you really think that it is easy to link your career to what you truly want? Doesn't making a living make it difficult to go after your dreams? We absolutely think it is possible to link your career to what you truly want. Not necessarily overnight but surely in the long run. A question we always ask to the people we interview is how they manage financially, as we know money is considered one of the biggest obstacles for people to pursue their dreams. By giving insights in how all these people have done it from a financial point of view we want to show that there are always opportunities. For instance, some people we spoke with started slowly parallel to their job that helped them pay their bills. Doing what you truly want is usually not pursued overnight, but start working towards your dream definitely is.     And what if you don't really know what dream to go after? Good question! This is very valid for our generation. Due to the countless possibilities and opportunities we often don’t know what to choose anymore - stuck in the paradox of choice. Amongst the stories on our platform, there are people that didn’t know what they wanted to do, but they knew one thing; they were doing something that was not making them happy. We believe that it doesn’t really matter if you don’t know exactly what you want, but if you know what you don’t want, realise it and act on it, then you’re definitely going the right direction.   Working with your sister: does it make it easier or harder? How's the cooperation between the two of you? Easier, though working as sisters is wonderful and challenging at the same time. We both have different personalities and skill sets that supplement each other. These differences can be challenging, but by embracing them at the right time, and focusing on the similarities instead, we built and are building Guts & Tales.   What was the greater lesson you learnt at CITY College? E: Interpersonal skills in a multicultural environment.   S: Soft skills are as important as hard skills. (Thank you, Mr. Nikolaidis)   What would be your advice to our students graduating this year? E: Do some self research and think about what YOU really want to do. What if there was no one else with an opinion about you and your future in this world? What would you do? Once you have the answer. GO and be prepared to work really hard to get exactly that.   S: The fact that no one has ever done it before doesn’t mean it’s impossible; it probably means it’s a great idea. Take the time you need to figure out what you want and how you think you can achieve it. It doesn’t matter how fast forward you’re going, as long as it is forward.  

14/04/2015

Our students in Bucharest visit Intact Media Group

On 14 March 2015 a group of postgraduate students attending the MA in Marketing, Advertising and Telecommunication in Bucharest visited Intact Media Group one of the leading media agencies in Romania. Escorted by Dr Ana Cruz, 1st - year students were warmly welcomed by Mr. Nicu Damu, Marketing Manager of Euphoria, Antena 2 and GSP TV, who talked to them about strategic issues, the latest developments in media and how the marketing department of a major media group operates. The students were particularly impressed by the presentation and the premises of Intact Media Group. During the visit they also were benefited from the exposure to a real workplace environment. Educative and insightful, the company visit was part of the Advertising and Sales Promotion Management unit led by Dr. Cruz in Bucharest. Several company visits take place in parallel to classes aiming at enhancing the richness of their industry interactions and preparing them to enter the job market.

14/04/2015

The International Faculty hosts the 27th PanHellenic Informatics Competition

The International Faculty, CITY College hosted the 27th PanHellenic Informatics Competition that took place on Sunday 5th April 2015 in Thessaloniki and was organised by EPY – Macedonia-Thrace under the auspices of the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs. The competition ran in parallel in Athens with 113 students participating from all over Greece - 30 from Northern Greece. The best students will be chosen the final phase of the competition who will participate in the Greek National IT teams: a) the National “Olympic” team and b) the National “Balkan” team. The International Faculty was happy to host the competition and in this way support the promotion and dissemination of knowledge and science.

08/04/2015

Seminar on ‘Coaching for Career Development’ by Mr Lambridis

08/04/2015